Another "Proud to Be an American in the Internet Age" moment: I just found the new official
White House Flickr Photostream. These photos, straight from White House photographer Pete Souza, are a remarkable visual document of President Obama
at work,
at play, and being a
good dad. It's also open for comments, just like a regular Flickr account. Very cool... and sometimes
darned funny.
Are the photos of Air Force One buzzing lower Manhatten posted here?
ReplyDeletenot afraid to sign my name
Tim Higgins
Well, they were going to have Obama pilot the plane himself and do a perfect emergency landing on the Hudson... but then they remembered the whole President-in-flight-gear thing was already done... ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, and President Bush took all kinds of flack from the media over that, and Obama gets a pass.
ReplyDeleteYou and I both know that if this stunt had been under President Bush he would have be crucified by the media. People in New York are still extremely sensitive from 9-11as one could tell from the reaction of many New Yorker's. Not only did it cost the tax payers well over 300,000 dollars for this stunt, how much of a Carbon foot print did it leave?
One can not just kick the tires and jump in Air Force One and take off, all flights have to be approved. Who gives the final approval for something like this? The Obama Administration gets a pass.
But oh no there is no double standard in the media, or is there?
Tim Higgins
One other thing. If Obama wanted a phot-op with the Statue of Liberty and Air Force One, ah have they never heard of Photo-Shop?
ReplyDeleteTim Higgins
But Tim, the Obama plane gaffe hit the news right away. We all know about it, and I've heard lots of criticism in the media. If it's not getting as much play as Bush's fighter pilot stint, it's because it's not really attached to any other story in the news. Obama didn't pilot the plane himself over the Statue of Liberty to declare the recession over or to deliver relief supplies to laid-off investment bankers (I'm just brainstorming here). There were more "hooks" to Bush's 2003 story, specifically the connection to the Iraq war and the "Mission Accomplished" speech and banner, which over time kept the story going, as it became increasingly clear that declaration was premature.
ReplyDeleteBush was trying to create a very vivid and public set of symbols and narrative. He put on the costume, arranged for a spectacular set, played the starring role; it was high political theater, and he wanted us to see him and remember him at center stage. He got what he wanted... sort of. Obama's people were just monkeying around getting some nice pictures and didn't make the right phone calls. For better or for worse, that story isn't going to catch people's imaginations as well as a deliberate propaganda act, starring the President himself, that can be turned on its head.
And if the White House had used Photoshop, the anti-Obama industry headline would have read, "Obama Fakes Photos! Just Like Birth Certificate!" Sometimes a guy just can't win. ;-)
ReplyDeleteCorey:
ReplyDeleteYou can spin it any way you want. the fact remains the media is very Obama friendly.
Corey:
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of birh certificates, I know you think Sibby has some credibility issues but...
http://sibbyonline.blogs.com/sibbyonline/2009/05/obamas-grandmother-barack-born-in-kenya.html
Enjoy ;)