Chicago Poster Controversy

Is a picture worth a thousand words? Apparently this one has generated a lot more than that:

This afternoon, I spoke with a friend of mine in Chicagoland.
She told me that her husband participated in the annual Big Shoulders 5K Swim. The T-shirt image above was altered from the original version:

Her understanding was that the graphic designer is a completely apolitical person and just thought the image gave his poster a super cool look, similar in style to some of Andy Warhol's art:

But Obama supporters were apparently outraged! I'd love to hear from some of them in Chicago to find out why.

Update: I found this discussion where the designer, a fellow named Chip Sheean, explains his motivations behind the design. In this discussion it appears that McCain supporters are the outraged ones. A mystery indeed!