Mysterious ‘George W. Bush: Our leader’ Clear Channel political public service billboard graces Orlando freeway
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor
A billboard recently put up in Orlando bearing a smiling photograph of President Bush with the words “Our Leader” is raising eyebrows among progressives who feel the poster is akin to that of propaganda used by tyrannical regimes.
RAW STORY confirmed the billboard’s existence Monday evening. At our behest, a member of an Orlando media organization drove past the billboard on two occasions and verified that it was indeed the one pictured.
The billboard pictured, which is on I-4, says that it is a “political public service message brought to you by Clear Channel Outdoor.”
The member, who declined to be named out of concern for their employer, discovered a second billboard bearing the same image along the same route, paid for by Charles W. Clayton Jr.
The Clear Channel-sponsored billboard was not lit up for drivers Monday evening. The Clayton billboard was.
Clear Channel Outdoor Orlando said they could not respond to requests for comment this week because their press person was “away.” They referred calls to their San Antonio corporate parent, which did not return two messages for comment.
Clayton’s firm, Charles Clayton Construction, said he was traveling this week and couldn’t be reached for comment.
The Orlando Associated Press bureau said they had seen at least one sign but didn’t plan a story. They suggested that the signs would only become a story were there a public response to the billboards, and that the county in which they were situated would probably meet the signs with “a warm response.”
One Orlando resident penned a concerned letter to the (registration-restricted) Orlando Sentinel on Saturday about the billboard. As the site is restricted to members, the letter appears below.
“The first thing I thought was, when was the last time I have seen a president on a billboard?” wrote resident Dianna Lawson. “Didn’t Saddam Hussein have his picture up everywhere? What next, a statue?”
Orlando Sentinel Letters Editor Dixie Tate said they wouldn’t have printed the letter were it false. Other reporters at the Sentinel told RAW STORY they’d also seen the billboard.
Others said they’d seen a similar sign in Jacksonville along I-95.
“We don’t do political advertising,” said Jacksonville Clear Channel sales representative Brad Parsons. He said the photograph was probably bogus.
A second Jacksonville rep acknowledged the company did political advertising but only when paid for by a third party. When asked if he would look at the picture for verification, he declined to give out his email address.
Common Cause, the public interest advocacy group, said the billboard probably wasn’t a violation of campaign finance regulations, but expressed concern about Clear Channel’s history and their use of billboard space to support the Administration.
“I think it sort of exemplifies the fact that big media companies are going to do all they can to stay on the good side of the administration because they’re very concerned about any efforts in Congress to challenge their ownership,” Common Cause Vice President for Advocacy Celia Wexler said Tuesday.
“Clear Channel has a history of weighing in in controversial ways that don’t respect the diversity of opinion,” she added. “It is in keeping with Clear Channel’s vision of the world which is to not take seriously an effort to serve the public interest or be non-partisan.”
The posted was first noticed by the liberal forum Democratic Underground.
The letter in the Orlando Sentinel:
Billboard message
On my way to work Wednesday morning, I looked up and saw a giant billboard with a picture of George W. Bush and the words “OUR LEADER” under it. The first thing I thought was, when was the last time I have seen a president on a billboard? What is going on? Didn’t Saddam Hussein have his picture up everywhere? What next, a statue?
I am so concerned with our country and the division. I still stand by my vote, which was for John Kerry. George W. Bush has a lot of work to do to change the way I feel. Putting him up on a billboard does not make him a better president. His actions speak louder than words.
I wonder if anyone else finds the president’s picture on a billboard odd? I’m sorry, but it reminds me of countries with dictators, and it seems people are making him out to be the messiah, the savior of our world.
Fear, fear, fear. I’m tired of being afraid.
Dianna Lawson
Orlando
