Have You Seen the Giant 'Sand Obama' Sculpture in Charlotte?

Photos of a massive sand sculpture of President Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina ahead of the Democrat National Convention are circulating throughout the Internet, prompting a number of "shovel-ready" jokes from Republicans.

According to an excerpt from the AP, the Mount Rushmore-like sculpture was created by VisitMyrtleBeach.com Saturday, Sept. 1, and took five artists three days to complete.

WPDE elaborates, saying the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce thought it would boost tourism to the city after the convention, hence the "Visit Myrtle Beach" and "Vote Myrtle Beach" slogans.

While the story is largely gaining traction today, a WBTV article from August 30 says the sculpture-- described as the "ultimate welcome mat" for DNC attendees-- was "scrapped for security reasons."

Recent updates, however, indicate the monument was simply relocated.

The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce recently commented: "We're excited to maintain a Myrtle Beach presence in the beautiful city of Charlotte in the coming week, and hope everyone in town gets a chance to come see this fantastic sand sculpture."

A Saturday Washington Times article says the Obama likeness was damaged by Saturday's "torrential downpour," which would also indicate that the sculpture is, for now, still standing.

Either way, there are enough photos of what has been deemed "Mount Obama" on the Internet to prompt a barrage of jokes from Republicans.

Citizen Journalist, which helped bring the story to national attention, remarked: “Let the jokes begin! Shovel ready job, house built on sand, no graven images, etc…”

Twitchy added: "A giant Mount Rushmore-like sculpture of the president? What cult of personality?"

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