Commentary on the President Obama 'checking out girl' photo along with a Bush photo

July 10, 2:45 AMPolitical Buzz ExaminerRyan Witt

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Do we give all Presidents the benefit of the doubt?  AP Photo Tony Gutierrez

Expect all the world to be talking about the "scandalous" photo of President Obama allegedly "checking out" a girl in Italy.  The Drudge report has made the photo a top story and as I am writing this article Fox News has put the photo front and center on their web page with the caption "When in Rome..."

You can google the photo for yourself and analyze it.  President Obama is seen glancing down and to the side in the vicinity of a very large dairy aire as we say in the Midwest.  I am not going to say what President Obama was looking at because honestly only he knows.  Those who say he was looking at her rear do not know for sure what they are saying and those that say he is not also have no idea in reality.  We have all had moments where we looked somewhere we should not have and then also had moments where we just happen to be looking in a place where something inappropriate then appears and are forced to turn away in embarrassment.  Who really knows what was happening here.  It is really all about the context and giving someone the benefit of the doubt.

For example, let us say I was MSNBC or the Huffington Post and I was publishing the photo above of President Bush.  I could say, falsely, that President Bush is gay or put a caption below the picture that says "Bush comes out of the closet."  Perhaps I could do some damage with such comments.  Perhaps I could embarrass a President or increase ratings  What I would not be doing is contributing in anyway to the the political climate or conversation.  In reality what President Bush is doing in the photo is joking around with Texas Rangers announcer Eric Nadel who recently underwent retina surgery.  In reality President Bush is not gay and is not showing affection to this man, but I can certainly make it seem that way by how I contextualize the picture.  You may say this example is different because President Bush would never be gay.  I would answer by asking why do you find it so easy to assume President Obama would be checking out a girl while finding it so difficult to believe President Bush could be gay.

Instead of focusing on important issues, or asking the President to comment before printing the photo with such captions, Fox News and the Drudge Report felt free to publish the photo and blatantly cause everyone to assume the worst.  Possibly the two organizations will gain some viewership and political points, but was it really worth it?  Is it not time for a change in rhetoric and tone?  Besides, when it comes to embarrassing sexual scandals this photo does not come close to comparing to the emails of Mark Sanford.

For a video update of this article click here.