Shirtless Obama Pic More than Media Goofiness

The mix of disgust, laughter and goofy gossip at the body ogling photo of Obama on the beach at Hawaii seemed more than justified. The most charitable that could be said was that it was a deathly slow news week and the shot was manna from heaven to stir up a little interest and hopefully controversy. That would drive thousands more to the pack of websites displaying the picture.

Normally, the momentary titillation would quickly pass. But then the Washington Times jumped into the fray and claimed that the shot was stage managed. It's not far-fetched that the shot was taken with a wink and nod from the president elect. The best politicians rank up there with Hollywood's best image massagers in playing the legions of on the prowl for sensationalism paparazzi, and the star's publicists, and promo flacks for all their worth to insure that they always are shown and seen in the most flattering poses.

The Obama picture is no different than the stagy photos of JFK's topless romps on a beach with hordes of admiring onlookers in tow. Or Reagan's man on the white horse shots complete with his cowboy hat and sequined shirts. Or W. Bush biking and jogging around the Crawford, Texas ranch. Heck, even Abe Lincoln had the good sense to know that a president that looks vibrant and healthy is good for the image and the public. He didn't scotch efforts to hype him as a guy who could swing a mean ax at the rail ties and a woodpile.

It didn't much matter whether the Obama shot was an unguarded moment shot, or not, it was a great looking shot.

And it conveyed several political messages. One is that this is a president who's at the top of his game, fitness and health wise. Another is that this is a president that looks a lot different than many of his aging, bulging, and cellulite entombed predecessors. The other, and most important message, is that a healthy looking president can provide just the right tonic for nursing a sick economy back to health.

Yet, there's another reason that Obama's pecs and abs got more gawks than the gawks at a near nude Britney. Obama is the hottest packaged commodity on the planet. He could sneeze and it would be news. The public and media obsession though is a double edged sword. The positive even celebratory spins that Obama or any other mediagenic figure gets today can quickly morph into nagging, backbiting, and hectoring of them if the fawned over figure stumbles. The fall from media grace is swift, ugly and brutal. Their real or manufactured faults, quirks, and missteps that were routinely ignored, downplayed, or papered over get blown-up and harped on incessantly. The public quickly takes the cue and turns the one time object of adulation into an object of scorn.

One need look no further than the man who Obama will succeed. After 9/11 Bush's media popularity soared to Olympian heights. He could do wrong. The scale of adulation was never justified. This was a national crisis and the public always rallies behind their leader in crisis. But the shock over the terror attacks was so great, few would dare run the grave risk of being tagged as unpatriotic, a traitor, or worse, a terrorist apologist for criticizing the prez.

It took Bush's colossal bungles, bumbles of a hopelessly failed and flawed war, his sleep at the wheel Republican corruption scandals and his fiddle while the economy and Wall Street burned to mercifully to lift the public fog. That fate is not in the immediate media cards for Obama. Whether staged or not, the topless shot made the right political statement that a president with a body that exudes health and confidence will exude the same for the nation. Whether that eventually proves to be true or not, it sure didn't hurt to get the tongues clicking about that shirtless body.
Happy Holidays!

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is How Obama Won (Middle Passage Press, January 2009).

Comments

[gojo]

The media is so gaga over Obama that it's embarrassing. Watching the evening news is now like watching Entertainment Tonight. "And now for the news, Obama wears his hat backwards!"

[hoopesaz]

He's a smoker. Chisled body or not, looking healthy and being healthy are not the same.

[FebM]

Cuba has one of the longest life expectancy in the western hemisphere, and numerous cigar smokers live to a century, a testament to their happy lifestyles, modest diets and universal healthcare amidst wierd socialism.

This does not mean smoking is healthy but there is a lot more to health than 'not smoking"

[Melissa]

Happy lifestyle in Cuba? I think most of the Cubans who risk their lives coming here would disagree with you.

[Shammie2000]

The media thinks americans are shallow and stupid.

[ESerafina42]

I hope that it was staged, and that the Secret Service checked out the camera. If someone with a telephoto lens could get that close without permission, there are people with other tele- hings who could also get that close, which is decidedly NOT good.

[ohioan73]

I really, really like Obama. I'm sorry, but I do not find him sexy in any way. In fact, he is quite Asexual to me. LOL! Every time I see that chest picture of Obama, I just laugh. I suppose its cool, though. I have not had a potus in my lifetime regarded as "hot" so that's different. ACK! :D

[larry278]

Watch for an analysis/o­pinion/edi­torial comparing a shirtless Putin with a shirtless Obama in a variety of ideology positions in media which appeals to any persuasion in politics. This will be good. We will have unbridled sophistry at large & distorted, absurd will by flying high & low. Maybe a beef cake magazine or two will get into this fray. I'm waiting to see how HUMAN EVENTS & the NEW REPUBLIC will handle it. There are PEOPLE, US, TIME & NEWSWEEK too. The spin will be sickening or LOL funny.

[jetgirl]

Not sure how it's staged considering we've seen his shirtless a lot. I'm not even sure why it was such news, though it was a good picture.

[drock973]

"The Don doesn't wear shorts." - Carmine Lupertazzi, Sr.

[NewCenturyWoman]

Actually, I think our President-Elect is being exploited. He is our national leader. If he has become a celebrity, he did not do so by his own choice. I do not feel he wanted or expected this photo to be taken. While it's a very nice shot of Mr. Obama in a leisure setting, I think it distracts from the tone he personally wants to set as the next president of the U.S. His family vacation is a private matter and should not be displayed across the virtual universe.

[FebM]

Its the Arugula! Get it in sack fulls now.

[sawheat1]

He makes me want to lose weight, Heeeee makes me want to do a lot of things , that I don't do.

I needed him when I was fresh out of high school. before I got old , and fear dying.

He's my hero , He could turn around and moon us from the stage,and I would probably be chanting "YES HE CAN".

GO OBAMA !!!!

[Bitsko]

Thanks for the very interesting commentary, Mr. Hutchison. I have a good friend is who a bit of a celebrity, and has appeared once or twice in magazines and tabloids lounging around the beach. I kidded her about this once, and she informed me that celebs often make deals with photographers and their agencies which give them a few minutes of photoging time in exchange for the proviso that the photogs will give them a break for the rest of the day. Works out for both sides. What weird world these people live in!

[Davwbaird]

exactly what came to mind when I saw it.

[tbone99]

here's hoping you have a happy and topless holiday of your own, Earl

[Rule Of Law]

They were wide awake, and flawlessly implemented the illegal war, the bogus tax cuts, the endless borrowing and the Wall Street gone wild economic disaster. The looting of the treasury was always foremost in their minds and the bonus would be the destruction of the American Middle Class. No. These guys were good. Real good.

[weatherwaxx]

Um.. you're commenting on Barack Obama in swim trunks. He is indeed wide awake and real good (looking), but I think you posted on the wrong thread.

[plebeianswillrevolt]

Hubris - "the higher they fly the harder they fall". Ask Bubba Bill about that.

[TomTheAlmostUgly]

Typical blind Republican. Look up "hubris" in the dictionary, and right next to the definition is a picture of Bushie with the "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him.