BAGnewsNotes

Obama On Trial (Or: Media Completely Wright, Wright, Wright, Wright, Wright On This One)

(click to enlarge)

But Steve Achelpohl, the Nebraska Democratic chairman who recently endorsed Mr. Obama, called the controversy over Mr. Wright “a bump in the road” for the candidate. Mr. Achelpohl said he thought — or hoped — that Mr. Obama’s denunciation of Mr. Wright on Tuesday would move the campaign beyond the problem.

“I think it’s been blown way out of proportion, and people will realize that,” he said. “This is a media-driven thing and a presidential candidate shouldn’t have to vet every person that he has had a relationship with in his life.”

With the near week-long pre-Pennsylvania media orgy over the "bitter" comments still fresh in mind, you can see, above, how yesterday's Day Four pre-Indiana/N. Carolina installment of the Wright paroxysm played out in the NYT dead tree edition.

The front page treatment and the double, jumbo-sized pics beautifully capture how the media has blown the Wright situation out of all proportion (while lending more understanding to Obama's look of disgust on page A17).  Noteworthy, as well, is the comparison between the two images at either end of that page -- the latter of which has the feel of crowing.

And, as a visual illustration by itself, what follows is a list of the NYT Obama-Wright links since Monday:

quote from: Wright Remains a Concern for Some Democrats (Thursday NYT)
After Break With Ex-Pastor, Obama Tries to Move On (Thursday NYT)
Primary Loss and Furor Over Ex-Pastor Hurt Obama in Poll (Thursday NYT)
A Strained Wright-Obama Bond Finally Snaps (Thursday NYT)
While Clinton Focuses, Obama Is Distracted (Thursday NYT)
Obama Breaks Forcefully With Ex-Pastor Over Fiery Remarks
(Print Headline: an angry obama renounces ties to his ex-pastor) ( Wed NYT)
Mr. Obama and Rev. Wright (Wed NYT)
Praying and Preying (Wed NYT)
Clinton Tweaks Obama on Wright (Wed NYT)
The TV Watch: Not Speaking for Obama, Pastor Speaks for Himself, at Length (Tues NYT)
Blogtalk: The Wright-Obama Drama (Tues - NYT)
Obama Says He’s Outraged by Ex-Pastor’s Comments (Tues - NYT)
Obama Adds to Distance From Pastor (Tues NYT)
The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Speaks for Himself (Tues NYT)
The Pastor Casts a Shadow (Tues NYT)
Obamas Wright Response (Tues NYT)
Dribbling Past Reverend Wright (Tues NYT)
Former Pastor of Obama Says He Isn’t Divisive (Mon NYT)
Obama Addresses Ex-Pastor’s Media Blitz (Mon NYT)
Wright Defends Church and Blasts Media (Mon NYT)
McCain Criticizes Remarks by Obama’s Former Pastor (Mon NYT)
The Early Word: McCain Takes Up Wright Issue (Mon NYT)

Laura Bush Makes History

Of course, you heard Laura Bush "made history" this week, right?  Yes, fast on the heels of Dubya's cameo on a game show, she became the first First Lady to host the TODAY show.

With the country sliding by virtually every measure, the Bush's are now resorting to the most cynical and patronizing misdirection play at their disposal, which is to throw every bit of emphasis they can into their celebrity status.

Really though, what this screen shot documents is the logical outcome of an incest that's been going on between the Bush's and the media for years.  Whereas up to now, the White House has been overly-dependent on media actors to deliver their talking points (while ensuring the masses remain otherwise anesthetized), the process has finally come full circle.

Of course, Karl's at Newsweek now, Kristol's at The Times, and Snow is embedding at CNN.  But in making an audience out of Ann and Matt, host and infotainment personality Laura Bush actually demonstrates how the White House can cut out the middle man.

First lady Laura Bush makes television history  (Lotta video here if you can stand it - TODAY/MSNBC)
The Self-Loathing Liberal Media (Arianna Huffington)

(screen shot: TODAY. April. 22, 2008. msnbc.msn.com)

Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand. (And Don't Forget The Ducks!)

So, I was just taking a closer look at the screen shots of the military talking heads the NYT completely busted for running interference for Rummy.  What was it the Pentagon call these puppets, con artists and double dippers? "Message force multipliers?"

Geez, how could I have been so fooled!

Behind Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand (NYT)
How the Pentagon Spread Its Message (NYT/Multimedia)

(screenshots - via nytimes.com)

And, If You Happened To Have Missed Any Part Of Last Night's Clinton-Obama Pennsylvania Debate...

Don't Leave Me, Daddy. (9/11, 9/11)

(click on image to see true size, as published in WAPO photo gallery)

I can't help contrasting this shot in today's WAPO Day in Photos with the White House photo gallery's endless wallpaper of military spouses as loyal, brave and beaming.

Sure, it's just one shot.  But the symbolism here conveys a fundamental erosion of the "stiff upper lip."  As well, it speaks -- in the media sphere --  to the kind of unsustainable emotional strain on our troops that military officials have been warning of more urgently lately.  (As a metaphor, perhaps the brick wall also has something to contribute on that point.)

According to the caption, we see a military wife comforting her twins this past Saturday as their father leaves home for his second deployment to Iraq.  I don't know how old these children were when their father shipped out the first time.  With the occupation entering its sixth year, however, these two are likely apprehending the reality of this mindless war in a deeper way that they were before.

Still, there's an aspect of the photo, and the boy, that troubles me far more than the tragic expressiveness -- the "come back;  touch me;  don't go" -- of the boy's hand.

What I'm referring to is the prominent emblem on the boy's shirt.  After doing a little searching, I discovered it's a patch for F.D.N.Y. Hazardous Materials Company #1 (which I found on a site called fallenbrothers.com).  I certainly feel for the moment.  At the same time, however, this emblem on the boy, as part of a heart-tugging image offered for national consumption by the Washington Post, seems like a blasphemous display as both family and media further perpetuate the outlandish linkage between Iraq and 9/11.

... Oh, and did I mention that the day's WAPO gallery was sponsored by a web commercial for the U.S. Air Force, leading off with an image of the Pentagon and the line: "This building is going to be attacked 3 million times today?"

Washington Post Day in Photos April 14, 2008

(image: Joseph Kaczmarek/AP.  April 12, 2008.  Philadelphia.  washingtonpost.com)

Naked Power

I think the story that's been flying around the echo chamber the last two days really has little to do with whether a naked woman might have actually been reflected in Cheney's shades.  In my mind, at least, the real story has more to do with all the hoo-ha over it, demonstrating how Cheney's naked exercise of power over the past seven years tends to be equated with being a stud.

The fact that so many people are also teheeing over the sexual innuendo based on the true reflection -- involving the broadly grinning Dick holding his fishing rod -- seems like no accident either.  In November of '04, the wingnuts at Wizbang made a telling connection between the vicious air campaign unleashed on Baghdad and a news photo supposing to evidence Cheney's prodigious physical endowment.  They titled their post: "Dick Cheney's Shock And Awe."

Is that really a naked woman reflected in Cheney's sunglasses? (Atlanta-Journal Constitution)
Blow up of original image (whitehouse.gov)
Dick Cheney's Shock And Awe (Wizbang)
The Outdoors (White House photo essay - Cheney's fishing trip to Idaho)

(image: David Bohrer/White House. April 2008.  whitehouse.gov)

President Matthews

Some thoughts on the image leading the early-release 8000 word NYT Magazine piece on Chris Matthews (the photo supplied by, yep, Chris Matthews).

1.  Great shot of President Matthews. Who's the minor aide in the red-and-blue tie that Chris couldn't be bothered with?

2. As a guy famous for his sexism, ain't this the ultimate boys club?

3. What's most surprising about the pic is the suggestion that Chris could have actually been even younger than he is now.

... I was going to raise a stink about how Chris landed in the limelight of the political media universe at this particular moment, but you know, with what Petraeus was allowed to get away with earlier this week, the Matthews chaser seems perfectly fitting.

The Aria of Chris Matthews (NYT Magazine)

(image: unattributed.  from Chris Matthews. caption: 1980  With President Jimmy Carter on Air Force One. Matthews is seated, lower right, next to Hendrik Hertzberg and in front of Jody Powell.  nytmes.com)

All The Ashley Alexandra Dupré That Fits To Print

Thank goodness, with everything else going on, The NYT is managing to stay abreast of Ashley Dupré.  So, what's your take?  Do you think the trashy shot they published from Ashley's MySpace page is more reflective of the woman who did you-know-what with Governor you-know-who, or do you prefer the other one, the girl-next-door?

For an Aspiring Singer, a Harsher Spotlight (NYT)
Can Spitzer Call Girl Cash In? (NYT)
Report: Spitzer Call Girl Identified (NYT)
Magazines to Spitzer Call Girl: Call Us (NYT)
Times Topic Page: Ashley Alexandra Dupré (NYT)

Which reminds me, we never got around to talking about this....

Shooting Britney (Atlantic.com)
Atlantic Assures Fans It Hasn't Sold Its Soul (Ad Age)

(image 1, 2: Ashley Alexandra Dupré, MySpace. image 3: X17 for The Atlantic)

Guilt By (Media) Association

The trial has attracted national attention because of Mr. Rezko’s relationship with Senator Barack Obama, who has not been accused of wrongdoing.
...
Although Mr. Obama is expected to have just a tangential role in the trial, his name came up in opening statements, as Mr. Duffy listed politicians whom Mr. Rezko had supported. The lawyer said.
...
Government filings have indicated that a $10,000 donation from an associate of Mr. Rezko to Mr. Obama’s Senate campaign in 2004 might have come from the money that Mr. Rezko is accused of extorting. There has been no suggestion that Mr. Obama knew anything about the source.

Snips from: Democratic Fund-Raiser’s Trial Starts in Illinois, NYT, March 7, 2008.

Last Wednesday, Glen Greenwald did a nice piece explaining the inclination of the media, not to mention the right wing, to associate Obama to Tony Rezko and his legal problems, although none has been demonstrated.  Citing the long-standing investigation aimed at the Clintons, Glen states that: " 'Rezko' is the Whitewater of the Obama campaign."

TIME's Halperin Pictures Obama As Dirty Rat

As Obama moves to respond to the "kitchen sink," Mark Halperin at TIME launches a stunningly pejorative visual preemptive strike.

The photo-illustration above appears under the foreboding headline:  HALPERIN’S TAKE: The Dangers Which Might Await Obama If He Makes Negative Attacks Central To His Campaign. (On TIME's home page, the lead reads: "Mulling Obama's Negative Strategy.")

So, what's wrong with the picture?

Well, here's the short list:  (Forgive me in advance, by the way, for failing to identify henchman #2.  I'm sure one of you will recognize him immediately.)

1.  Obama not only deserves an equal place among the likes of Atwater, Carville and Rove, but he deserves the central place.

2. Given that the source of the photo is a famous shot of the "Rat Pack," Obama reveals himself as a true rat.

3. By casting these political backstabbers as crooners, it soft-peddles their handiwork as entertainment, while at the same time, by linking Obama to Sammy Davis Jr.,
it stereotypes the lone politician in the group as just one more black guy with rhythm.

4.  Notice, by the way, how Halperin's illustration shows Obama looking down.  In the original Rat Pack photo, however, Sammy Davis Jr. was looking directly into the camera.  So, what gives?  ... The body language suggests that Obama, going negative, has too much shame to look us in the eye.  "Shame on you, Obama." ...Sound familiar?

Obama's Risk And Reward (The Page)

(photo-illustration: The Page by Mark Halperin.  March 6, 2008.  Getty Images.  thepage.time.com.  Linked original image. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. Getty Images.)