Loki Laufeyjarson ([info]l0k1) wrote in [info]infojunkies,
2004-10-28 16:57:00
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Bush Ad Uses Doctored Image

By Nick Anderson, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — One of President Bush's closing television advertisements features a doctored photograph with certain images of uniformed soldiers sprinkled repeatedly into a crowd to enhance the backdrop of a presidential speech.

A Bush-Cheney campaign spokesman acknowledged the editing of the image, which was still posted today at the top of the Bush website to publicize the 60-second ad titled "Whatever It Takes."
 
The ad, distributed this week to national cable channels, shows an excerpt of Bush's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. In it, Bush is shown talking about his compassion for the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families.
 
In the 45th second, however, the ad shifts to an image of a sea of camouflage-clad military personnel who are apparently listening to the president speak at another rally. As the image comes into focus over the course of about four seconds, a handful of the troops can be seen clearly replicated in various spots in the crowd. This visual cloning was pointed out by the blog www.dailykos.com.
 
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the crowd shot was taken from an actual rally. But he said that a podium was obstructing part of the crowd in the original photograph, so the makers of the ad altered it.
 
"On the still photograph we used, there was an obstruction in the photo, so a small part of the crowd was edited," Schmidt said. "In fact, the photograph of the troops does not show the full size of the crowd that was there."
 
However, Schmidt said he was not immediately certain of the date and location of the troop-rally photograph.
 
"What the photo shows is the president speaking to U.S. military forces, American soldiers. The soldiers are all real," Schmidt said.
The revelation about the doctored photograph came as the Bush campaign was touting the ad as one of its final appeals to voters before Tuesday's election.
 
Democratic challenger John F. Kerry's campaign jumped to ridicule the ad.
 
"Now we know why this ad is named 'Whatever it Takes,'" said Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. "This administration has always had a problem telling the truth from Iraq to jobs to healthcare. The Bush campaign's advertising has been consistently dishonest in what they say. But today, it's been exposed for being dishonest about what we see. If they won't tell the truth in an ad, they won't tell the truth about anything else."
 
Schmidt said the campaign would yank the ad tonight and replace it with a new ad. To the Kerry campaign's statement, he replied: "The soldiers in those ads are the very ones that John Kerry voted against" when he opposed an $87 billion Iraq and Afghanistan funding bill in October 2003.


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  • 16 comments

[info]full_of_baloney

October 28 2004, 14:21:51 UTC 7 years ago

Any way to find out what the original still looks like pre-doctoring?

[info]l0k1

October 28 2004, 14:25:53 UTC 7 years ago

I don't have that information, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

[info]jordan_tangents

October 28 2004, 14:26:09 UTC 7 years ago

yeah its Kerry at podium

[info]deathface

October 28 2004, 21:45:57 UTC 7 years ago

hehe

[info]xiuzan

October 28 2004, 15:01:27 UTC 7 years ago

This is what I get now when I try to view the video on their site:

Service Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request. Please try again later.

I wonder if they took it down or it's getting too many hits from people after reading that article.

[info]insideyourhead

October 28 2004, 17:29:32 UTC 7 years ago

Are you either outside the US or foing through a server that is?

The Bush website no longer allows access from outside this country

Deleted comment

[info]insideyourhead

October 28 2004, 20:36:49 UTC 7 years ago

Read all about it

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65508,00.html

[info]xiuzan

October 29 2004, 05:23:54 UTC 7 years ago

I'm in Austin using Road Runner, so it shouldn't be routing me outside the country. The site actually comes up. Just not the video.

[info]ollr

October 28 2004, 15:27:36 UTC 7 years ago

he replied: "The soldiers in those ads are the very ones that John Kerry voted against"

that's the most funny and simultaneously disheartening thing I've heard today.

[info]alephomega

October 28 2004, 15:42:28 UTC 7 years ago

It's not doctored. They're actually clone troopers.

[info]captain_brad

October 28 2004, 16:39:22 UTC 7 years ago

George Lucas would be proud.

[info]violetshade

October 28 2004, 17:22:42 UTC 7 years ago

Which raises the question: is Binks Palpatine or Jar Jar Binks?

[info]violetshade

October 28 2004, 17:23:03 UTC 7 years ago

Er, is Bush Palpatine or Binks.

[info]alephomega

October 28 2004, 17:37:46 UTC 7 years ago

Jar Jar. Chaney is of course Palpatine.

[info]xiphias

October 28 2004, 17:51:13 UTC 7 years ago

Actually, Vladamir Putin is Palpatine.

Governor Tarkin: The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.
Commander: But that's impossible. How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?
Governor Tarkin: The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.

Actually, Putin removed control from the regional governors and centralized it into his own hands, but it's just the next step.

[info]releaser_x

October 29 2004, 05:47:45 UTC 7 years ago

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS!
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