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Obama's Awkward Group Photo
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Bush is photographed aboard (gulp) an aircraft carrier, while Obama's staff is in full genital protection mode.
(Interior blogger monologue: “I will NOT mention Sarah Palin in this posting… I will NOT mention Sarah Palin in this posting … I will NOT mention Sarah Palin in this posting. I will N--
Sarah Palin was in fine form at last week’s Republican Governors confe—
(We interrupt this posting. Mr. Buckley is being medicated. His post will resume shortly.)
There were some interesting photo ops last week. “Photo op” is, of course, the snappy abbreviation for “photo opportunity,” a late 20th-century coinage and one of the more curious phrases in the American language. Essentially, it means making politician or celebrity available for publicity. There is an implied suggestion of generosity. We’d really much rather not be photographed standing in front of Air Force One, or on this red carpet, but if you insist. I am a river to my people.
All of Obama’s advisors stood with appropriate rigidity, their hands folded—over their groins.
I first heard the phrase while working as a low-level ink-stained wretch in the White House in the early ‘80s—before you were born. It was there that I also heard other code-phrases: “drop-by,” “grip ‘n grin,” and “meet ‘n greet.” Respectively, these mean: dropping by a, say, reception but not staying long enough to get drunk; shaking hands of donors in order to provide them with a photo op (see above) so they can mount the resulting photo on their office wall in order to promulgate an exaggerated suggestion of intimacy. It is at a “meet ‘n greet” where one normally first encounters the prospective donors who with luck, will ascend to the Valhalla of the “grin ‘n grin.” Such are the f-stops on what Disraeli called “the greasy pole.” But to the photo ops….
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On Veterans Day, President Bush spoke on the deck of the freshly-renovated USS Intrepid in New York. He spoke briefly, demurely and filially. “Veterans have inspired me. I was raised by a veteran.” Indeed he was—by one who flew missions during World War II, not off this deck, but off similar ones.
In one of those strange coincidences that America provides in almost gaudy abundance, President Bush’s Republican opponent in 2000 had flown missions off this very deck, as a freshly-minted Naval aviator, or “nugget,” in the parlance. His father, Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., commanded all Navy forces during the Vietnam War, including this very ship. His father, Admiral John S. “Slew” McCain, had commanded Carrier Task Force 38 during the final battles of World War II. The Intrepid was one of those ships, surviving among other things, a kamikaze strike.
The embedded irony of Mr. Bush’s appearance was that aircraft carriers have not always been the most congenial of venues for him, in particular the USS Lincoln. That ship is of course named for an Illinois legislator who became president at a troubled time and went on to emancipate the slaves, ultimately paving the way for the election of another Illinois legislator to the U.S. presidency. It was from the superstructure of the Lincoln that the now-infamous banner “Mission Accomplished” was draped when the President flew aboard one day in May 2003 to proclaim victory in Iraq. That bit of staging was effected by White House aides (peekabo, Karl), not, as subsequent spin had it once it had become clear that the mission was very far from accomplished, by the Lincoln’s over-enthusiastic sailors. Mr. Bush may not have uttered the actual words “Mission Accomplished” in his speech that day, but the phrase will forever adhere to his presidency and to his place in history.
Turning from the sublime (as it were) to the non-sublime: on Saturday, November 8, there was the wide -angle photo of Page One of The New York Times. President-elect Obama was presenting his “brain trust” to the nation—that is, the two dozen or so smart people who are going to figure out how to bring about change we can believe in. Let us hope they are all very brainy. We’re going to need a whole lot of brain matter in the days ahead.
But what was most apparent to your Beast correspondent was the body language. All the men, save for the one at the podium (P-E Obama) and the man to his left, stood with appropriate rigidity. One must hold oneself erect in the presence of the President-elect. All of them stand with their hands folded—over their groins. What’s going on here? Hear no evil, speak no evil, pee no evil?
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Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
What's Joe's Problem?
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Geithner's Stock Plummeting
Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Lessons from Another War
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
It's Time for Us to Go
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
A Prize Too Far
Christopher Buckley's books include Supreme Courtship, The White House Mess, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, and Florence of Arabia. He was chief speechwriter for Vice President George H.W. Bush, and is editor-at-large of ForbesLife magazine. His new book is Losing Mum and Pup, a memoir. Buckley's Daily Beast column is the winner of an Online Journalism Award in the category of Online Commentary.
Where's the photo?
Somewhere back in forgotten history is the man who first brought the word "dumbf$%^ery" into popular usage. Mr. Buckley's use of the word "cacahuetes" here may accomplish a similar civic good--giving us a handy tool to explain something fundamental about politicians.
Mr Buckley, I'm a new fan, and I gotta tell'ya, I'm in love! It's taken less than four of your blogs, and I'm head over heels.
Your writings make me smile, make me laugh, make me ponder, make me reflect. They are superb!
I thank God you left the NRO, after endorsing our PE Obama, or I'd probably never had gotten to read you as much. I'm now catching up with all your publications, buying your books and searching for past articles. You are now officially my favorite writer/satirist! Thank you!
What about Obama's body language during the 60 Minutes interview? Legs splayed. Sometimes hands covering crotch; sometimes hands on thighs; sometimes hand holding Michelle's.
Also enjoyed watching Michelle's body language. She leans into Barack. Their hands find each other. Barack leaned into her except when he spoke about football. That's when they both visibly separated. Sports is NOT something they share. But, I think that's the only thing. They can't hide their respect and love for one another and their family. That's refreshing to see.
Mr. Buckley seems to have expanded his readership. And all it took was his support of Obama.
If that's not worthy of satire, I don't know what is!
In May 2003 I was working at a boring factory job, listening to talk radio, trying to stay awake.
G. Gordon Liddy's show was on and the whole theme of the show was about how good the President looked on the "Mission Accomplished" deck. He was particularly enthralled with the President's "package". He insisted that the women of the world would rise up and kill those terrorists because the sight of the President's "package" would inspire them so much.
He carried on about President Bush's "package" for about a week, night after night. I can never hear about the "Mission Accomplished" speech without thinking about Gordon Liddy's admiration of the President's package. As a woman, I failed to see much there and never did take up arms against the terrorists.
I was a fan of William's witty essays, and am now a fan of Christo's. I'm also an Eisenhower Republican who, in the nutty Reagan neo con aftermath, is now regarded as an Obama left liberal!
Thanks for the smiles and forebodings....
charlie
Lets just hope that this isn't a case of yet another Dickens Classic unfolding here, with Rahm obviously playing the role of 'it was the best of times' and the rest playing the 'supporting role' of 'and it was the worst of times'.
This whole thing seems slightly nuts. Had the gents in the photo had their hands in their pockets, they would have been pegged for miscreants. It's a real problem trying to decide what to do with your hands when you can't rest them on a lectern. That's why the President always gets the covered spot.
Personally, I like the little finger flick that Palin does with her left hand when she's brushing off a reporter's point -- or was that just her way of teasing Wolf Blitzer?
No that I look at this photo again, Rhambo reminds me of Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. If this WH thing doesn't work out, maybe brother Ari can get him a gig in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, do you think that Palin expensed that ALASKA pin she wears?
As a photographer, we have always called the above pose - men standing with their hands clasped in front of their groins - as "A Nutgrabber".
Excellent post, as always, Mr. Buckley. By the way, it sounds like you started a trend at NR, as David Frum is on his way out too...
I did get a kick out of Rahm Emanuel's posture in that pic. Something tells me we are in for a fun four years with that guy in the White House. Can't wait.
CrabbyTominMD: not to belabor the Palin talk (sorry, editor), but that was some pin, eh? Certainly gets the point across about her devotion to Alaska...
It looks like Rahm is gonna bust a move (Mexican hat dance, or that Russian hip-hop thing). The guys in the back are ready to start bobbing up & down. Obama is doing his best Groucho imitation ("I once shot an elephant in my pajamas....").
You think that is bad, what about this?
...What *is* that pink thing hanging 8 inches below obama's jacket. The legs spread, the hands coyly protective. OMG.
LOL when I saw the press conference I thought Rahm stood too close to Obama almost like a body guard.
That anyone ever considered that overly enthusiastic sailors were responsible for the "Mission Accomplished" banner shows how little the general public and the scribbling drones and TV chatterheads know about sailors. Sailors are enthusiastic about shore leave, drinking and not much else. Besides, did these sailors just happen to have access to a wide format vinyl printer stowed away in the bosun's locker, was there a Kinkos down somewhere below the flight deck?
I wanted to ask how I could get a prescription however, the medication must have been illegal. Fast effect but too short lived and probably too addictive. Thank goodness (GMCaeser) we don't have that elephant in our pajamas anymore.
Bonus Question: What book is Mr. Buckley referring to in this line?
"Hiding their candy, as the Lady Chablis used to say. Well, I suppose I would too, if I were being thrown to the Washington press corps."
:)
"The Borgen Project has some good info on the cost of addressing global poverty.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
$540 billion: Annual U.S. Defense Budget."
I worked many years in the production office of small newspaper. It was common knowledge how men would stand in a group photo- white men have their hands clasped in front, and black guys would stand with their hands on their hips. We had stacked and stacks of the same stance repeated in various circumstances - so obvious once you notice it.
LOL!
LOL - I love Mr. Buckley's sense of humour.
Abelard:
Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah
By Lady Chablis, Theodore Bouloukos, John Berendt
http://snipr.com/5qdwj [books_google_com]
The Beast is so darn great. Keep up the good work, all of you. And tell the web designers they kick ass. I love the usability and layout of this site.
However, the photo attached to this story doesn't work for me either. It kind of pops up a tiny version of the photo at the top of my screen.
Thank you.
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