We are living in a politically polarized society. Unfortunately, there are instances where people in the zeal to make a point create comparisons that approach absurdity. Case in Point:

Last summer, my wife and I were driving down near the Oregon border when I saw a sign depicting Barack Obama as a new Hitler with that familiar mustache. I was puzzled.

Today I saw a man outside our Vashon Post Office with the same sign. I wonder if this person with the sign knows what Hitler and Nazi Germany were really like. I don’t exactly, but I’ve read enough first-hand accounts to have some idea.

To start with, if this man did his protesting in Nazi Germany, a car would roll up, he and his sign would go into the back seat, and he would be taken to a torture chamber, where he’d be tortured for days and then either killed or sent to a concentration camp.

Am I exaggerating? Read about it. The Nazis did this many times. Protests were simply not allowed.

Hitler was out to conquer the world. Does this man really think America’s war in Afghanistan is Obama’s attempt at world conquest? Really?

Hitler was a passionate racist believing in the superiority of the German race. Obama is a black man. How is he like Hitler?

Hitler was a dictator who answered to no one. Obama answers to the Republican congress and the Supreme Court. The checks on his limited power are documented in the news on a regular basis.

This man obviously does not like our president and wants us to know it. But the analogy he is using is such a complete departure from reality that it lacks any credibility.

I have no problem with this man being against the war in Afghanistan. One can make a respectable argument against most wars.

But Obama like Hitler? I can think of absolutely no good reason for this comparison.

— Jim Roy