Spoof poster of Obama's face painted as The Joker branded 'dangerous and mean-spirited'

A poster depicting Barack Obama as Batman villain The Joker has been called 'mean-spirited and dangerous' by the U.S. President's supporters.
The image, which has been adopted by Mr Obama's critics, shows him wearing the white face paint and smudged red lips of the character most recently played by the late actor Heath Ledger. Beneath the picture reads the word 'socialism'.

The creator of the image remains unknown, but the website that first published the image crashed yesterday because so many had been attempting to view it. It has since been spotted in Los Angeles and Atlanta after it appeared in U.S. media.

The right-wing editor of the American Thinker website, Thomas Lifson, wrote today: 'It is starting.

Inspiration: The poster mimics the make-up worn by late actor Heath Ledger in the latest Batman film

'Open mockery of of Barack Obama, as disillusionment sets in with the man, his policies, and the phony image of a race-healing, brilliant, scholarly middle-of-the-roader.'
But the President's supporters have condemned the image, calling it 'mean-spirited and dangerous.'

A spokesman from the Los Angeles urban policy unit said that depicting the president as demonic and a socialist 'goes beyond political spoofery.'
The image comes as the President faces criticism over his plans to create a $1trillion healthcare programme.

Republican chairman Michael Steele first used the word 'socialism' in relation to Mr Obama two weeks ago as he slammed the President's attempts to push Congress into passing the healthcare reforms.