Right here, that's it, this is the most significant photo taken in the year 2007. Think it will win a Pullitzer? Whichever photog snapped this photo effectively ended Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
There's no recovering from that, image isn't everything, but it counts for a lot, and her image in that photo isn't the image most Americans would want us to project as a nation. You don't have to be wrinkle free to be president, but you can't look haggard and bedraggled, either.
Drudge captioned it "The Toll of the Campaign", but campaigning as arduous as it is, is still nothing compared to the toll that actually serving in the roll these folks hope to fill. Sen. Clinton has had some scary pictures in the past, but none have escaped that looked like this one.
She's done, whether or not the intention of the person behind the lens was to alter the path of the election or not, that's what this snap will do. She may have been too negative, too managed, and too divisive to ever convince the primary voters to choose her. So her winning was far from assured, but just as the "Dean Scream" solidified the concept of Gov. Dean that many voters already had of him, and just pushed away a ton of undecided voters, this photo will turn off the people who were on the fence regarding Hillary.
In some ways, she's lucky the writer's strike is still going on. If all the Late Night talk shows were ongoing, you know they would have had a bit of fun at her expense with regards to that photo, thus exposing this image to the millions of folks who don't read Drudge daily or have yet to begin really paying much attention to the campaign. Even the Daily Show probably would have piled on (given Stewart's fawning during Sen. Obama's appearance, they seem like they're in Camp Obama rather than Camp Clinton).
Maybe it won't have the impact I'm expecting, maybe I'm shallower than the Democratic Primary and Caucus voters, but somehow I doubt it.
18 comments:
this photo will turn off the people who were on the fence regarding Hillary.
No, this post will only turn off people who were on the fence regarding you.
And I'm no Hillary supporter. There are plenty of substantive reasons to vote against her. You are shallower than I had any idea.
The fact is the majority of the US voting population is shallow so this blog is absolutely correct.
I thought the exact same thing when I saw it this morning on drudge.
The voting population in this country are idiots. We saw that the last time around. If there is some purpose to this post I wish one could explain what it is. You people may just have won her the votes of all women her age. Lighting and make-up does wonders. That is what she looks like. That is what every woman her age looks like.
Wow, what a profound post.
Amba, I think you're possibly being unfair to X here. I'm not sure he's happy that this will negatively impact her campaign or that he believes it should; I think he's saying that it will because the American electorate judges women on their looks, and most people will not associate that picture with how they think of America.
Right or wrong, our culture is obsessed with youth and beauty.
The idea that this photo will impact votes for or against Hillary is absurd. Bloggers assume that the majority of the voting public is in their thrall, but for the most part--the stuff that shows up on Drudge, Kos, etc... are inside baseball. Maybe if The Daily Show were around and they showed it, you'd have a case. Step out of the echo chamber once in a while.
WOOOOOWWWW…
Do men (and women) want this face to be on TV, newspaper and all over the media for the next four or eight years telling you to do this and do that, and preaching that men should be more like women and other her feminists nonsense? Do we REALLY want that?
In Asia (and many other parts of the world) people say that the face gives insights to the inner mind of the people. Hillary looks OLD (indeed really, really OLD) in the picture, but it’s not just being old that make most people feel awfully disgusted. I think the picture shows a true FACE of a person (happens to be a woman, yeah!) who have been pursuing unbridled power and control over other people, a true face of radical gender feminist warrior and petit-totalitarianist.
As a Democrat, this really pumps me up. This is all the right has, no issues, no ideas, just the fact that a 60 year old women looks 60. Going into an election year and the right has nothing.
"You are shallower than I had any idea."
Amba, I think you're being too kind. My first thought was, "What an assmonkey, what a shallow jackass of an assmonkey."
Nice Photoshop job.
I can do this with Photoshop as well.
Some people may believe that it is not 'shopped, but those of us who do this for a living KNOW that it is!
Personally, I don't like Senator Clinton either, but resorting to Photoshop tricks, is just plain low!
You have to be joking if that is your "photograph of 2007", what are you in high school? Other countries have had women leaders including England and their citizens seemed to survive having to look at these women "age". What a joke.
If this photo would keep you from voting for Hillary which flattering photo made you vote for the monkey??
"You don't have to be wrinkle free to be president, but you can't look haggard and bedraggled, either."
Christ, then what about the animated corpses of Thompson and McCain?
That's not Hillary! That's her mother who was campaigning with her in Iowa!
Even though feminists still want to spin this to their advantage as much as possible; e.g. this is a new female face of power, people should challenge their inner unconscious sexism that make them want to vomit to this image and instead embrace it, need a sensitivity training to old female leaders’ faces or the society is generally hard on women because of sexism and this was the result, etc. etc., the undeniable fact throughout history is that people prefer younger, fresh-looking face over tired, exhausted, senile face.
Why did Nixon lose to Kennedy in 1960? Is it sexism against men? Why Ronald Reagan had to wear make up in front of camera? Do face and style never matter in politics? What, are you living in 19th century? Managing and projecting good (and young, fresh) images is an important pillar of modern-day political campaigning. That’s why many campaigns hire scores of image consultants, stylists, etc. But when a woman stumbles on this one time, and all of a sudden there is huge cry of sexism?
to Pat, yes maybe it's her mother, who is 8X years old!! That WOMAN in the picture indeed looks that old, doesn't she?!
I am a 60 year old man, and when it is cold & I am tired, I dont look so good. I think if Bill thinke she is ok, that's the way I think of her, you go girl!!!.
Excuse me? And John McCain or Fred "I'm tired, I think I'll go home now*" Thompson are your image of candidates that aged gracefully? I'd rather watch a president grow old in office than DIE in office!
This is typical right wingnut mentality...never a substantive argument, just the casting of aspersions.
If that's all they got...Bring it on!
*Forrest Gump
Did anyone get a photo of Randy Rudi going to the hospital this morning?
patchandlersblog.com
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