I think the story behind the Dean pic is this: The caption is "Dean's sharp tongue could hurt him." So they ran a picture in which you can see his tongue.
(The article is a cheap shot, though. Bill Clinton is not the DLC, so it's silly to say that Dean's attack on the DLC was an attack on Clinton; and it's hair-splitting to say that Dean should make fun of senior DLC officials instead of the DLC. So Saletan winds up with exactly zero cases in which Dean makes fun of someone who doesn't deserve it.)
I think prudence would have dictated that, in the absence of a decent "tongue out' picture (an absence that's not hard to understand), they woud run a normal picture instead. So much for prudence.
As for the article, it was another Saletan on a deadline piece, which is to say, glib and unenlightening. Sometimes he's very good, but lately, it seems he can't keep up.
I think prudence would have dictated that, in the absence of a decent "tongue out' picture [...] they woud run a normal picture instead.
Oh, absolutely. I'm not sure about the actual impact of the picture. I thought it made Dean look goofy and entertaining. That would be good for Dean if the developing storyline is "Dean is sour and pessimistic," bad if it's "Dean isn't presidential." But whichever, you're right on the main point--you could find a picture to prove anything.
Like this page (via poor man), which does bring the fair and balanced with a picture that doesn't look like a chimp at all.
However: Pictures of Dick Cheney that make him look like a scary monster are not unfair. He does look like that. The taxidermist did a terrible job.
omg. LMAO at the kerry picture. that was a classic shot, but yeah, editors should have exercised some restraint.
Wow. That first paragraph by Carol Lloyd has caused me, for the first time, to think about Monica in an ertoisized way. Those are some sexy sentences.
More on topic, sure you can show anyone acting stupid with a photo, but if you do, does anyone really care on any sort of meaningful level? Sure, people will laugh or giggle, but the links here have barely even scratched the surface of the photos of Shrub looking stupid, and it doesn't seem to have done him much harm. I just think it's silly to presume that showing people a picture of a guy acting foolish for a brief camera-flash is going to change anyone's mind. Anyway, the opening quote of the artcle suggests to me that the photo was chosen in levity - if Dean can have a little fun at W's expense, then he should resonably expect others to do a little of the same.
