RSS
Home
Good Morning America settles Obama buttgate
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
G8 Summit 2009 Official Web site: Mayara Tavares (second from left)
and President Obama (far right) prepare to pose for J8 group photo at
G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy - July 8, 2009
Videotape evidence has cleared President Barack Obama of having wandering eye syndrome based on a photo taken during the recent G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy that appeared to show him staring at the backside of a teenage girl during a photo op.
"Good Morning America" ran actual footage of the photo op during Friday's broadcast, with news anchor Chris Cuomo getting his John Madden on – analyzing the exact moment the picture was snapped in both real time and in slow motion.
The conclusion? Obama was being chivalrous, not chauvinist.
The controversy stemmed from a Thursday photo shoot with the G8 members and their "juniors," the high school students who accompanied each leader at the annual summit. A snapshot taken by photo agency Landov captures Obama and French president Nicolas Sarkozy appearing to stare at the derriere of 16-year-old Mayara Tavares of Brazil as she ascends stairs.
But video footage of the actual moment, as pointed out by Cuomo, shows that the president was actually looking down when the photo was snapped, as he was preparing to extend his hand and assist another teen girl down the stairs.
"I did not see anything from my perspective that looked like the president checking out anyone," affirmed Washington Times reporter Stephen Dinan, who served as the White House pool reporter for the weekend. "I did see him act as traffic cop and keep things running. Obama greeted most, if not all, of the juniors."
As for Sarkozy's supposed wandering eyes – let's just say the videotape wasn't as kind to him.
For more info:
New York Post's photo gallery of Mayara Tavares
Info on Junior 8 Summit
All published documents during the G8 Summit of L'Aquila
Related Articles:
Comments
