Obama's ideological opponents are grasping at straws here: they've carved "I Swastika Obama" message into the grass at a country club, institutions that were once bastions of American racism. This should be a perfect inflammatory storm, but it's just bewildering.

We understand "I" and "Obama," yes, but it's the left-facing swastika found at the Massachusetts club that has us scratching our heads. It's most likely the perpetrators were going for the whole "Obama as Nazi" craze that's sweeping the conservative camp, but perhaps they're harking back to the symbol's original, more peaceful and spiritual origins, which means that the secret service agents investigating the matter are barking up the wrong tree.

Psych! This is totally a picture of how blind politics lead to backward and ultimately contradictory messages. Thanks, country club taggers! You've offered us all a great visual lesson.

Image via.