Flagging The Real Story

Our "brothers and sisters to the South," eh?

With the President more openly recognized these days as a pure political animal, the NYT has a shot this morning that does plenty of editorializing about W's upcoming trip to South America.  Besides offering a cynical commentary on Bush's pretty backdrop (for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at the Ronald Reagan Building), it makes a statement about two-faced posturing and extreme salesmanship.  (You can see the photo, completely intact, here with the accompanying article.)

The use of the figure to make a shadow is obviously heavy-handed.  The fact that shadow invades the U.S. and Mexico, while leaving the southern hemisphere intact, however, makes a clever subliminal statement about "spreading" Latin-related problems Bush has his back to here at home.

The more interesting effect, however, is the division between Bush and the backdrop created by the camera angle.  Because of the way we're condition by televised effects, the pic works like a split-screen, with the "over proselytizing" Bush in "contra-position" (pardon to pun) to the Americas.

Along similar lines, I'm still thinking about this weekend's White House "tornado photo gallery," and this pic, in particular.

Specifically, note the map in the background.  As the White House thought about it, I imagine the symbol -- of the lower states obscured -- helped reinforce Bush's "show" of support to Georgia and Alabama in time of need.  Considering the imagery in a larger sense, however, perhaps the real metaphor is that the whole "Hurricane Belt" has simply disappeared -- at least, as far as this Administration is (visually) concerned.

(image: Andrew Councill for The New York Times. March 4, 2007. nytimes.com.  caption: President Bush, in Washington yesterday, spoke of “our brothers and sisters to the south” who have “seen little improvement in their daily lives.”)

Comments

[pj]

A pure Elmer Gantry moment. Bush has had dozens of them along the way, but they seem a bit more frequent, more contrived, and even less credible lately. He's trying too hard; can it be that he's seen the handwriting on the wall? (He wouldn't be able to read it, of course, but he might begin to suspect something was going on beyond his ken.)

[margaret]

In the tornado picture, he is facing away from the damage, while everyone else is looking at it. Separateness, also evident in the Latin-American speech picture: separateness, isolated from the problem, unconnected.

As John Fowles once wrote, in the opening sentence to Daniel Martin,

"Whole Sight; or all the rest is desolation."

[Gary]

Damn if that isn't the perfect picture of how Bush's face contorts when he is selling something that is bad for who he's selling it to, but he's telling them how great it is. We've seen this so many times before.

[see you]

bushkiller is going to Brasil in the Women´s International Day [and week].
it´s an insult to all women of the world and specially
for the women in Iraq and Afghanistan that lost sons,
husbands, sisters, and in many times, their entire families.
too late, mr bush, to make friends in any country of the world.
too late.

[zatopa]

That shadow encroaching from the left reminded me of Goya's portrait of Charles IV and his family, here. Here's a detail of the encroaching shadow.

My understanding of the painting and its historical circumstances is sketchy, and I welcome correction, but as I recall: the shadow falls over the young Ferdinand VII, who would take over after his father abdicated the throne in 1807. The first seven years of Ferdinand's rule would be in French exile while Napoleon invaded and occupied (or was it liberated?) Spain in the Peninsular Wars. Goya's most unforgettable images of war were based on what transpired during Ferdinand's absence.

[donna]

Hope he's going to pay for the damages Jenna and Not-Jenna did on their trip down south....

[MonsieurGonzo]

my god they're quoting Fowles and referencing Goya !

Madame says, "Let's break open a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet and party!"

[Rafael]

I never found a more offensive or fowl string of letters strung together in my lifetime:

"Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at the Ronald Reagan Building"

The sheer irony of it all.

[jtfromBC]

"The leader of the free world" GWB's arm and hand gesture suggested he is encircling South American, the facial contortions an early detection of another whiff of sulphur courtesy of that firebrand, dictator, populist, agitator, pro Castro anti American etc etc etc Senor Hugo popular leader of the forces of evil and darkness in "our backyard"

[Mad_nVT]

The "Hispanic Chamber" photo shows a huckster with the whole world in his hands. But too many know that the Huckster in Chief has lost his hucking ability and he looks mostly like he's about to heave up another hair-ball.

In the Tornado photo, Bush is trying real hard to pay attention, and he has his civilian Commander-in-Chief outfit on. When he puts that insigniated coat on, it generally means there is real trouble for somebody.

(Looks like that tornado blew Alaska clear over into the Atlantic.)

[Chaddeous]

george bush approached the podium. What was today's speech about again? Ah, yes. "Fighting poverty and inequality." He smiled to himself at the wise decision he had made over hiring Alberto Gonzales, a man who's last name is "Gonzales." Such things gave him the assurance he needed to read the teleprompter without stammering and blinking too badly at the dissonance of it all.

He opened up his arms and tried to force a smile, but it wouldn't come. He didn't care about South America, he didn't even know what he was saying half the time. But he knew he'd look good doing it. "Humanitarian." "Overseas." It was kind of a change of pace, using those two words together. He began reading the words on the screen, occasionally trying to match those words with gestures, so as to appear to be communicating.

Then, as the cameramen began taking pictures, george finds himself in an uncomfortable moment of cognitive awareness, a nagging thought clinging uncomfortably to the back of his brain. Hadn't he conflated at least some of these countries with terrorism before?

Ah. Damn. It doesn't matter, and he can't remember. Keep selling the pony show, he thinks to himself. Say the words, just say the words.

[Bill]

When I see the "president" at these photo ops, I just can't help think idiot.

Can this guy ever look serious?

Or even human, oy!

[see you]

Bush in Latin America
photo gallery :
http://www.elpais.com/
http://www.elpais.com/fotogaleria/America/Latina/recibe/Bush/protestas/3523-1/elpgal/

[lima]

He makes me want to throw up! Smug ass. Latin Ameica hates him - only corrupt leaders want a part of him, but watch out, the NeoCons don't share. They only pretend to want to share. Today in Massachussetts the migra SS raided a factory and arrested a couple of hundre "illegals" leaving their children stranded in daycare centers and various other places. Next, they will be building "special" detention centers for "latin illegals"...perhaps Miami Ink will be contracted to...