The third and final debate between the 2008 U.S. presidential nominees had just ended. Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama and Republican nominee Senator John McCain had just shaken hands moments before and turned away from each other, when Senator McCain suddenly lunged forward with his hands out in front of him and stuck out his tongue.
It appeared to me that McCain was reacting to moderator Bob Schieffer informing him that he was headed the wrong way off the stage, that he was not supposed to be following Senator Obama, but was supposed to be heading towards his own wife and family around the other side of the table.
In any case, when I saw McCain lunge and his hands start to come up I hit the shutter and made two frames before it was over. Some other photographers who were there expressed surprise when they saw my picture and said they had never seen it happen at all and asked when it had occurred. When I saw the television tape of it later on the news I too was surprised at how momentary and fast the move by Senator McCain was. Strangely enough Senator McCain again stuck his tongue out in a similar way 3-4 minutes later while standing between his wife Cindy and Senator Obama at the front of the stage, a moment captured by my colleague Shannon Stapleton and other wire service photographers in attendance and once again shown on national and international television.
The picture, as with all my pictures that night, was remotely edited by an editor off site, viewing my pictures as I shot them over the internet and working with other editors who processed and captioned the pictures along with photos from the other three Reuters photographers shooting the debate. This photo was just one of 40 of my pictures that were transmitted on the Reuters wire from this debate and one of more than 100 from our crew of photographers, which included Gary Hershorn, Shannon Stapleton, Jim Young and Carlos Barria.
By the time I got back to my hotel room that night people were already discussing the photo on the internet and by the next morning my email inbox was filling with messages about the picture. Some people complimented me on the photo while others strongly criticized both myself and Reuters for shooting and transmitting a news photo of a very public moment that had taken place in front of more than 60 million television viewers at the culmination of a major and historic public event.
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@Howard Smith
“As a photographer and editor, I would never have transmitted this image. I would consider this image defamatory, and transmitting it an act of malice….”
Please. There are hundreds of photographs of Bush, Clinton, Obama and others, making all kinds of odd faces. What kind of new censorship do you suggest? Preventing pictures of the Coffins from Iraq from reaching the light of day because it may make certain individuals “look bad”? Would you attempt to ban “The Tiananmen Square” picture and the photo of “Thich Quang Duc the Buddhist monk” because you would consider them “politically biased?” In your world, the photo of “Phan Thị Kim Phúc” would be an “act of malice” because she was nude. Get a life.
- Posted by LOLImagine that McCain won the presidency. Now imagine that the man on the left is Vladamir Putin (or Medvedev). Now imagine what people around the world might think. Exactly.
- Posted by flyguyYou’ll notice if you’ve followed McCain for any length of time, whenever something funny happens or he makes a joke he smiles or makes a funny face and puts his tongue out. it’s one of his mannerisms. He also makes jokes when he is nervous, sometimes very well other times poorly. He’s an easy to read man, when he acts angry it’s usually pretty scripted but when he jokes or makes faces it’s cause he’s nervous or if he makes faces after a joke it’s cause he’s afraid people didn’t get it or it wasn’t funny enough. In this case he was simply caught in a mistake and made his ” der-duh-der” face.
- Posted by anonIt’s just McCain clowning, making fun of himself. “Oh, I was supposed to leave the stage the other way? HURRRR!”
That’s all it is. He didn’t have a minor stroke or something.
Is it appropriate for him to be acting silly in that context?
Maybe. Maybe not.
- Posted by JollyIt seems that ol John’s true feelings show quite often - especially during the debates.
It is a shame that we cannot know what he was thinking during this “McCain Moment” but I would bet it was something like —
“That One”, is “Senator Government” and I just cannot bear to speak with him since he is so far out in Left Field.
- Posted by EdHoward, I have to ask:
How is a photo that has not been manipulated defamatory? It is a visual record of what was there to be recorded. It’s not false.
- Posted by ObscureRe: Howard Smith
You know the best defense against defamation is truth, right? The plain, unvarnished, tongue-hanging truth.
To the photographer: excellent shot. Probably harder than getting a hovering hummingbird.
- Posted by Eleutheriacome on, people. you’ve all got to quit making such a big deal of things. if i could count the number of goofy faces and actions i’ve made in front of people, id be here a whiles doing so.
in all honesty, id prefer to see our politicians acting goofy sometimes. it lets you know the burdens of modern society haven’t killed their souls.
- Posted by chris s.well its can be a gimmick to get a sympathic vote, but its not the actions but the words which warn all of us. The underdog can also bite, therefore treat McCain with care, for never measure a snake with a without pinning its head down, for otherwise it might attack thinking its protecting itself from harm.
- Posted by JaneCameras have a well-known liberal bias.
- Posted by Steve BGood or bad politically, this shot is one heck of a capture. Jim, I’d say that you did the right thing transmitting this image. It\’s stirring dialog and debate, both critical to a democracy.
Congrats on a once in a lifetime capture.
- Posted by EdieTo me, the photo looks like John McCain tripped or stumbled and his extension of his arms was to brace himself on Senator Obama in case he (McCain) fell forward. Actually it is a a funny photograph. Almost a perfect photo for Halloween!! You know, an enlarged photo (of only Senator McCain) on your front door for the trick or treaters. I’m not being mean, I just found this extremely funny. Am glad he did not fall and hurt himself.
- Posted by NinaKThe picture definitely shows some abnormal response and should be of major concern. Even if McCain stuck out his tongue and hands deliberately, it would still be a very very strange action for a supposedly professional person in a professional situation. Something is very wrong here.
- Posted by KathyJTongue-thrusts are a common symptom in patients using psychotropic, neuroleptic, antidepressants. Is it possible that the Republican Nominee is taking this type of medication?
- Posted by Anthony AC’mon people, it’s just a funny, out-of-context picture. I can’t take a good picture to save my life even though a few people (aside from my mom) have accused me of being attractive.
“Mmmmmmm, Democrats.” (My suggestion for a caption.)
- Posted by AmySee the YouTube video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpsdKUQ1n KA
for one person’s perspective on how you can make a decision to support Obama AND vote for John McCain. Feel free to forward this to any “undecided” voters you know of. This will be a VERY close election and we need every single vote we can get.
Demonizing Obama will get us a few votes (and also lose us at least a few votes) but I hope that a rational, positive thought process will persuade a few people who are still on the fence.
Regards,
Dan
- Posted by Dan Rust[...] Bourg, el autor de la foto, explica en el blog de Reuters que compartió la foto con algunos colegas cuando sólo habían transcurrido unos minutos desde su [...]
- Posted by Sobre la extraña foto de McCain (y su lengua) « Todo lo que veo[...] From the Reuters photographer who took the ‘Zombie McCain’ shot:: By the time I got back to my hotel room that night people were already discussing the photo on the internet and by the next morning my email inbox was filling with messages about the picture. Some people complimented me on the photo while others strongly criticized both myself and Reuters for shooting and transmitting a news photo of a very public moment that had taken place in front of more than 60 million television viewers at the culmination of a major and historic public event. [...]
- Posted by eclecticism » Blog Archive » Links for October 17th from 09:54 to 16:37I have to side with the critics. As a photographer and editor, I would never have transmitted this image. I would consider this image defamatory, and transmitting it an act of malice. It looks like an attempt to embarrass Senator McCain, not provide “fair presentation” as required by the Reuters editorial handbook. The cropped version of the image that appears on Yahoo News is better, but not by much.
The photo is a misrepresentation of what was happening at the time. Without reading the caption it appears that Senator McCain is about to grab Senator Obama’s posterior, not react to a person who is not in the frame. The photo should be able to stand on it’s own without the caption, something that this photos does not do.
Writers are often criticized for taking quotes out of context, this image is a moment in time taken out of context.
The only use I have found of the photo on the internet using a search in Google News is at a French web site that is critical of the image an puts it in context by playing video of the debate showing the action.
http://www.rue89.com/campagnes-damerique /2008/10/16/pourquoi-mccain-fait-la-gri mace-apres-son-debat-avec-obama
I am also critical of the caption, as you are only guessing as to why Senator McCain is reacting the way he is.
I realize that as a photographer you are looking for the unguarded moment to try and make a revealing photo of a person, but this can only be seen as an attempt to embarrass and discredit.
Howard Smith
- Posted by Howard SmithIt’s said ‘the camera never lies’, but it can be very cruel - tho’ funny! As an Obama fan, it nevertheless makes me feel sorry for McCain - could it result in sympathy votes for the underdog?
- Posted by Diana