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Far more obvious is the bias of the Eastern Liberal Photo Establishment. Take the front page of last Sunday's New York Times. The top story carries a headline bland by even Times standards: "Prosecution Argues Impeachability of Clinton's Deeds." The nuttiest of Right-Wing wing nuts would have trouble squeezing a drop of bias out of those seven words. But under the headline are two photos. One is of Clinton lawyer Charles Ruff in a wheelchair with a briefcase on his lap leading a team of determined-looking Presidential defenders down a Senate hallway. To the left is a full-length silhouette of Henry Hyde, House Judiciary Committee Chairman and Clinton bette noire, looking suspiciously like a blowup of Batman's nemesis, The Penguin. Pick up a national newsmagazine. Why, a conspiracy loon might wonder, does Bill Clinton always look either thoughtful (the half-glasses shot), resolute (the lower lipper tucked over the upper), or emphathetic (the eyes misty or maybe shedding one tear)? And that's when he's not looking so damn hunky. DOPEY DOLE. During the last Presidential campaign, I knew an editor of unfailing fairness when it came to copy, who never missed a chance to run photos that seemed to shout: "Mean Bob Dole, Caring Bill Clinton." And who can forget that shot of candidate Dole lounging in the Florida sun in a white T-shirt and bathing suit. The man was a full-metal-jacket war hero, but in the photo he looked too goofy to lead a panty raid (do they still have them?), let alone the post-Cold War World. Images of Newt Gingrich (you remember him) invariably cast the ex-Speaker in the role the media wrote for him: the dark-shadowed heavy. The camera does not love Newt. It has about as much use for him as it did for Tricky Dick Nixon. And there are other players in the ecstasy and the agony of Bill Clinton who lend themselves to liberal media photo bias. Think back, now. How many flattering photos have you ever seen of Paula Jones, Linda Tripp, or Lucianne Goldberg? Most of the time they look as though they just stepped away from the cauldron to dash out for some frog brains. At the same time, Clinton aide Betty Currie is always a picture of dignity and loyalty. Long, long ago, Washington learned that image and perception are everything. The photo history of the astonishing Clinton Presidency will show the young, handsome, obviously vigorous Commander-in-Chief tightening his grip on the public's favor as he fends off creepy Newt and Henry the Enormous Penguin. If he were a geek and the Liberal Photo Establishment didn't love him, he'd probably be out on his ear. Just ask Bob Packwood. Scotti, BW senior editor for government and sports business, offers his views weekly for BW Online EDITED BY DOUGLAS HARBRECHT |
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