There’s a blog post from Errol Morris up at the New York Times where he asks the head photo editors from 3 of the big news wire services to choose their favorite photographs of President Bush. The pictures and commentary are both equally good, and many of the pics I hadn’t seen before.
One of the most striking to me was near the end, a single closeup of his face, crying at the Medal of Honor ceremony for a Marine killed in Iraq.
“It wasn’t often that you saw George Bush become emotional and cry in the course of his presidency and as far as I remember, this was the first time that anyone saw him shed tears specifically related to casualties and the events in Iraq.”
I have mixed feelings about the war and Bush and his presidency overall. All of that aside though, this picture to me captures the immense weight and gravity of what it means to be Commander in Chief and still (just) human. And with Bush, whose humanity might be both his greatest asset and flaw, it comes through all the more clearly what a terribly difficult job it must be.
