Obama Effigy

“The US secret service is investigating an apparent effigy of Barack Obama hung from a storefront in Georgia. Local television news showed what appeared to be a black doll at the end of a noose on the main road in Plains, home of Jimmy Carter, the former Democratic president, Georgia governor and Nobel peace prize winner. Witnesses said the doll bore a sign with Obama’s name. The effigy was quickly removed by the fire department after it was discovered. The election of Obama, the first African-American president, incensed US racists and his policies have provoked angry conservatives to compare him to Hitler and Stalin. But the number of threats to his life so far has been roughly similar to those against Bill Clinton and George Bush at a similar point in their presidencies, the US secret service director told a House of Representatives committee last month. The tiny town of Plains, 120 miles south of Atlanta, is proud of its connection to Carter, president from 1977 to 1981, and residents said they hoped news of the effigy would not overshadow the link.”