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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Picture of the Day


(Sarah Palin doing debate prep outside one of McCain's Arizona homes. (Released by the campaign.))

This is their picture. Why would they release this along with a narrative of the "serenity" of a babbling brook?

They're not showing her "working hard." They're showing this.

("Let's hold class outside today....")

6 Comments:

  • This is a weird shot.

    First of all it's shot with a wide angle lens with Palin in the background. This exaggerated perspective makes Palin appear smaller than natural.

    The podiums are probably identical in this shot and thus adds to the effect of Palin's diminutive stature. This won't be the case in the debate, I'm sure, since there's usually stage-craft employed to make the participants appear as physically equal as possible. (Sarah won't have to stand on tip-toe to reach the microphone).

    The "serenity"... the babbling brook... the green lawn... the shady trees... the whole subliminal Zen vibe of the shot is a little New Agey... Almost a "tree hugger" look to it.

    You'd figure as long as they were staging a shot for the fans they'd go the whole fieldstone fireplace, rifle on the mantle, hunting lodge thing... Maybe a polar bear skin rug between the podiums and Sarah wearing a blaze orange vest... You know?

    I'm stumped as to what the McCain campaign is trying to say with this shot.

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:26 AM  

  • Good point about the smaller than normal. (Expectations?)

    As for the setting, I think they went for "outdoorsy" to try and emphasize that she's not regular. trying to hit that "she's raw because she's frontier" thing.

    But, yeah. When your VP is considered a lightwieght why not show her diligently at work.

    Why show "Let's hold class outside today."

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 8:32 AM  

  • "Let's hold class outside today."

    HA! I laughed out loud at this... I just had a flash back to 7th grade!

    As I think you're (we're) saying Outdoorsy is one thing... But this looks like Miss Sarah's lawn party... sorta.

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:38 AM  

  • Maybe they want to frame her preparation as a relaxed affair as opposed to the all-night cram session that it actually is.

    They want to de-emphasize how much work she needs.

    Just a theory

    By Blogger Praguetwin, at 8:45 AM  

  • Yeah, maybe they're after "Western White House."

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 8:46 AM  

  • Still, the composition of the image is unflattering to Palin... Unless you're trying to portray her as a fragile puppy. (Or yapping chihuahua at the big bad man?)

    I dunno. It's just a bad photograph, regardless of political "messaging."

    By Blogger -epm, at 8:54 AM  

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