SHADY Obama in Clinton ad (left), in the original context (right)

When the Daily Kos broke the story that the Clinton campaign had made Barack Obama‘s face several shades darker in its “who would you trust when the red phone rings at 3 A.M.” commercial, all of the mainstream media ignored the story—except for the New York Post.

If you compare Obama’s skin tone in the commercial (as it appears here to a clip from the debate from which this sound bite is taken, it looks just like the notorious Time magazine cover which blackened O.J. Simpson‘s face. Clinton spokeman Jay Carson told the Post that the idea that Obama’s skin was deliberately darkened was “totally bogus.” “Coloration in every single screen shot looks different,” said Carson.