Reading The Pictures: McCain's Mouth

This particular guy caught the attention of several newswire photographers on Saturday. He was in the front row during McCain's Iowa appearance waving a hat that matched his shirt. The shot -- since replaced -- accompanied a NYT article detailing GOP anxiety over McCain's increasingly chaotic campaign.

Reverberating into the weekend, it seems McCain and his crew didn't appreciate the pot they'd been stirring in working up their crowds.

In framing this scene, NYT photographer Stephen Crowley offers some brilliant commentary. The singular open mouth is a chilling reference to, and warning of the faceless angry mob. The X'ing out of Obama is more terrifying still. If few dare talk about it, the logical conclusion of all the vilifying -- justified in the name of "Country First" -- is to put Obama in the cross hairs. The inclusion of man at the left, however, and the sidelong, circumspect glance in the direction of "Mouth" is a reminder that people at these rallies mostly know better, and understand there are boundaries one just doesn't cross.

Problem is, you need a candidate who 100% knows the difference, who you can clearly say skews to the guy on the left as opposed to bouncing back-and-forth.

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(image: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times. Davenport, Iowa. October 11, 2008)

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Comments

[edwarvir]

Sarah Palin and Jmc are doing a terrible injustice to this
country. I really thought we had come a long way both
with pictures like this one the man is holding and the way
these people are screaming awful mean things about Senator O
I guess we haven't come as far as I thought. All it
took was a man and a women who want to win at any
cost to show us that we have a long way to go. JMc
is a nasty old man.

[dariwood]

It's not just Obama who's in danger, Sarah Palin's handlers have put her in a very compromised position by having her rattle off such vituperative diatribe from her teleprompter . . . this is a woman who has several dependent children and just as a right wing nut might go after Obama, an angry young minority male might go after Palin . . . If the Palins were all so worried about their personal and family safety due to Trooper Wooten (the real rationale they put forth for Troopergate, and it is true that a) Wooten and his four, count them four marriages sounds like a piece of work and b) the Alaska State Troopers enjoy a lot of in-house protection which I found out after almost getting killed by one who decided to practice his high-speed driving without bothering to turn on either his lights or his siren . . .

Anyway, if the Palins were so worried that Wooten might go off on them, what in the world are they doing out there now inciting both their own camp to go off on Obama and the ghetto youth to go off on them ?

I planned to vote for Cynthia McKinney, but after seeing how the 2006 Alaska election was possibly stolen from Democratic candidate Tony Knowles and handed to Palin, I am telling everyone to vote for Obama -- the more of a landslide, the harder it is to undo the results.

[RRonin]

The yahoo in the photo would have done well to use the "NO" red circle and line instead of an X. As the author pointed out, looks too much like cross-hairs. He also should have used one of those darkened, "glowering" photos the anti-Obama ads so Obama would have looked more "other." But of course, subtlety is lost on such people....­....

[FaceYourFears]

The funny thing is JMC would NEVER socialze with these folks, he probably looks down on them!

[alabaman]

Excellent point. I think he detests them but feels he needs their anger and fear to fuel his sputtering campaiign. Maybe I'm presuming too much, but he may even detest himself for what he feels he has to do in order to win.

[RevMetheus]

kinda like the GOP in general and evangelicals?

[ahumbleopinion]

When John McCain took a questioners microphone to confirm that Barak Obama was indeed a decent family man, a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared about as President of the United States, I imagined him thinking "Good grief, there are gullible people who really believe the garbage we have been telling them!" The Republican politicians and their media flacks just view it as a tactic to win an election, they forget that not everyone is in on the game. And since I grew up during the civil rights battle and the assassinations of JFK, MLK, and RFK, I remember how ugly it can get. It's not something I want to see again and I think we have a legitimate responsibility to demand that they stop the blatant lies and crowd baiting attacks.

[rsaillant1]

I am both amazed and appalled by the hateful behavior and rhetoric being spewed by the
attendees at the McCain-Palin events.

I am disgusted and astonished by the lack of insight by the media regarding their analysis
of the remarks made by the audience who were seemingly freely handed microphones to
vent their venomous remarks.

When, in the recent past, have any of us witnessed such procedures? The usual policy is to
vette anyone who is to be permitted to speak before handing them a microphone and letting them go "live" on the air, lest they speak something harmful to the candidate, thus screening out any nutcase with a radical view.

My guess is that these people offered up prepared comments, served a hardened "soft pitch" to elicit the response of Senator McCain. The woman who finally called Obama an "Arab," merely flubbed her prepared line which was to be "Muslim" not "Arab." This ad lib on her part flustered McCain so much that he screwed up his response. End of story.

[Alic4]

That makes a lot of sense, since the alternative seems to be that McCain actually is a racist when it comes to arabs, and I don't think he is. (McCain's response suggested that no arab could be a "decent family man.")

[profounddogs]

Hear me out. I actually like the fact that these hate-mongers are given the microphone to display how ignorant and hateful they actually are. We need exposure on these types of people, because they are, unfortunately, still out there in this America. More to the point, it showed how ignorant and hateful the people are who will do anything, even vote for a horribly incapable man (McCain) just so they don't vote for the "black man." It's disgusting, horrific and terrifying to see these people with their violent inciting rants, I agree, but it also exposes them for who they really are, ignorant racist bigots. I hope they regret the day they spoke out like that at the McCain rally. Also, it seems that these are a lot of old angry white men (or old angry white women) and hopefully, their old politics are dying with them! GOOD RIDDENCE!

[Indie2008]

These people don't get subtlety, and they don't get the psychology of politics-Once you light them up, it's hard to put out the fire. The strategists and the candidates are stoking this anger.

[Gidster]

Unfortunately when confronted about the smears and the lies, McCain claims they are "Absolute truth", so it appears he believes it himself.

[bogues]

I find it mind-boggling that these people think they ar being patriotic and Christian. I find absolutely nothing patriotic or Christian about so openly participating in hate filled rallies like these. It is one thing to have a difference of opinion on politics but for McCain to be directly involved in whipping these people into a raging frinzy, well it sends chills down my spine and I fear for what could actually happen in days to come.

[scotia626]

these people are what the rest of the world sees as "typically american" and why our passport is not as welcome as it once was. its ugly for sure.

[profounddogs]

God, what a disgrace to this society!

[demfriend]

John McCain will be left standing one way or another. Winner or loser he will have to look at what his hate hath wrought as one can say. His distain for Obama clearly said withot words and with them shows the person he is and the hatred he has whipped up and has walked not away from as you would have us think but he is still going ahead. He just wants an out when the time comes for he abuse and use of racism in his campaign. I am ashamed of what he has done to this country as we struggle with the economy and are trying to get together in ways to survive the hits we are taking he has worked to divide the divided alreadly by bush and to make our country look like it isn't capable of coming together in crisis. Between what both he and Bush are doing we look worse now in the world than we did with just Bush. McCain will face this what he has done and Palin will also as you cannot bread fear hate and racism without the price of the light shining on them who do.

[Oonagh]

It is a very sad and distressing time, seeing the yahoos at McCain's rallies spewing hate, anger and ignorance.­.. I truly thought we were better than that..... what an eye opener.... The McCain campaign is a farce..... like Sarah Palin.. and the way she is being "showcased". The real reason Sarah is kept away from the press is that every time some one asks her a question "off the cuff" she buries McCain. Now there is a gal that is in the dark most of the time, and not because she is an Alaskan...­. no.... she is just not the brightest light on the chandelier. Poor Sarah... but the person I truly, truly feel sorry for is McCain. Right now it is like watching the Brittany Spears melt down.

[plafayette]

John McCain is a fool if he thinks that America will ever forget what he has done during this election. He has dishonored himself as a presidential candidate. What a shame.

[tangenjill]

Yeah...wel­l, it's insane to play to the insane guy (interpretation) on the right; if anything bad happens, I'll hold McCain responsible.

[carolo]

I find it sad that during this time of economic crisis and the war in Iraq still continuing that we now have a campaign of hatred and fear. Our country is known as a country that comes together during bad times but this shobby hateful campaign of McCain's is disgraceful and dishonorable.

It's hard to believe that adults can be so mean and ugly and McCain has stirred them up into this frenzy of pitbulls. I think he will find life on the Senate not so much fun for him anymore. He has ticked off people on both sides of the aisle with this campaign of his. I'm sure he still has FOX News, Sean Hannity, Joe Liberman and Russ Limbaugh however. That hate mongers.

[Gabbie]

Would this fit the term "The Ugly America"?

[myhomeo]

It's our job on Nov 4 to show the world that the ugly Americans are the minority.

[mommadona]

Are flags on T-shirts, ties, etc., really flags?
tieplus

Yes. According to the Flag Code, a flag is anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag.".
Source: Flag Code, Section 3

Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it of any substance, with stars and stripes of any number. This would include T-shirts and ties.

The Flag Code states that the flag should never be worn.

(Section 8d): "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel."

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html#q031

[fpie]

At first glance the picture of McCain and Obama in the cross hair looked like a hand made thing. On closer inspection it seems to be a laminated pin. My guess is that it is a manufactured product. If that is so this is definitly creepy.
A regular blogging hear a TPM made reference to Brown Shirts today. This compare has been taboo (perhaps illadvised) prior to this but I think the shoe fits a bit too comfortably for comfort.

[ESerafina42]

It may be a laminated pin, but regular people have been able to make pretty professional looking things like this at home for quite a few years now.

I'm not saying that it's acceptable - just pointing out that the fact that it looks like "a manufactured product" doesn't mean that it is.

[Queen Regnant]

The fact of the matter is the people who are screaming, "off with his head", "kill him", etc... The people with the monkey dolls and the cross hairs pins honestly think they are putting country first. They, as much as we, believe that they are doing a Patriotic Duty.
OK. Except, there are times in a nation's history when substance matters. Ideas always matter, sometimes more than others.
At this time in space, this nation needs someone who is calm, cool, collected and supernaturally smart. Barack Obama has made a point of being well-educated as well as disciplined. Those of us who continue to be critical thinkers know he continues as an auto-didact, still and always, like us. That is not elitist. That is responsible.
My Dad is a life long Republican, a teacher. He is white, rural, gun toting, elderly, and, a thinker. He can't vote for McCain because he is not bright and his running mate - well, I don't have an advanced degree, but I might be as qualified.
William Ayers? The monkey doll, kill him people have no idea about the Weather Underground. They are so pissed about something. We're all really pissed.
Hate speech and hate action? Not constructive.
A Mob Mentality and its associations are SO uncalled for now.
I think someone (is anyone in charge of the U.S. right now?) should put an abrupt halt to the McCain/Palin "rallies". They are destructive and that is unacceptable.

[maying]

you know what should happen -- bush senior and jr. should say something. im sure it won't really make that much of an impact but at least it will be a good deed.

but seriously, if sen. obama becomes pres. obama and something bad happens, america as we know in our hearts and minds will be no more. when i was younger i remembered reading an article about the kennedy assassination and the phrase "the day that america lost its innocence.­" if something terrible will happen to sen. obama all hope for an equal and just future will be lost.