USA Today was "just doing what kids do"

Years before USA Today used Photoshop -- the tool of choice for manipulating online images -- to turn a picture of Condoleezza Rice into an anti-Bush political statement, we were manipulating photographs of our political enemies with a red pen as in the NYT clipping from our snail files above -- dated January 16, 1997 -- picturing Bubba, Hillary! and Newt on the two-for-the-price-of-one couple's second inauguration day.

"Why do their parents pay for J-school anyway -- can't even turn out convincing manipulators!" writes Teresa of Technicalities  in the comments to our previous post re USAT's being found out in a graphic lie yesterday. Lots of good comments, including this from Scott:

"Really this is nothing more than the electronic equivalent of when I used to deface magazines as a teenager by whiting out people's eyes with an eraser -- the kids at USA Today were just, y'know, doing what kids do."

"By using our proprietary photographic algorithms, we were able to enhance and focus in on the background. (If only Dick Morris knew how to use photoshop)," writes California Conservative re his own version.

Then there's this comment (see above photo) from California Conservative:

We've got the "third photo" that reveals everything.

Reader Paul's comment reminded us of our own "Don't mess with me" pairing of Baby with Condi (above photo) last winter:

Actually I kind of liked the "demon eyes" photo. It said "Mess with me and I'll burn you to a crisp!"

"Alteration of a photograph for political effect has a long pedigree in Stalinist Russia and in the pages of Pravda. It can be quite an effective method of trashing your opponent," notes Kevin F, while Goomp concurs and offers reason for hope:

The Internet and the Bloggers, the last great hope for America to avoid the Commissars predicted by Balint Vazsonyi in "America's 30 Years War."

Maybe it's going to be okay after all.  Harriet Miers has just announced the withdrawal of her indigestible nomination to the Supreme Court, and Fred Barnes is telling Brigitte Quinn of FoxNews "I think this may be the first step on the road to recovery for the President." That sounds like the perfect lead-in to another blogpost.  Gotta go now so we can get right on it.

Technorati tag:  demonizing condi

Comments

[Teresa]

LOL - couldn't resist that little shot at the news media - glad you liked it.

[Sam]

I have the scoop on the photosphopping job on my site by a techie who knows his stuff.

It's worth checking out.