South Carolina Senator Posts Osama/Obama Pic to Website

One would think that after the fiasco of the New Yorker cover, which has resulted in the New Yorker's Washington correspondent being denied a seat on Senator ObamaSenator Obama's press plane as he travels abroad, those attempting to ridicule the Democratic presidential candidate would have learned their lesson. It seems this is not the case, however.

Earlier today, the website of South Carolina Senator Kevin Bryant featured the offensive ad to the left, which juxtaposes Barack Obama and Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden. The banner suggests the only difference between the senator and the terrorist leader is "a little B.S." The banner was eventually removed, re-posted, and can currently be viewed at http://kevinbryant.com. Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post was able to catch Senator Bryant on the phone, and questioned him as to whether he thought the ad was appropriate. The senator laughed loudly and responded with this:

""I've got some questions about Senator Obama's ties to -- such as his comment that we should negotiate with Iran. Iran's a country that would like to destroy Israel, that bothers me. But is this picture appropriate? I don't know."

He also seemed unable to identify what religion Obama belongs to.

"I may put it back up, I may not," he said. "I just thought I'd take it down and think about it." Clearly, the Senator has put a great deal of thought into the implications of such an offensive display. If not, the Senate Democrats of South Carolina can certainly fill him in. Their response can be read here.