Barack Obama’s new seal lasts one day

Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is retiring a presidential seal that made its debut at a Chicago event last week.

“It was a one-time seal for a one-time use,” Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. The seal, which resembled the official presidential seal, had a picture of a bald eagle on it. A phrase inscribed above it read “Vero Possumus,” a Latin expression that roughly translates to the campaign’s slogan, “Yes, we can.”

The seal helped complete a presidential-looking setting as Obama sat at the head of a U-shaped table with Democratic governors in a stately hall of a Chicago museum. In addition to the seal on the podium, blue curtains adorned the backdrop along with a row of flags.

Our earlier blog post on the Obama seal posted on Friday prompted mixed reviews from readers. Some liked the seal and thought the Latin expression was clever. Others thought it conveyed a penchant for image over substance.

Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic.com said there were second thoughts about the blog at Obama’s campaign headquarters.

“The worry for Obama’s image managers is that it gives the press a pretext to call Obama arrogant, an example for them to add to a list of arrogant moments, and a way to distract them from what Obama is saying,” Ambinder wrote in his blog.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.