January 26, 2009
Photographing Bush
No, there is no relationship to my previous post, we are talking about our former President:
VINCENT AMALVY: In America it’s interesting because the position when you are part of the press pool, you have access to everywhere the president goes. And for me, that’s very important.
ERROL MORRIS: And different from Europe.
VINCENT AMALVY: Yes, different from everywhere else. It’s a different situation in Europe. In America when you are part of the presidential pool, you move everywhere with the president. It’s not that way in other countries. You don’t have the same quantity of free access to all these attitudes, pictures and opportunities. So that’s the reason. And that’s part of my job; it’s very interesting. When Barack Obama became the president-elect, there is the same access, same obligation as from the president to be as transparent as possible. But there’s no choice for him. He can’t decide, “No press now, yes, no.” In France or in Spain or in Germany or in the Middle East or whatever, it is different. The president decides where the press can go and where they can’t go. Here it is different. It’s one of the good points about your democracy. The power of the press is a reality in this country.
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And immediately after that quote, is this, from another Bush photographer:
“One thing that’s obvious, but it’s worth bringing out there, is that there are very few casual photographs of the president of the United States. The whole thing is managed. With the exception of the guy hurling the shoe at him, these are all photo opportunities that are organized by the White House Press Department and set up for the members of the traveling pool or media group that accompanies him everywhere. So you have to look at them within that framework, that it’s being orchestrated to send a message.”