Sarah's U.N. Preview

Q.  Why did the NYT chose to run this heavy-handed, but rather obscure image -- from the Ocala (Florida) Star Banner -- to illustrate today's Bumiller piece on Palin's upcoming meeting with foreign leaders?  (Palin was in The Villages in Lady Lake, Florida on Sunday.)

A.  Perhaps because, as Sullivan insists, COUNTRY FIRST and flag-draped Palin-McCain have as good as declared war on Iran?

Speech Palin intended to give at anti-Ahmadinejah rally (also cynically associating herself with Hillary Clinton) (NY Sun)

(image: Alan Youngblood/Star-Banner.  Lady Lake, FL. September 21, 2008. Ocala.com)

Comments

[Jason]

Nice pit-stain.

[sappho]

YIKES! That's some sweat stain she's got going under her Hitler saluting right arm.

[Joey]

Anyone else see the hand gesture as a direct call out to the same gesture used in evangelical churches? This image is a ridiculously perfect expression of the way the right asks us to "believe" in America, not question it.

[MonsieurGonzo]

fwiw, whenever i see this curious banner, "COUNTRY FIRST" i cannot help but think of it as a rallying cry for Culture War. . .

. . .That being the profoundly ignorant masses living in what remains of the actual U.S. "countryside", along with those drone-like ex-urbans living in sprawl-town Metropolis incorporations -vs- that now profoundly diverse, better-educated and more aware American electorate who actually live in Cities.

Quite literally: a clash of highway -vs- highrise cultures; rather than the more simplistic, (and U.S. media narrative-driven) interpretations of "ethnic, sectarian, gender or class conflict".

[jtfromBC]

As sweat spots spread on this 'desert outfit' transforming it magically into military fatigues, remove shoulder epaulets, add three stripes, a parade square , raise voices and right hands to Sergeant Sarah's command : Hail to the new Commander in Chief, Captain John Sidney McCain III.

[onesentence]

too easy.

[demit]

I'm remembering that old ad campaign for the deodorant: "Raise your hand if you're Sure."

Every new photo I see of Palin makes me more aware of the sneer. I think her initial appeal is wearing thin, as people see more and more of her hard edge. And that nostrils-flaring sneer.

[zatopa]

Wow ... she's even wearing a khaki jacket. The McCain camp needs to keep a little tighter rein on their image variables ... isn't Karl on retainer for these guys?

[donna]

Seig Heil!

Got mittens?

[Amy]

Beauty, charisma, and unquestioning willingness to read the words they put in front of her; be they lies or truth is no matter for concern so long as they advance the agenda.

[NoContest]

Palin's ego-fired hubris is building by the hour. I'll tell you what happens when these archetypes get so hyper-inflated. They explode. Live by the mouth, die by the mouth. It is coming. We are all anxiously awaiting the fireworks show.

[Kris T]

Interestingly, both visible flags are blurred. The stars behind Palin look like hexagonal bubbles that are trying to escape their blue boundary. The four blurred red stripes are surprisingly thin and line-up with and match the red, cherry-bomb cheeks of Ms. Palin. The little flag in the foreground also has the thin red stripes with the little patch of blue looking so very small while being waved. What is it about the star on their banner that reminds me more of cub scouts than America? The five-pointed star vs. the blurred hexagons vs. the button on the breast pocket vs. the shadow of the invisible frames. I see the hand as more evangelical than seig heil. Doing the work of God's plan, hallelujah!

[croatoan]

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." -- Sinclair Lewis

[susan]

Sarah is beginning to sweat.

[Gasho]

shallow depth of field.
..great effect photographically and not bad in terms of accuracy with this subject.

I couldn't agree more with NoContest... she's gonna fly off the handle and cause a train wreck for McSame.

[dogfood]

I guess she didn't know it can get hot in Florida.

[Kit (Keep It Trill)]

Sarah Palin once said that she expects to see the Second Coming in her lifetime. This makes her the perfect puppet for the neocon agenda of sending Iran back into the pre-industrial stage of living, and the oil men's agenda of controlling Middle East oil and dollar hegemony. In this regard, Palin is the perfect puppet. Tie a little string to her right arm in the pic and she'd look like one, not that she really needs any help.

[ketura]

Re the choice of jacket -- I agree with all the comments here except I think the beige (not khaki) is a deliberate, though unsuccessful attempt to sell her as, quite literally, neutral. That is, someone who will be seen as moderate and middle-of-the road to the swing voters she and McCain so desperately need. I have no question that the handlers are trying to use her image to sell her in a particular way; it's just that this photo is proof that you don't always, or even usually, have control on the image. Imagine the same hand gesture, sweat and sneer on her wearing a bright red jacket instead, and what do you get then?

[Quiet Jim]

OK I'm awake now. Thanks for scaring the spit out of me. If these nut jobs somehow get elected Iran gov would be wise to adopt their version of the Bush Doctrine.

[Michael Dodson]

To Joey: You hit the bullseye when you asked, "Anyone else see the hand gesture as a direct call out to the same gesture used in evangelical churches?" I grew up attending Assembly of God and Pentecostal Holiness (the even less sophisticated version of the AG) churches in Oklahoma and Louisiana in the 50s and 60s. The slight backward tilt of the upraised hand is the PRECISE gesture used in praise and testimony during services in these churches. When I look at this photo, my visceral identification of it is not of a political rally but, rather, an evangelical church service - more precisely, the altar call portion fo said service.