At Newsstands Everywhere, the Honorable Beach Babe From Illinois

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: At Newsstands Everywhere, the Honorable Beach Babe From Illinois
By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, January 9, 2007; Page A02


Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois splashed in the Hawaiian surf during his vacation last week. (Fame Pictures)

The just-out issue of People magazine, the one that says "Julia Pregnant!" on its cover, has a two-page spread titled "BEACH BABES."

There's Catherine Zeta-Jones in a teeny string bikini, Penelope Cruz in a cleavage shot on a boogie board, Jessica Alba in a skimpy fuchsia bandeau bikini, and hunky Australian actor Hugh Jackman shirtless in Nevis.

Then there's the junior senator from Illinois. Rounding out the Beach Babes spread is a New Year's Day photo of Barack Obama in the Hawaiian surf. We see his well-defined pecs, his perfectly hairless torso, just a bit of padding around the abs and a drawstring dangling from his form-fitting surfer trunks. The aspiring presidential candidate splashes through the water and squints into the distance; he is transformed into Burt Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity."

"I really appreciate you toting that around," Obama said with evident sarcasm yesterday when presented with the image as he left a news conference in the Senate TV gallery on ethics laws. "Thank you very much."

The senator was more appropriately attired, in a navy business suit and pale-blue tie, but he was uncharacteristically flustered as he sought to explain the photo....

***

Such candid photos -- the People shot of Obama was, as the senator suspected, done by a paparazzi agency that People identified as Fame Pictures -- can be damaging to a politician. Few can forget, try though they might, the Agence France-Presse photo nine years ago of a fleshy Bill and Hillary Clinton dancing on the beach in bathing suits. And the shots of John Kerry windsurfing in his skintight wetsuit proved poisonous to his presidential aspirations....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/08/AR2007010801535.html?sub=AR

[hedgehog]

1. So a picture of a healthy looking, vigorous young man is harmful

to his career? Who knew? Let's see similar shots of Bush (yuck!) or Cheney (shudder!)

[Kerrytravelers]

3. Ok, now, that's just wrong.

No * or cheney pics... please! :puke:

[Kerrytravelers]

2. I'd like to see how the wing-nuts can be nasty about this.

He's in pretty good shape, he isn't having a private moment, his suit isn't tight... it's just a guy at the beach.

Oh course, I'm a rational person who cares more about what a politician will do for the country, not what kind of bathing suit the guy wears. I'm just kinda crazy that way. :crazy:

[jaxx]

4. He looks good!

And people do go on vacation. If we can put up with bush's brush clearing pics with his sweaty pits showing, a pic of Obama in the surf is eye candy.

[hedgehog]

5. I think there is a difference between Kerry windsurfing and Obama

on a Hawaiian vacation. I think the average person could envision taking a Hawaiian vacation sometime. In most persons' eyes, wind surfing is something reserved for the idle rich or the idle young.

[blm]

8. Like cycling or endurance marathons, people have no idea how strenuous and difficult

it is to actually windsurf and do it for long distances.

Do people identify with Bush falling off the segway so it made them feel better about trusting him, or did the corpmedia just do its best to distort the candidates.

Kerry windsurfing did NOT hurt his election - election fraud took away millions more votes than windsurfing EVER could have done.

[hedgehog]

12. It's not the notion that wind surfing isn't strenuous - it's the idea

that the average person wouldn't have the time nor money to devote to the hobby. Kerry's wind surfing may not have hurt his electablity per se; but wouldn't the time have been better spent strategizing or campaigning? Personally, I think it was a very poor image to send out when people were bad mouthing him for having a wealthy wife!

[blm]

13. Windsurfing isn't more expensive or time consuming than longdistance cycling

which he also does,

Kerry windsurfed at that time as part of his headclearing activity before the most strenuous stretch of the campaign and the debates. The corpmedia could have mentioned that FACT as part of the story and as they also could have made a story out of Bush's constant falls and spills from bikes to segways....but they didn't.

The corpmedia could make ANYTHING an issue if they choose to, no matter what and no matter who the Dem is.

[AtomicKitten]

16. I think you are right and it also provided fodder for ads.

Here is an analysis of the oppositional ad: http://www.umdparc.org/AdAnalysisSurferDude.htm

[Solo_in_MD]

15. Many also forget that he grew up in Hawaii

[Connie_Corleone]

6. "uncharacteristically flustered as he sought to explain the photo"

Why does he have to explain the photo? He was swimming for god's sakes! What, a man can't swim anymore?

[blm]

9. That's typical Dana Milbank - he instinctively writes his pieces against any Dem

because the habit is just too hard to break at this point, and far more lucrative for his career as a toptier corpmedia whore.

[LynneSin]

7. God forbid our children grow up to look like that - HEALTHY

:eyes:

[Radical Activist]

10. Beach photos worked well for JFK and RFK.

Nixon even tried to imitate them but ended up looking awkward in a suit on the beach.

I don't remember the "fleshy" picture of Bill and Hillary on the beach at all, so I think you exaggerate.

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. I remember it, and it wasn't pretty

but I don't recall "pretty" being a prerequisite for office - and they both looked better than I do, anyway.

[sutz12]

14. Looks better than Chimpy in a flight suit....with codpiece.

:evilgrin: