Obama's Layup Shot: Dueling Interpretations

Posted Thursday, July 17, 2008 3:01 PM
Convenient Metaphor of the Day: No Sweat
Andrew Romano



Known to reporters on the trail as an workoutaholic who rarely goes 24 hours without hitting a treadmill, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama made a strong bid yesterday for Exerciser-in-Chief -- or at least Post-Outback-Self-Flagellator-in-Chief --by making three separate stops at two Chicago gyms in the course of a single day....

Or did he? That's the question AP reporter Glen Johnson asked Obama spokesman Bill Burton this morning after reporters trailing the Illinois senator noticed that he displayed "a distinct lack of visible sweat"...

You heard it here first, folks: the Obamacle does not secrete water and chlorides through his epidermis. He has no need for thermoregulation. Ever. Basketball. Vice presidential interviews. Whatever. He's like a walking block of ice. That never melts. Or a giant stick of antiperspirant. The metaphorical possibilities are endless.

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/07/17/convenient-metaphor-of-the-day-no-sweat.aspx

Obama's Not Human
Jul 17, 2008

Although this is an elegant lay up, I believe the shot -- snapped by Mr. Romero himself where Obama shoots hoops in the building of a long-time aid and friend-- serves as a "gotcha."

Showing Obama shooting alone (the morning of the day he shot twice at his friend's place and also worked out at a downtown gym) paints a supposedly masochistic Obama as that much more obsessive. (Is it possible the shooting around at his friend's, however, is as much or more a social thing, and a stress reliever, as opposed to a "work out.")

This sweating allegation is more poisonous, though. Through another reporter, Romero cites claims that Obama doesn't seem to sweat during a campaign day. Also, campaign photographers supposedly told the same source that Obama didn't sweat either after shooting baskets with the University of North Carolina team earlier this year.

In light of that weirdness, presenting Obama off the ground, clearly exerting effort but supposedly perspiration free, is to make him out as other than human.



http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2008/07/obamas-not-huma.html

I don't how much is Obama and how much is the photographer, but that is an iconic sports photo and an amazingly well composed shot.

There is a lot of empty space around Obama -- I would guess that is intentional, or else the picture would have been cropped. What is the effect of seeing him alone? Among other things, it emphasizes his leadership role, in the sense that "it's always lonely at the top." He's no longer one among many. He is THE ONE.

The more I look at this photo, the more the composition looks perfect, like a painting. Classic pose.

There is a lot going on here and it is confusing. The original Newsweek article doesn't seem to be in the same spirit as the image.

It's a little reminiscent of the first Reagan campaign. Even if reporters were trying to be snarky, the pictures were often flattering to Reagan, or at least served his political purposes.

This Newsweek article, despite its intentions, serves to help Obama because the image overpowers the text.

Come to think of it, I can't ever remember Obama taking a bad photo. That's kind of superhuman in itself.