November 16, 2012

The Other Side Of That Victory Hug

from Julia Turner at Slate:




The Other Side of That Victory Hug: A New Photo Shows How Michelle Liked It

When Barack Obama won re-election, his campaign tweeted out a photo of him and Michelle hugging, along with the phrase “Four more years.” The image quickly went viral, breaking records on Twitter and Facebook, and last week Behold spoke to campaign photographer Scout Tufankjian about how she got that shot.

Tufankjian wasn’t the only one shooting at that August rally in Iowa. Photographer David Burnett was there too, shooting for People, and when the now-famous hug took place, he was standing on the far edge of the stage, opposite where Tufankjian was located. He snapped a photo that shows us the other side of the first couple’s embrace. (Luckily, Michelle looks just as happy as her husband to be seeing her spouse for the first time in a few days.)

. . . Burnett notes the serendipity of his shot: “Most often there are situations where photographers are standing almost next to each other, and one gets the picture, and the others don't. And even in places where there is a limit to how much running around you can do to find the best angle, there will be places, moments where ‘the picture’ happens and no one at the time is aware of it. … You need that combination of vision, reaction, and intuition to anticipate what might happen and how it will look. Therein lies both the joy and the sorrow.”

“One other note on this picture,” Burnett adds. “There were something like 10,000 people present at the rally, but it seems there is always the possibility of a picture which, while taken in the middle of a small town, looks as quiet and removed as if it were alone in the desert. That's the magic of photography, finding those telling moments amid the tumult.”


read: http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2012/11/16/most_liked_photo_of_all_time_michelle_and_obama_s_victory_hug_from_the_other.html

October 28, 2012

United In Nashua

The Obama Diary ?@TheObamaDiary

United #Obama2012 (Nashua, Oct 27) http://vote.barackobama.com/en/ pic.twitter.com/Ct3CQ21i




The crowd says the Pledge of Allegiance before seeing President Obama speak at Elm Street Middle School in Nashua on Saturday, October 27, 2012. (nashuatelegraph)

October 25, 2012

Soak it up folks. For better or worse (likely for better) these are amazing times

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We are on the verge of re-electing our historic and transformational Democratic president. History will look back with pride and with wonder at the audaciousness of our efforts: We'll look back with pride and satisfaction that we stood and fought, resolved, to propel our progressive destiny into the future; firmly behind this remarkable and capable man.

Whatever else that we win or lose, we've made our mark on American history in a way that will roil the tradition and practice of generations of political aspirants and enthusiasts to come. Despite our differences; despite our setbacks, failures, and disappointments; we're still united behind one principle; one guiding aspiration from our Organizer-in-Chief: Hope. Hope for the future, in all that we endeavor to accomplish in our advocacy, activism, and participation in the processes of government.

Here's to US, in these amazing times, DU! Cheers, and (in the days and years ahead) best of luck to us all!

October 12, 2012

Can we see the futility now in expecting our Democrats to get credit in these debates?

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Having bought way into the media narrative about an Obama 'loss' in the last debate, there's no bottom; no end to the over-the-top criticisms of the president's 'performance,' and using that gripe to brush past the truth and substance of his remarks and responses to Romney's lies.

Now that we've had a clear rout of the pipsqueak, Ryan, by our experienced and seasoned VP Biden, it should come as no surprise that the second-half of the prevaricating republican ticket is given enough of a pass by pundits on his own obvious and easily proven lies to declare his performance equal with his weighty rival.

Folks who thought it was a good idea to give Romney ANY credit at all for that Greek dodge of a debate act of his, are stuck with Romney's media allies and apologists declaring that the excellent fight Joe Biden waged was some kind of 'damage control' for the last debate, instead of judging his debate with Ryan on its own merits.

Any fine point critics wanted to make about the President's debate -- or any fine point about the substance of Romney's myriad of lies and distortions -- will NEVER overcome the satisfaction the media and their conservative minions get from having folks (who are dead set against them and their republican nominees) running down their own candidate because of complaints about superficial issues and theatrics. Just listen to the right-wing critics complaining about the theater of VP's performance; all with the expressed purpose of obscuring the fact that Ryan couldn't hold his own on the facts of his own ticket's positions and initiatives; much less challenge Joe Biden on the actual substance of his responses.

Running our candidate down using theatrics and performance as benchmarks is a fools game designed by folks who are eager to distract from substance and truth. We should brush right past all of that and spend whatever window of opportunity we have to pass judgment on these debates criticizing the substance, rather than the cosmetics. Substance is what we want to be known for.

The theater will adjust itself according to the merits of our Democratic candidate's proposals; especially if we can manage to get behind them; brush past the petty criticisms; and add our voices to those actually care more about what was said, more than how it was delivered. Any other attitude by folks working to elect this President just surrenders that focus to the dilettantes and their deliberate fudging of the facts and truth of what's been said. The equalizing going on this morning of these two mismatched opponent's performances by the majority of the media proves that, without a doubt; joining their chorus is a fool's errand -- plain and simple.

October 11, 2012

The Press Can't Handle the Truth

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What actual good is a press which treats folks they call liars as legitimate and credible?

There are plenty of good articles about the campaign of lies that the Romney campaign has adopted as its primary strategy against President Obama. In them, Romney's deliberate lies, half-truths, and other mendacious statements are detailed and confirmed. Yet, there isn't any real or obvious penalty in the press for lying to them. If anything, the prevaricating candidate is rewarded by even more coverage; more exposure, until the lies either fall from their promoted interest or the candidate is just allowed to move on to their next subject.

Romney and Ryan have found that politics creates its own reality for candidates which is directly related to the number of folks they're able to convince to go along with their distortions of the truth. If you can accept the lie, for whatever reason, that Barack Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya, you can help the liar perpetuate it by providing a bubble of support to lift them up and away from any accountability their opponents or detractors might provide.

That is why it is so important for their opponent to work as hard as they're able to convince a larger number of supporters to elevate their perspective and challenge of those lies by supporting a candidate who will represent their point of view in their campaign for office. Sadly, it's not always the truth which wins the day.

We saw George Bush buoyed by his Iraq lies, into reelection over the truth-telling John Kerry. Bush's lies didn't become true when he was elected, but, they were rendered operable; the elected official was able to carry those lies further -- into actual policy and practice.

As the press has found, it's not nearly enough to point out that a candidate is a liar; they need to actually convince someone to call them that for the liar to experience or suffer any sort of consequence. There is simply no mechanism to actually call these candidates on their lies, outside of voting them down with a majority of ballots. The electoral college makes that public accountability even less certain.

That's all a very real measure of the daunting task for President Obama and VP Biden in this race against two practiced and professional prevaricators; two republican, political liars looking for a voting public pass to continue their mendacious representations of their policy and initiatives into office. That's the next obvious step. The press can holler till they're blue that the emperor has no clothes, but until the public puts their scorn into the form of some kind of political action, the pretenders have room and incentive to carry on.

So, here's a hope that the VP, tonight, and the President, in the subsequent debates, convinces enough voting Americans that Romney and Ryan are inveterate liars; enough folks to vote them down. That's the challenge for our Democratic candidates in the remaining moments of this election. That's the only real accountability and consequence these candidates will actually experience for the way they handle the truth.

October 8, 2012

It might be kind of an elephant ~ Or a funny kind of kazoo!

(bigtree original)

more: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021489698

October 8, 2012

And that's why I never abbreviate Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Nicholas Kristof ?@NickKristof 31m

Congrats to Philippines for peace deal with MILF rebels. If it sticks, that's a huge advance for a lovely country!
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Catherine Warrick ?@CatWarr

And that's why I never abbreviate Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

October 7, 2012

Generations

Barack Obama in Cleveland, OH - October 5th

Photograph by Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America

October 7, 2012

I just have this feeling that I'm being followed

(bigtree original)

October 7, 2012

The Promise

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Barack Obama in Madison, WI - October 3rd
Photograph by Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America