Is it possibly true that Obama will deliver his speech under some sort of Greek temple constructed for him at the Invesco Center? If so, all I can say is "Wow." The guy ran a terrific campaign, but he really needs to get control of the hubris. It will not sell very well with middle-America. Even the self-proclaimed Obama sycophants on MSNBC are starting to express concern about the candidate's ability to govern with humility.

Perhaps he should fly in in an AF F16 fighter jet and wear a cod piece. Maybe he should have a "Mission Accomplished" sign posted conspicuously.

I seriously doubt he made the decision about what the stage will look like. More likely the DNC did. Go tell Bill O'Reilly you posted just like you were supposed to.

I'm no fan of FOX. In fact, I support Obama. I'm just really surprised that the campaign can't dampen down the hubris. It will not help. It is actually possible to support a candidate and still be critical of that candidate's positions/decisions.

To be critical of the stage he stands on is worthy of Fox News. How about addressing an issue of real concern to real people, like the war in Iraq or the deficit.

Who gives a damn, except the rightwingnuts, about the bloody stage.

If we want Obama to win, we should care about how he presents himself to the world and how much ammunition he gives the other side. This was a stupid staging decision -- perhaps by a staffer -- but still foolish.

And you really think the DNC is reading your posts and is going to rush out and tear the stage down?

It's not worthy of discussion, but I'm sure we'll see plenty of it on the Drudge and Hannity.

You might consider checking out the White House, Supreme Court building, the Capitol Building, or any number of government structures. They all contain Greek columns and are not meant to be temples for Zeus or Hera.

Since Obama is running for President they might, oh I don't know, be relating to well-known landmarks in our nation's capitol?

Adrasteia:

To be critical of the stage he stands on is worthy of Fox News. How about addressing an issue of real concern to real people, like the war in Iraq or the deficit.

Who gives a damn, except the rightwingnuts, about the bloody stage.

Well, I'm not a conservative by any stretch and I think that the temple set is at best merely pretentious. At worse, it's going to give the right a lot of fodder about the cult-like masses worshipping the new messiah.

I didn't love the idea of moving Obama's speech from the convention hall to the stadium. I understand that he wants the images of a great mass of people cheering his name to be the resounding image that people take away from the convention, but it did strike me as being somewhat egotistical. But to pair that with a Greek temple set? Most people who aren't already Obama supporters (or at least Democrats) aren't going to pay much attention to the speech itself (they never do). They're going to remember the images - temple, fawning masses, a deified leader.

The right wing press is already starting to make hay about this and even a lot of other Democrats that I personally know are rolling their eyes and laughing about it. I think this is one time when Obama's tendency to over-stage and plan is not going to help him. He has always been his best when he speaks honestly and simply. He shouldn't need this kind of elaborate theater to get people excited. We need a president who is less concerned about image (like Bush is) and more focused on issues.

I think that's BrooklinMom's point, and I happen to agree with her. Look, if they had Obama Underoo's, I'd buy 7 sets so I could wear them each day of the week, but I think it's a bad decision. There's no need to jump on BrooklinMom about that or tell her that it doesn't help posting here. That's what this forum is about, conversation. It's not about enacting change or getting in touch with decision makers, and you know that Adrasteia.

Camera I:

You might consider checking out the White House, Supreme Court building, the Capitol Building, or any number of government structures. They all contain Greek columns and are not meant to be temples for Zeus or Hera.

Since Obama is running for President they might, oh I don't know, be relating to well-known landmarks in our nation's capitol?

Unfortunately how it's going to look is pretentious. Just like his fake presidential seal that was mocked earlier in the campaign. There's a fine like between confidence and hubis and Obama is in real danger of crossing it.

After 8 years of Bush (the Musical), people are not hungering for political theater. They want a candidate to talk to them seriously about the issues facing our country. They want to know how Obama plans to fix our economy, to bring good-paying jobs back and to deal with the mortage crisis. They want to know how he plans to end the war in Iraq without leaving chaos behind us.

The last thing we need is a candidate who worries about his image ("If I stand in this position, I'll look more presidential!"). There's an old bid of advice from Coco Channel - about making sure that you take off one accessory before you leave the house. In other words, even if you don't think it's too much, it probably is. Less is always more.

This morning Fox News showed the "temple". Not even close to a temple. That's another Republican talking point that you faux Dems just virally spread around.

It looks very much like the ground floor of the Senate or the White House. Don't you think that's the setting Obama should be seen in if we want him elected?

Sometimes you people are too stupid to breathe.

I don't think that's BMom's point. She simply spreading the Fox talking points.

Fox News showed a close up this morning. It's not even close to a Greek Temple. It is a representation of the public buildings in Washington that were built by our government.

If that's pretentious then we are all pretentious. The campaign wants us to see Obama in that setting. For the love of God, the man wants to be President, he's going to be in a whole lot of those buildings.

So if you would really wear his underwear, which even I wouldn't, stop with the Greek Temple crap and realize what the stage is really representing: your government.

I know the GOP talking points have never been strong on facts, but...

You may want to note the fact that the backdrop being built is very similiar to the backdrop buitl for George W Bush when he accepted his parties nomination.

It si simply a backdrop, a couple of columns and a frieze made of styrofoam, if you think this will get in the way of the message, you would not have paid attention to the message anyway.

I'm a centrist Obama backer and agree that the columns are stupid. Adrasteia, you are fooling yourself if you think the only people who think this are right wing trolls. This kind of admittedly insignificant crap makes a difference to middle of the road undecided voters.

And the argument that it is merely a replica of the capitol buildings also doesn't fly. If they wanted the classic motiff, they should've had the convention in DC (or Athens). It just looks odd to have greek columns in the middle of a football field.

Is Obama going to be shown stripped to the waist and chained to them ala Jesus Christ Superstar? I really am planning to vote for Obama this cycle, but I also really am a little creeped out by the stadium w/pillars.

The stage is meant to invoke the Lincoln Memorial, where MLK gave his "I Have a Dream" Speech today 45 years ago.

I think this line of posting just shows how Republican talking points become accepted wisdom. A few white columns does not a Temple to Obama make--white columns are pretty standard political imagery, invoking the classicism of many public buildings, in Washington and elsewhere. If someone else was speaking in front of it, we might think it a bit silly, but would hardly see it as evidence of arrogance. Everything suddenly becomes evidence for what you already think is true, even though it's just a label put on a person by his or her enemies.