Obama takes break for bike ride (photo)

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: June 8, 2008
Obama takes break for bike ride


Sen. Barack Obama goes for a bike ride in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama joined family and neighbors for a bicycle ride along the shores of Lake Michigan on Sunday.

Obama, who last week claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, capped his victory with a quiet, long weekend at home in Chicago.

The Illinois senator and his wife, Michelle, rode to a neighbor's house with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, on Sunday and the group then headed out for the ride along the scenic lake
shore. But the outing was cut short by a downpour.

Obama's brief respite from the campaign was scheduled to end Monday with a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, and an evening fundraiser in St. Louis. The speech will launch a two-week tour of the country focused on economic issues.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/08/obama-takes-break-for-bike-ride/

[Diane R]

1. I also read that they hosted a 'wake-over' for seven yr olds last night. Wonder if they slept? LOL

[DeepModem Mom]

5. That has never been my experience at "wake-overs" -- somehow...

I've always thought the groggy feeling after a kids' sleepover party is worse than a bad hangover!

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Just an ordinary guy out for a bike ride

No Lance Armstrong spandex, no tumbling ass-over-teakettle. Having a president who isn't a national embarrassment every time he attempts everyday things will take some adjustment, but I'm ready for the change!

[babylonsister]

3. I hope he enjoys his freedom now; do Secret Service agents get

to ride bikes, too?

[EV_Ares]

4. Remember how many wrecks and people Bush ran into when he tried

to take up bike riding. He even screwed that up.

[Call me Deacon Blues]

6. It's hard to ride

when you're drunk.

[krkaufman]

25. I was wondering where you were going with that.

I was thinking you were heading for... "... with one's head stuck so far up one's xxx"

[onehandle]

7. He's riding a Specialized brand bike. Good bike. I have a Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike.

That's an urban style bike he's riding. I bet he'd look a lot more natural on a mountain bike than smirk does.

[wtmusic]

8. Is that a trailer he's pulling? nt

[onehandle]

9. The curved thing above the back tire is a sport water fender.

He's not pulling anything.

[krkaufman]

10. Wrong-oh! That's a tandem attachment ...

... with his daughter riding tandem ... but good frickin' luck finding any pictures showing Obama *AND* his daughter in a photo.

Take these for example. (see below) Look how off-center Obama is in several of the pics, owing to someone's cropping-out the tandem from the pictures. They had to make an intentional effort to crop-out the tandem attachment at the same junction in each picture.

If all the stories are headlined "Obama family goes for lakeshore ride with neighbors", then where are the group photos of other Obama family members and their neighbors? I'm starting to wonder if Obama's daughter hasn't been intentionally left-out of all the photos in order to make Obama look like some dork riding around in a bike helmet. Showing him *and* his daughter in the same photo presents a totally different image.




UPDATE: Ok, that was remarkably easy to work out. I found a contact number for the AP photographer, Alex Brandon, and the person answering forwarded me to the East Coast editing desk for AP... who said that Obama's daughter was cropped-out owing to security concerns, per on-site instructions (apparently from the Secret Service or someone else). It's unfortunate that they couldn't have blurred the little gal's face, rather than cropping all the photos.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. Do you think? That would have been a wonderful pic! nt

[krkaufman]

12. I'm *certain* of it ... having seen video of the ride over the weekend.

I'm hunting around trying to find video or pics, now. I *really* am wondering why AP (or someone?!?) made such an effort to crop-out Obama's daughter, and to not include any group shots, showing the whole family riding. (It's like they're intentionally trying to show Obama riding around on a bike, by himself, wearing a helmet, in order to create some "dork" vibe -- rather than "involved family man.")

It's this type of attachment...

[wtmusic]

14. Agree. The crop looks very awkward, very intentional.

And very AP. :eyes:

[krkaufman]

15. Verified as intentional... owing to security concerns.

See "UPDATE" here -- if you care.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Thanks for your "detective" work! That's too bad. The thought crossed my mind...

but then I remembered all the photos of the girls campaigning -- roller skating, etc. -- and I thought it was permitted to photograph them.

[krkaufman]

18. Yeah, the response wasn't very consistent ...

... especially since I'd seen video over the weekend which *included* the tandem and daughter (though I don't recall how close-up), but a determining factor in these photos being censored may be that the photographer, Alex Brandon, was the ONLY one who photographed the ride. (making it far easier to censor)

[wtmusic]

17. Hmm.

Trying to figure out what possible effect this could have on security. We know what his daughters look like.

I'm not buying it.

[krkaufman]

19. Yeah, doesn't really make sense to me, either ...

... but whaddya gonna do? (There are all sorts of pics of Obama's daughters floating around, so it really doesn't make sense.)

[onehandle]

21. Oh, You're right. I couldn't see it extended off the photo.

I thought it was a little high for a fender.

[krkaufman]

24. I benefited from having seen video of the ride on Sunday ...

... which included the daughter on the tandem attachment, and so the absence of the tandem and the cropping was obvious to me when I say the set of photos.

p.s. latest

[krkaufman]

13. No, it's a tandem attachment ...

... pulling along his daughter.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=132483&mesg_id=132556

[krkaufman]

20. As I feared... "Obama is a dork" begins

I'm not concerned with the Freeper threads making fun of Obama, but M$M imaging of Obama as a "dork" needs to be snuffed... immediately.

For example, take this snapshot from Monday's 'Anderson Cooper 360', on CNN... no videos of the family riding, or pics of the daughter riding on the tandem attachment, just this pic, the "winning caption", and the host making fun of Obama. (here's a link to the CNN blog page, where they solicited comments on the Obama photo)

How about this for a better caption...

"AP and CNN crop on Sen. Obama and his family"

You can email *your* thoughts to AC360/CNN, here.




My email to AC360...

Re: the Mon., Jun 9, broadcast of AC360 and the "Beat 360°" caption-of-the-day contest.

Really? You chose to go with "Obama campaigns for the dork vote" caption? Here's a more appropos caption... "AP and CNN crop on Sen. Obama and family."

You *do* realize that all the AP photos are of Sen. Obama and his family taking a bike ride on Sunday, with one of Sen. Obama's daughters attached to his bicycle via a tandem attachment -- but that the AP was instructed to crop-out the daughter owing to "security concerns"? I verified this information with the AP in about 5 minutes of googling and phone calling. (You can do the same: 212.621.1900)

Rather than praising one of our Presidential candidates for setting a good example, both as a family man and demonstrating a cost-effective recreational activity, CNN opts to childishly denigrate Sen. Obama as a "dork."

Good to see that hundreds of thousands dead and the complete collapse of the economy has shaken CNN from the tilted coverage we saw in the 2000 election. Oh. Wait.

[onehandle]

22. I heard he was French.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[krkaufman]

23. Chuckle! Too true... we're yet to hear him called French. n/t

[krkaufman]

26. VIDEO of the ride, on YouTube, here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obeHJmmhLkc

... plus a couple stills snapped from the vid:



(thanks, DeepModem Mom)

[Blocked]

27. Obama considering former top military leaders as VP

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama is considering former top military leaders among his possible running mates, according to a senator who met Tuesday with the Democratic presidential candidate's vice presidential vetting team.

North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad told The Associated Press said the team asked him about potential candidates from three broad categories — current top elected officials, former top elected officials and former top military leaders.

Conrad would not disclose which names they discussed, and the Obama campaign has been keeping the process a closely guarded secret.

"We talked about many names," Conrad said, including "some that are out of the box, but I think would be very well-received by the American people, including former top military leaders."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080610/ap_on_el_pr/obama_veepstakes

[1Hippiechick]

28. Exercise is good for your health - BHO cycles, McClone rides around in a pontoon.....

I think the Washington Post used a similar pix to criticize his lack of fashion - tucked in shirt, black socks with athletic shoes.....what a bunch of ignoramuses.