Obama's Gulf Swim 5-Part Failure

How can one man fail FIVE times in two photos? Let's see!

In the above photo, we see President Obama and his daughter frolicking in the Gulf of Mexico.

First Failure: The president isn't IN the Gulf of Mexico:

The official picture was intended to provide evidence that the region's beaches are back to normal. Yet it soon emerged that the private beach on which it was taken, off Alligator Point in St Andrew Bay, north-west Florida, isn't technically in the gulf.

Source: UK Independent

Second Failure: The Obamas didn't even go near the areas most affected by the oil spill:

Obviously this whole trip was in response to criticism over an earlier vacation weekend spent in Maine. Not until the uproar of that trip was the Florida excursion planned. Obama has been highly criticized for his lack of empathy and action during the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He, himself, made no comment on the event until the 9th day. None in his administration said anything until the 7th day.

Even at the height of the disaster, the area around Panama City was one of the last, and least affected. Even those beach waters which really are part of the Gulf of Mexico were only closed for a very short time. Nothing compared to impact along the Louisiana coast.

Source: Right Pundits via Left Coast Rebel

Third Failure: The press was not allowed to take photos of the president. This is another attempt to control the "message" and it did not go unnoticed:

The trip raised a stink among White House photographers who had hoped to capture the president in the waters or walking on the beaches. The release of the two pictures by the official White House photographer did little to settle the anger, and some organizations like the Associated Press even refused to distribute the pictures.

Source: US News and World Report

Yikes. Even the New York Times is reporting this story:

Bill Burton, the deputy White House press secretary, explained that logistically, it was easier to have a White House photographer there than to coordinate a photo shoot with the press corps.

But the photographers and reporters traveling with the president over the weekend were irritated to learn that they had been excluded from documenting Mr. Obama’s swim, which had become a politicized issue because of the BP oil spill. By choosing to go in the water, the president was making a symbolic gesture that the waters of the Gulf of Mexico were indeed safe for recreational use.

The White House press office’s use of Flickr photos as a substitute for photos taken by the press corps has become a sore subject among photographers assigned by their news organizations to cover the president. Photographers have complained that the White House too often distributes its own photos of presidential events while not allowing news photographers to attend.

Source: NY Times

The hand on the right belongs to a woman who celebrated her husband's birthday by going on a European vacation without him

Fourth Failure: After controlling the "message" by keeping the press away, the White House released two photos that seemed to have one message - promote Obama. The first photo shows the president swimming with his daughter (see above). The second seemed like a weak attempt at "regular guy" propaganda:

The second picture, sent to those who've signed up for the "Daily Snapshot" E-mail from the White House, didn't show water, sand, or faces. It is the kind of photo typical of a wedding album showing only Obama's hand nuzzling Michelle Obama's on a railing. The cutline to that picture reads, "The hands of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama rest on the railing of a boat as they tour St. Andrews Bay in Panama city Beach, Fla., Sunday. August 15, 2010."

Source: US News and World Report

Fifth Failure: The president used his daughter as a prop in a publicity stunt.

IT'S one thing for a politician to use a publicity stunt to assure people that a once dangerous situation is now safe -- like when Prince Charles ignored government advice and ate a T-bone steak after the whole BSE epidemic.

But to bring one's child into such a stunt can only lead to a massive backlash -- which is what is happening to Barack Obama at the moment.

He took it upon himself to have a little swim in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf that has been drenched with an estimated 4.9 million barrels of BP oil, to assure the American public that it is now safe, oil free and the place to be. But he, or rather his team of publicity experts, thought that it would have much more impact if there was another element to the "swim", perhaps an element that symbolised innocence, trust and wisdom.

That came in the form of his nine-year-old daughter Sasha.

Source: Irish Herald

Lest you think the uproar isn't starting amongst American media outlets:

He’s never been shied away from showing off his toned physique.

But President Barack Obama’s latest beach moment might yet come back to haunt him after he enlisted his youngest daughter for a publicity stunt.

Source: The Daily Caller

So, the White House photographer is taking photos that have nothing to do with the stated purpose of helping businesses in the Gulf. Neither photo was taken in the gulf and neither showed much besides the president, his daughter and a pair of hands. The whole trip was designed to boost Obama's sagging poll numbers. In other words, these photos are pure propaganda.

Since the photographer is on the White House payroll, it can be said that taxpayer dollars are being used to finance the agenda of Obama, OFA and the DNC... and THAT would be illegal, right? Hmm...