Althouse: "History's Worst Political Photo Ops."

June 8, 2015

"History's Worst Political Photo Ops."

Funny... but where's the one with Cuomo and the manhole?

ADDED: "Better jump down a manhole/Light yourself a candle/Don’t wear sandals/Try to avoid the scandals..."

26 comments:

paminwi said...: May not be a political phot but how stupid was this?

https://thisistwitchy.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/barack-michelle-obama-umbrella.png; 6/8/15, 9:10 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I got through four or five of them and didn't see the humor, frankly.

I think it's impolite to laugh at a person just because he or she is being unguarded and I don't think there should be a double-standard for when that person is important. I thought the digs at Dukakis were mean-spirited and childish, even though I didn't care for his politics.

There was a political cartoon of LBJ displaying his appendectomy scar and it looked like Vietnam.

More in line with my preferences.; 6/8/15, 9:12 AM
Mary Beth said...: The photo of Nixon walking on the beach in dress pants is supposed to make him look out of touch, but I think Al Gore with his t-shirt tucked into his jogging pants is even weirder.; 6/8/15, 9:13 AM
garage mahal said...: John Kerry in the human condom is hard to top.; 6/8/15, 9:15 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Maybe it was just the crowd I hung out with when I was in my salad days but I never knew a gay guy who didn't take delight in making fun of people behind their backs for the most superficial of things.

Hair. Clothing. A woman's makeup. Shoes.

That sort of thing.; 6/8/15, 9:17 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Straight guys did it, too, I should add. But a lot of them were art fags, in one form or another.; 6/8/15, 9:19 AM
Original Mike said...: "John Kerry in the human condom is hard to top."

That image has always reminded me of this; 6/8/15, 9:39 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Is there a human being on the planet that doesn't look stupid in an unguarded moment frozen in time by a camera?

I think this says more about the quality of the media & the electorate than it does about politicians.

People say "we want our politicians to be honest & open with us". Well, when they are, you're gonna see them, warts & all. But, then the electorate punishes them for their supposed faux pas.

We all get the government we deserve.; 6/8/15, 9:40 AM
CWJ said...: I clicked through. Sixteen photos. In order, RRRRRRDDDRRRRRRD. So the answer to Althouse's question is D.; 6/8/15, 9:43 AM
Brando said...: "The photo of Nixon walking on the beach in dress pants is supposed to make him look out of touch, but I think Al Gore with his t-shirt tucked into his jogging pants is even weirder."

That was truly messed up. I know we all dressed odd in the early '90s (jeans high waisted and tight on top, then loose at the knees, then tapered again at the bottom?). But I don't think I ever crossed the line of tucking a t-shirt into running shorts.

Now I have to check high school track photos to see.; 6/8/15, 9:46 AM
Brando said...: All of these seem to say more about the pre-existing stereotypes of the presidents rather than the images themselves--if we saw Clinton on the beach in a suit, it might get a quick laugh but wouldn't imprint like the Nixon one because we don't have this image of Clinton as a square who'd wear wing tips on the beach. Think how the Nixon photo might have played instead--here's a president who wasn't planning on going to the beach, but instead was working and decided on a whim to take a walk down there to relax, so of course he's still in work clothes. But because people already saw Nixon as square, it looked more like "even at the beach this guy can't let loose".

Same with Bush Sr. at the supermarket--if the same photo op happened for Clinton (who as governor for over a decade likely wasn't buying his own groceries) it wouldn't have resonated, because he didn't have Bush's patrician image. At least this article clarified what was so misleading about the original reporting on the Bush photo (that he wasn't marvelling at scanners per se but rather a new type of scanner).; 6/8/15, 9:50 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Advisers warned Coolidge, who wore the headdress while being named an honorary chief in Deadwood, South Dakota, that he would look funny. “Well it’s good for people to laugh, isn’t it?” Coolidge replied.

How can somebody not love that?; 6/8/15, 9:59 AM
Henry said...: How can somebody not love that?

Yes. Most of these are utterly charming.

Except the Gingrich. That one's painful.; 6/8/15, 10:06 AM
dbp said...: I knew the list of photos was off to a poor start when the first one was of Calvin Coolidge in the native american headdress. I always found that picture charming. And what's with the rule of don't be photographed eating? One of the best pictures of Gary Hart was of him having a slice of pizza after he won the NH primary.; 6/8/15, 10:09 AM
Ann Althouse said...: The tucking in of the shirt was supposed to be the focus of the wrongness of that photo. I thought it was that we could see a slight outline of his genitalia.

Which makes me remember the famous Al Gore Rolling Stone cover. The one with the (photoshopped?) big cock.; 6/8/15, 10:12 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Yeah, I thought the headdress was part of the Coolidge myth in a good way.; 6/8/15, 10:15 AM
Wilbur said...: Calvin Coolidge was our best president.

Of course, the Left hates him, 90 years after he took office. That's another reason he was our best president.

I note Politico excludes - and probably never considered using - the photograph that will scuttle a possible presidential run: Christie's embrace of Obama just before the 2012 general elections.; 6/8/15, 10:17 AM
Bob Ellison said...: It's a good thing dogs are not eligible to become Presidents. I've got a dog that eats her own poop. That would make for major oppo.; 6/8/15, 10:37 AM
William said...: In those photos where the left claims that the younger Bush looks like a fool, Bush actually looks like a good sport who is able to endure things going awry with good humor.........Some AP photographer complained that he was never able to take a bad photo of Reagan. The AP photographer wanted to take a photo that showed Reagan looking old and confused. Instant Pulitzer. But Reagan was a movie star. The camera was his friend even when wielded by an enemy.; 6/8/15, 10:40 AM
William said...: Does anyone know of a photo op where President Reagan dropped the ball and looked foolish.; 6/8/15, 11:30 AM
Patrick Wahl said...: You would think the photo of Obama bowing to a Saudi King would make this list. Instead we get about 5 of Bush, shows the bias of the list maker.; 6/8/15, 11:44 AM
J2 said...: Paminwi I love that Obama umbrella photo.

The best missing photo: George HW Bush vomiting on the Japanese PM.; 6/8/15, 11:48 AM
Ambrose said...: It's interesting, but while I remember the "Nixon on Beach," in my mind's eye he was dressed in a blue suit and tie - very out of touch. Seeing the picture again makes me think he is not really dressed that inappropriately.; 6/8/15, 12:55 PM
Brando said...: "It's interesting, but while I remember the "Nixon on Beach," in my mind's eye he was dressed in a blue suit and tie - very out of touch. Seeing the picture again makes me think he is not really dressed that inappropriately."

I think it comes down to the shoes. Beaches can be cold depending on the weather, so pants and a jacket can be appropriate. But even in cold weather you don't want to be in wing tips on the beach, unless as I suggested above it was a last minute lark to get away from work. (I would have suggested at least going barefoot, but maybe Nixon was like Frank Costanza!)

Likewise with Kerry windsurfing--if you're already viewed by critics as a blowdried elitist, stay away from the expensive sports for the campaign. Understand what your image is, and keep that in mind when getting into photo ops.; 6/8/15, 3:11 PM
Brando said...: E.g., Obama has usually been photographed drinking beer, which is a good choice for him--imagine how his critics (see, arugula, 2008) would react if they caught photos of him drinking wine.; 6/8/15, 3:12 PM
Known Unknown said...: The headdress is charming, as is the Bush turkey pic. Bush proved to be a pretty affable guy, which is a flyover-country kind of thing to be. Elitism cannot abide aw-shucksness.; 6/9/15, 10:16 AM