Yeah, it looks kind of inappropriate and wrong to me, but those moments happen to everybody.
Compared to the other reasons I have for disliking Bush, stuff like this isn’t even on the radar.
I’m less inclined to consider malice as a motive on the part of the photographer.
That doesn’t mean that there is no reason to assume there is no malice involved.
The editorial decision of which photograph to use can often be used to subtly manipulate reactions. If the story (and I, too, came late to this thread, so I can’t comment on the Globe story, nor the photo) wasn’t about Bush grabbing Hu, I can’t help but think that the photograph was chosen to show him in his worst possible light.
A particularly egregious example comes to mind from the 2000 election cycle. There was one of those side-by-side candidate profile things in the local (Gannett) paper about the prospective First Ladies, Tipper Gore and Laura Bush. The photograph of Tipper Gore was, rather obviously, a promotional still supplied by the Gore campaign, showing Tipper standing, with her camera being held at the ready. The lighting, clothing and make-up were all impeccable. The impression was of a woman who is extremely professional and well able to present herself with poise. The photograph of Laura Bush was a candid photograph of her at some speaking event: she was visibly sweating, the lighting was harsh, and her mouth was open. I don’t think I need to ennumerate just how badly she looked in comparison to Tipper Gore.
Both photographs are completely legitimate photographs. But the decision to publish them in contrast to each other struck me then, and still now, as particularly manipulative and malicious.
So, while I see your points, Cartooniverse, I don’t think that it’s quite as clear-cut as you imply. The photographer is not to blame, but I don’t think that the editorial staff is quite so innocent.
BTW, accusing Kytheria, a Canuck of rather liberal tendencies, of having a pro-Republican bias is a bit silly.
If I read that incident right, Bush was trying to get Hu to hold his mark. The Chinese National Anthem was going to be played immediately, and Hu was moving out of position. China’s national anthem was scheduled to follow immediately, and in the eye of the TV camera, Hu would look foolish being out in left field and a couple of levels lower than Bush. It was primarily for Hu’s benefit that Dubya did what he did.
Knowing his own mark for things like this, is the one thing Bush does right. I think it is the very last thing he’s told off stage.
Sadly, Bush has gotten just about everything else wrong in his presidency.
I agree with this. Media slant/bias is alive and well in both of our countries (and it is fascinating living in an age where we can see the same stories from so many different sources). I don’t know how much is due to the photographers (they only shoot what happens, but they can also choose what to shoot and what not to shoot), and how much is due to the person choosing the shots that fit their agenda. And if you don’t think all media has some biases, can you send me a couple hundred dollars for my sick baby?
They shoot tens, sometimes hundreds of photos before picking the one that hits the presses. Given that fact, I am perpetually amazed at how absurdly bad the average press photo can make a guy or a gal look. We know with the tabloids they deliberately pick a photo where a laughing starlet’s face looks like she’s sobbing for a microsecond, and run that photo under some headline alleging tragedy. But we don’t expect it from even the most partisan rags on the newsstands. You don’t count on them manipulating reality in such a blatant way, but then again, we never see the full roll. Condi Rice seems to be the favorite whipping girl these days. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Condi. But I’ve seen plenty of video footage of her, and on the whole she’s a reasonably normal looking person when viewed in an animated state. Nearly every photo of her I see she in the papers looks like some space alien about to suck a guy’s brain out. She’s portrayed in a way that makes the Grinch look like a dashing bon vivant. Pure unvarnished reality, a mere snapshot of time? Please.
Sometimes a mere snapshot of time is pure unvarnished reality. I think Ms. Rice is simply not very photogenic, and it can’t really be helped.
Just because she looks “normal” in full motion doesn’t mean that photo editors are consciously selecting from a small set of unflattering pictures. Lots of things look downright attractive in motion but don’t present a single static image that’s aestheticly pleasing. Many people have a passive listening attitude, and that photographs well. If you watch Condi, she’s an active listener, and her face is quite mobile as she processes what is being said.
This looks fine in person or in motion pictures, but it’s hard to photograph someone like this in a flattering way when they’re not consciously posing. You usually can’t find a “slice” that looks nice as a still, because the subject isn’t a fixed expression, it’s a motile one.
If you’ve got someone who’s thinking about what’s being said, instead of thinking about how they look for the cameras, it’s always going to be that way. No blame.
Nope, not at all. Not one iota of annoyance. I guess I’ve around long enough to separate things that should bother me and things that don’t matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Especially in cases like this when there was absolutely zero negative intent by the “perpetrator.”
Since this is IMHO … I’ve been thinking about this. What if the photo had Hu tugging on Bush? I betcha the response would’ve been how stupid Bush was to have walked off the stage and had to have someone pulled him back. I wonder how much talk there would be about Hu’s “faux pas”?
The picture is funny. That’s all I think of it.
“No, no, you’re on first!”
Try this. I don’t know if that’s the same photo that was in the original link, but it’s probably the same moment.
For the record, it looks to me like Bush was trying to get Hu’s attention as Hu walked away. Even without the benefit of the doubt, without arguments about how photos lie (which are perfectly valid), without trying to take the Big Picture into account, it still doesn’t look like Bush is manhandling the Chinese PM or otherwise doing anything remotely inappropriate.
And in case it matters, I’d vote for a talking chimp before I’d vote for any member of the Bush clan.
And if I had realized there were two pages to this thread, I would have seen that Larry Mudd already posted a link. Duh.
I despise Bush, but I have to admit you make an excellent point. Thanks for the insight, nivlac.
I wasn’t. If it appeared as such, then Kytheria you have my apologies. The media in the USA as a whole is viewed as liberal. The President is a Republican. That’s all I was saying there. 
A captioning attempt:
“Mr. Bush, don’t make me remind you who owns your country.”
I was just about to say, does anyone have any links to the picture that aren’ttime sensitive?
And there I go again, completely missing the second page of the thread for some reason. Sigh. I’ll go sit in the corner again.
Thank you, jackelope & Larry Mudd, for the pictures.
Personally, I don’t think it looks that bad. But then, I have no manners.
Oh, wait, though: the link to his faux pas on the Letterman show actually does bother me. Do you think the world is your napkin?
I’m starting to feel like a Bush apologist, which makes me feel like I need to take a shower, but has anyone here ever been on-set on a talk show? I haven’t. I wonder just how far beyond the pale of normal behavior this is on a set?
I do know they shoot the show in real-time; a two-minute commercial break = two minutes on the set to do whatever they need to do. I would think that, in such a time-sensitive environment, the cosmetic needs of people who are about to be onscreen override issues like personal propriety.
But I don’t know; anyone have any experience with this stuff? I don’t like defending Bush, but I also don’t like making snap judgments on issues and situations I don’t know anything about.
Hell, for all we know, Maria Pope turned to him right before that clip and said, “George, your glasses are dirty. Clean them on my sweater.”
Bush once wiped his glasses on the sweater of David Letterman’s producer - while on the air. Of course they replayed the tape for days.
He is such a pompous ass.