Shepard Fairey: Obama ‘Hope’ Poster Creator Says ‘Not Even Close,’ What About Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Campaign?

Shepard Fairey is the creator behind the famous Barack Obama “Hope” poster that helped win the 2008 presidential elections, but Fairey believes President Obama has failed to meet his hopes. In addition, the artist seems to think Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign may be doomed due to the way U.S. elections are largely controlled by interest groups and money.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, the so-called Obamaphone is giving rise to “ObamaNet,” which the FCC says will give high speed broadband internet to the poor as part of a welfare program that was originally started under Ronald Reagan.

The history of the Obama “Hope” poster is quite convoluted. Since Shepard Fairey apparently based his artwork on photos taken by the Associated Press, he was accused of plagiarism. Fairey even sued AP at one point, and he was eventually sentenced to two years probation and 300 hours of community service after he destroyed evidence and created fake documents for his lawsuit.

Regardless, Shepard Fairey still voted for President Obama both in 2008 and 2012, but now that 2016 is coming close, he is being honest and admits that Obama is “not even close” to living up to the “Hope” poster.

“Obama has had a really tough time, but there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected. I mean, drones and domestic spying are the last things I would have thought [he’d support]. I’ve met Obama a few times, and I think Obama’s a quality human being, but I think that he finds himself in a position where your actions are largely dictated by things out of your control.”

But Shepard Fairey’s Obama criticisms are largely focused on the issue of money in politics. He says he’s “not giving [Obama] a pass for not being more courageous,” but he seems to think the entire American system needs an overhaul, not Obama.

Fairey also blames the American public for allowing the political system to become like it is now.

“We also need a public that isn’t so uneducated and complacent,” he claims, according to Esquire. “I hate to say Americans are ignorant and lazy, but a lot of them are ignorant and lazy.”

So what does this mean for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign? Fairey admits there are a lot of issues that make him angry about the 2016 elections already, but he seems to believe Clinton is just another cog in the modern political apparatus. The artist admits that he agrees with Hillary on most issues, but it is the campaign finance structure that makes him angry since the candidates available for voters to choose is largely determined by the money.

“There are only certain kinds of people that either have the preexisting resources or the willingness to work in way that will get them a lot of money from donors. That narrows the field right there. Then there’s the idea that the people who you are going to have to listen to are the people that are going to give you the biggest donation. That means lobbyists, special interest groups, and corporations are going to have politicians eager, disproportionately.”

In the end, Shepard Fairey blames the power of corporations coming before the American people for the failings of politicians like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. While he admits to being an Occupy Movement supporter, the artist says he is not against capitalism, but he believes “capitalism just needs better referees.”

Do you agree that the president did not meet the expectations of the Obama “Hope” poster?

[Image via Google Images]