Admittedly, McCain can't hold a candle to this

My first reaction on seeing this picture can be summed up in one word: "Photoshop."

The trouble is that it comes from source which- whether you agree with it or not politically- is reputable and reliable. And there's been too much of this sort of thing going on to simply shrug it off.

This- along with the young people singing to Obama, the Obama Youth meeting, and all the other evidence of the massive cult of personality surrounding the man who will probably be the next president of the United States- gives us all reason for concern- regardless of our party, or even of for whom we plan to vote. In fact, I think it ought to give Barak Obama cause for concern, all the more as his election grows more likely.

This sort of stuff just isn't healthy in a democracy.

The picture, btw, was taken yesterday at a street fair in San Francisco, on the corner of Hayes and Octavia.