Someone has placed a giant photo of the former president on a billboard with the question, "Miss Me Yet?"
Until now, the billboard was thought to be a hoax, a clever doctoring of an image perhaps, meant to whip up anti-Obama sentiments in the blogosphere. But by Monday, it was clear: The "Miss Me Yet?" billboard is real.
Courtesy Minnesota Public Radio
The "Miss Me Yet?" billboard looms over Interstate 35 near Wyoming, Minn.
Minnesota Public Radio correspondent Bob Collins saw it himself:
It was late at night and I wasn't sure I'd seen the billboard correctly as I whizzed past it on I-35 in Wyoming last week on the way back from Wrenshall. But an e-mailer confirms I saw what I thought I saw.
It's beginning to sweep along the Internet, accompanied by various claims that it's a Photoshop fake. But it's not. It's real.
The creators are out there, somewhere. But they would like to remain anonymous, according to the general manager of billboard owner Schubert & Hoey Outdoor Advertising. As Mary Teske told Asylum, "the sign was rented by a group of small businessmen from the twin cities area, who pooled their money to make the political statement."
Convinced that "Washington was against them," the men paid for a two-month run of the billboard to make a statement, Teske added.
While the men remain anonymous, this much is clear, however: Wyoming's mayor, Sheldon Anderson, wishes he had thought of the idea first. He sent an e-mail to Minnesota Public Radio. "Wish I could take credit for it," he wrote.
In the words of Collins, "It's time to crowdsource this puppy."
ON ASYLUM: Group of Small Businessmen Behind Mysterious Bush Billboard
