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Thursday, Oct 16, 2008 7:25 PM UTC

GOP group depicts Obama with watermelon, fried chicken

The organization's president says she wasn't aware of the racial connotations of the image, which is of Barack Obama on a food stamp -- "It was just food to me."

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Topics: 2008 Elections, Barack Obama, War Room,

A California Republican group’s latest newsletter shows Barack Obama on a $10  food stamp. The picture shows Obama eating fried chicken, watermelon and ribs, an image that harks back to old derogatory stereotypes about African-Americans.

Diane Fedele, the president of the responsible organization, Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated, says the image was distributed without any racist intent. “I never connected,” she told a local newspaper. “It was just food to me. It didn’t mean anything else.”

The press secretary for the state Republican Party has denounced the use of the image, the Associated Press reports, and has also pointed out that the group is a volunteer organization not directly responsible to the party.

Fedele has apologized “to anyone who was offended.”

Update: Thanks to readers who pointed out a link to the image itself — which can be viewed here — and that Obama is shown on a food stamp, not on a $10 bill.

Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.

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