The Mantra Obama

I was walking down the street today and noticed a sign promoting Eduardo Noriega for the 2010 Senatorial elections that resembled someone familiar....

 

Not all of his poses look like this, but I think they chose this pic for a reason. Eduardo Noriega, who has fifty-one (though he doesn't look it) years of being a lawyer under his belt has "dedicated his whole life to public service and looks to shake things up by having more diversity in the media and mass communication." This instantly reminded me of the six Brazilian candidates in 2008 who adopted the name "Barack Obama" to try and cash in on the world's Obamamania. This demonstrates that despite being the big, bad Yankee promoting U.S. military use of 7 Colombian military bases, the mantra Obama still has some serious shine here in Colombia. 

Whenever I've talked about the military base issue, most Colombians have been quicker to fault President Uribe, rather than Obama. While almost all give him credit for helping bring the security situation under control, many are quick to point out his neglect for constitutionality, human rights, or a number of other issues. Though it seems like every Colombian I've asked is against it, opinion polls favor Uribe in the upcoming May 30 referendum to see if he can be elected for a 3rd term.