Published: October 30, 2008 01:13 pm      

Obama effigy hangs in tree in Clarksville

A Clarksville man hung an effigy of Sen. Barack Obama from a tree on his front lawn, an act he said was not racially motivated but rather in protest of Obama as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kirk Deddo, of Clarksville, who is white, used an inflatable doll made to look like Obama.

He said he has relatives in the military, and he feared the prospect of Obama as commander in chief.

“That’s the scariest thing I can think of, Barack Obama as president with my family over there at war,” Deddo said. “It is not racially motivated.”

Jeremy Mull, Clark County chief deputy prosecutor, called the display “deplorable” but said it did not appear to violate any Indiana criminal statute.

The effigy was hung from a tree on Deddo’s front lawn. His son removed it Wednesday as reporters gathered at the home.

“I didn’t realize it would do all this,” Deddo said of the attention drawn to the effigy.

Deddo said he voted for Hillary Clinton in the May primary but is neither Democrat nor Republican.

“I vote both ways depending on the individuals,” he said.