*****Yes, I changed the title so as not to "demonize" USA Today*****
Sloppy work or a literal "demon-eye-zation" of a conservative by a mainstream media company? Take a look at these Condi photos:
Here is the photo of Rice that USA Today posted:
See the eyes? For those of you who, like me, are Stargate SG-1 fans, no Condi is NOT a Goa'uld! ;-)
Here is the original photo, which blogger found on Yahoo Espana:
Note to readers; this is not at all unusual for this newspaper. And it's not even that great a job! Very unprofessional. I could do better in five minutes than this hack job of an edit. Shame on them!
Hat tip to Michelle Malkin.
David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - DrPat
Thanks for catching this one, David! I heard about it on the news this morning, but hadn't visualized it adequately - it's great to find it here on Blogcritics! (If one can use that word to describe seeing such a juvenile excuse for photo-journalism!)
2 - Natalie Davis
I must agree -- photoshopping the pictures to make Rice look creepy is tantamount to changing the fact in a story's text. But this is the work of one media outlet regarding one conservative. How do you justify slamming the entire MSM and charge them with treating conservatives in general in such an unethical fashion?
3 - Dave Nalle
By one media outlet you mean the single largest circulation printed publication in the US. And I think the point is that if USA Today thinks they can get away with it, why shouldn't we assume that others are doing the same thing every day?
dave
4 - Liberal
On the other hand, maybe they were just trying to clear up the cloudiness in her eyes that has resulted from her heroin addiction.
5 - Dave Nalle
All the more reason to put her in the white house. maybe she'd legalize heroin.
Dave
6 - Liberal
Good idea, Dave. We'll need all those jail cells for the current White House staff.
7 - ss
On the one hand:
With Rice it's really worse than that. Back when there was a controversy over her testifying before the 9/11 commission she was scowling in EVERY picture in every paper. Since the Administration told everybody the Europeans found her charming on her first visit over there the picture above is the first one I've seen where she hasn't been smiling.
On the other hand:
For people fond of telling others who were born disadvantaged that 'Life's not fair' and blaming people without cars for not evecuating when there's a hurricane, conservatives cry long and loud at the slightest underhanded stunt pulled by a reporter.
8 - Matthew T. Sussman
OK, OK, tinfoil hats off, everyone.
9 - Nancy
I think they were just trying to get the yellowy tones out of the whites of her eyes. She still came out looking pretty good. If they'd wanted to "demonize" her, they could have emphasized wrinkles, or done any number of other unflattering things.
10 - The Fifth Dentist
USA Today: a paper with a real political slant. Not quite as much of a left-wing manifesto as say TV Guide or Good Housekeeping or the ingredients label on box of Crest toothpaste... You've really gone over the edge.
11 - Nancy
LOL - 5th, they've never seen "demonize" until they've seen what a good photofixer can do w/a simple computer program & a little subtle imagination. 30 more lbs? Bad hair day? Bad complexion? Suit too tight in the wrong places? The mind boggles.
12 - Lee Richards
Rice and this administration are not conservatives. They do not believe in smaller, cheaper, less intrusive government at home, true federalism, the individual above the state, and avoiding harmful entanglements in other nations' affairs. Your point about media irresponsibility-both left and right- is well-taken, but I disagree with your characterization of her as conservative-more a 'divine right reactionary' in practice. (By the way, Rice has done more than her share of using the media to manipulate facts and distort the truth.)
13 - LegendaryMonkey
I tend to agree with Nancy on this one... it looks to me like they were trying to clean up the picture and really screwed the whole thing up. But whatever the reason, I can't believe it actually got released like that. Looks like shit. Hell, *I* could do a better job!
14 - Natalie Davis
Excellent point. The Bushites portray themselves as conservatives, but they really are not.
15 - Nancy
It's just too obvious to be an actual attempt. A real 'demon' attempt would be much subtler.
16 - Mark Saleski
besides, they forgot the horns.
17 - Nancy
Also the patent-leather cloven heels. BTW, a propos of nothing, has anyone else seen the photos of her California cousin, Constance? Another looker-! And almost her twin.
18 - Scott C. Smith
Condi looks creepy in her normal photos. Look at that scowl. If she smiled the bottom half of her face would crack off.
I don't buy the whole conspiracy angle. Probably a mistake. The so-called liberal media has been pretty friendly to the Bush administration, for the most part.
19 - David Flanagan
No doubt that Condi is a very intense individual. One of the most intelligent individuals in Washington, speaks five languages, was a concert pianist as well as a highly rated figure skater in her younger years... The woman has made history several times over so far, and she's still relatively young.
And I need to point out that, despite all the press photos that libs in the media love to print of Condi, she has a very high favorability rating overall. You might not like her, but any honest person has to respect her.
Thanks,
David
20 - Nancy
I would respect her a lot more if she'd stop pimping for Smirk. However, nothing can detract from the fact that she's one sharp cookie in senses of the word.
21 - Stargate News Australia
Intelligent woman v media, could we expect anything less of them.
Sad very sad, if the good folks of the US dont want Condi Rice, we'll have her skills down here thanks
Nicely caught David, nicely caught
22 - Bill B
Re # 17
Eeeew! I've never found her in the least bit attractive. After gazing at the larger of the two pics for more than a few seconds I'm scrambling for a barf pot under the sink!
As far as the topic goes I think it's somewhat ridiculous.
Her eyes are pretty freakin dark. It seems a lousy attempt to brighten them up.
I'm a tad more concerned about the utter lack of the MSM's so-called investigative journalism. It would be nice if their investigative journalists would grow a few sets and start doing some investigative journalism.
Their reluctance to meaningfully pursue any truly meaty issues (lord knows there's a few on the table) weighs on my mind a bit more than this dastardly dip into photoshop.
23 - billy
i dont think they are demonizing her. look at her. i have seen unleashed, rabid barking pit bulls that id rather approach than this woman.
24 - The Cyber Menace
Funny, I thought I was the first to pick up on the Goa'uld angle. But at least I provided a pic, ha ha. For anyone who wants to get another laugh out of this whole thing, they can take a look at it over at my blog: The Cyber Menace. http://cybermenace.blogspot.com
25 - David Flanagan
Cyber:
Great blog! I love your side-by-side comparison of Condi and one of the early characters from the Stargate SG-1 show.
I'm a big Stargate fan, so when I saw the photo early this morning (about 7:30am EST), it was the first thing I thought of. :-D Perhaps, rather than being Goa'uld, Condi is actually Tok'ra?
That I'd be okay with. She's certainly as intelligent and influential as a Tok'ra, don't you think? ;-)
David