The newest right-wing meme.. a photoshop fraud? (Updated: NOT)

(update 7/19/12: this is is not fake as I initially thought.  Instead it's a second fundraising space used by Obama for America, which I didn't find when I searched for Obama field offices.  He apparently has his campaign field office at 1037 Forest Ave, and then an OFA space at 533.  See comments  for more detail)

After President Obama's remarks that no businessman succeeded completely on his own, the right-wing has been having some fun.  One of their "fun" pictures appears to be a fraud.

I'm referring to this website http://obamadidthisonhisown.com/ which purports to show the irony of an Obama field office located above a carpet store that is going out of business. Here is the picture:

This piqued my interest so I googled on the name of the business.  I found their listing in the Superpages and this address is 533 Forest Ave in Portland, ME.   I also found this real estate listing that confirms it, as it has a picture of the building and lists the same address.   So is Obama's field office at 533 Forest Avenue located above a failing business? 

No. 

Obama's field office in Portland is located at 1037 Forest Avenue, as shown on his website. According to Google maps, this is 1.2 miles away from the location pictured here.

Also, take a close look at the picture of the building in the real estate listing linked above, and compare it to the picture from the right-wing blog.  Particularly notice the wording and coloring of the banners.  Photoshop has definitely been applied here. 

King Canute: North Carolina Republican?

Canute was king of England from 1016 to 1035.  He is generally seen as by history as a good king and an effective administrator, but he is famous for one story: His attempt to order the tide not to rise.  Let's let the chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon  tell the story:

with the greatest vigor he commanded that his chair should be set on the shore, when the tide began to rise. And then he spoke to the rising sea saying “You are part of my dominion, and the ground that I am seated upon is mine, nor has anyone disobeyed my orders with impunity. Therefore, I order you not to rise onto my land, nor to wet the clothes or body of your Lord”.

Well it's really not fair to compare our state's Republicans with such a delusion.  After all, King Canute tried to command the sea arbitrarily, as if it would obey his will simply because he was king.  On the other hand, NC's legislative Republicans follow procedure and take a democratic vote before commanding the sea.   So they are much more rational.

Maybe it's not fair to just give Daily Kos's view. Stephen Colbert's is much funnier:

The Colbert Report
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Of course there is more to the story.  Canute was actually trying to make a point, and prove to fawning courtiers that his power was limited.  NC's Republicans... well, nevermind