Sunday, July 20, 2008

Obama in Afghanistan


I've seen some of the photos with the troops. A lot of them actually. No one is saying it overtly, but I can imagine this is not what Obama is wanting in a photo Op. as a matter of fact, it can be said it is somewhat exactly what he's avoided in photo ops over the last year. I expect them to be used in the future in some way.

That unpleasantness aside, the coverage is more akin to a state visit from a president rather than a nominee, which makes all this more bizarre. Nominees generally try VERY hard not to go abroad during Presidential campaigns. I'm not saying its a bad idea, but they don't do it because SOMEBODY thinks its a bad idea. I am concerned that all this adulation will create some backlash...as if the press has anointed him our President/Pope.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the problem with this photo op? The troops look happy to see him. I'm not sure what the problem is.

Polly said...

the initial photos seemed to have a few white women, latinos, and overwhelmingly black crowds among the troops. it was in every photo. now that he's traveled more, the photos are more diverse. Even the daily show, showing the excited soldier crowd, was such a long shot you couldn't see the make-up of the crowd. i don't think this is a problem in and of it's self, but i did forsee this as fuel for a new batch of racist emails about Obama. on the websites where you could post comments on the photos, or below the photos, there was already a buzz about this. Evidently the trip has gone pretty well though. now he needs to stay clear of making the public feel the press hasn't already crowned him. I mean, the US has only one king--King George.