Break out the tinfoil hats.

I think some anti-Obama bloggers have jumped right over the line into complete paranoia.  As if there’s not enough real stuff to criticize and dislike about Obama and his candidacy.

The big fuss is about a “subliminal image” on Obama’s website.

Here’s the image:

I don’t think it’s meant to be subliminal.  It’s just a nice looking background and filler.

Atlas Shrugs thinks that it’s a “desecration” of the Great Seal of the United States of America.

Here’s the real seal:

The image on Obama’s site is not a desecration.  Seriously.  They both have stars and part of the flag and an eagle.  The Obama design references the Great Seal.  That’s all.  Where Atlas sees an eagle “turning away from the viewer in its hasty retreat,” one could see an eagle taking flight to a new future.  Where she sees the single remaining arrow piercing the eagle’s shield, I see a single large arrow behind the shield.  And the assertion that “the tilted lines of the shield subtly suggest the famous images of the steel girder ruins of the World Trade Center” is just bizarre.  It’s just the stripes of the flag.  That’s all.  The shield is probably tilted as the eagle takes flight.

I can’t usually find many nice things to say about Obama or his campaign but this design is actually quite nice.  I’m a proud American and this image referencing the Great Seal doesn’t disturb me at all.  If it were me, I’d probably leave the cheesy “O” symbol off of the middle but it is his site so whatever.

As for the legal question, read the US Code carefully.

Whoever knowingly displays any printed or other likeness of the great seal of the United States, … or any facsimile thereof, in, or in connection with, any advertisement, poster, circular, book, pamphlet, or other publication, public meeting, play, motion picture, telecast, or other production, or on any building, monument, or stationery, for the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or by any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Emphasis mine.

This isn’t a likeness or a facsimile of the Great Seal and it certainly doesn’t imply approval by the Government of the USA.  It’s just decoration on a website.  At most, it’s a bit of propaganda meant to convey patriotism and change.  About what I would expect on a candidate’s website.