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Here is video of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sparring with the Russian National Judo Team, where he threw members of the team in what appeared to be a carefully crafted media event: Black belted Russian leader Vladimir Putin has offered to join the national judo team after showing off his martial arts skills to members of the squad. The 57-year-old prime minister made the proposal at a special coaching session on Saturday aired on state television, adding to his carefully-crafted macho image. Putin, who many observers believe is still paramount leader despite standing down as president last year, entered...

Gordon Brown was snubbed by badly injured Afghan veterans when they closed curtains round their beds during a hospital visit and refused to speak to him. More than half the soldiers being treated at the Selly Oak hospital ward in Birmingham either asked for the curtains to be closed or deliberately avoided the prime minister, according to several of those present. The soldiers, who have sustained some of the worst injuries seen in Afghanistan, described his visit as “opportunistic” and a “waste of time”. Furious about equipment shortages and poor compensation for their injuries, one soldier said: “It is almost...

West Point was another photo op for Obama except some of the photos didn't turn out as planned.

Here is video of President Obama with U.S. Troops in South Korea today where he said to them at the outset of his speech, "You guys make a pretty good Photo-op." Obama aides are saying he will not make a decision on sending reinforcements to our Forces in Afghanistan until after Thanksgiving. . . . (VIDEO)

Yes, that's what the commander-in-chief said to his troops today in South Korea. Well, give the bas**** credit for being honest for once.Buried at the end of a Washington Post report on his decision to not decide on Afghanistan until after Thanksgiving is this George Washington moment for Barack Obama: Obama arrived on the base 3:19 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time), and received a rousing welcome from 1,500 troops in camouflage uniforms, many holding cameras or pointing cell phones to snap pictures. "You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said. Standing on a riser...

SEOUL -- President Barack Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said on Thursday. (snip) "You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said. (snip) He got a huge cheer when he told them he was increasing military pay. "That's what you call an applause line," he said...

Reporting from Ft. Hood, Texas - President Obama is slated to speak at a memorial service today at this grieving Army base, where a military psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage. The service, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time, will be a traditional military affair, with a sermon, a roll call of the dead and a rifle volley. About 3,000 spectators, as well as the families of the 12 soldiers and one civilian killed, are expected to attend. The tribute comes amid new questions about whether the shooting, in which dozens were also...

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Rush Limbaugh suggested that President Obama's recent visit to Dover Air Force Base was nothing more than a staged photo-op. This elicited a torrent of outrage from pundits in the liberal mainstream media. Conversely, when Obama made similar remarks about former president Bush, the mainstream media didn't even bat an eyelash. As I noted in my previous post, in March of 2007, President Bush toured Walter Reed Army Medical Center after he had learned of the dilapidated conditions there and the poor quality of care that the patients were receiving - which...

Originally, the New York Times reported on President Barack Obama’s visit to Dover AFB and the arrival of fallen serviceman by explaining that the White House wanted Obama to be seen as concerned and aware of the sacrifices made in America’s war policies: A small contingent of reporters and photographers accompanied Mr. Obama to Dover, where he arrived at 12:34 a.m. aboard Marine One. He returned to the South Lawn of the White House at 4:45 a.m. <…> The images and the sentiment of the president’s five-hour trip to Delaware were intended by the White House to convey to the...

Barack Obama was nearly denied the photo-op he traveled to Dover Air Force Base for early this morning as all but one of the military and civilian families of the fallen refused permission for the media to report on the return of their loved ones.The sole family to allow media coverage was the family of Sgt. Dale R. Griffin.According to media reports, Griffin's casket was the last to be brought off the C-17 cargo plane that carried the bodies of 15 soldiers and 3 DEA agents killed this week in Afghanistan.That is a stark contrast to the reported 60% approval...

Here is a video report on President Obama making a surprise visit to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware overnight to greet the caskets of U.S. Soldiers and DEA Agents killed in Afghanistan. Obama made the trip in the middle of the night, and returned to the White House around 5:00 this morning. Obama lifted the ban on media coverage of military dead returning to the U.S. . . . (VIDEO)

President Barack Obama traveled overnight to receive the remains of fallen soldiers whose bodies were returning from Afghanistan. Obama made a midnight trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the first stop back in the U.S. for soldiers who are killed in combat, where he awaited an Air Force C-17 transporting the remains of 15 U.S. soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency agents killed in Afghanistan this week. Obama met at a chapel on-base with family members of the fallen Americans, and boarded the C-17 for a short ceremony to witness the "dignified transfer" of the soldiers' remains. The...

"Willie Brown, don't you turn your back on me." It was the voice heard 'round the world, President Obama's, chiding me for stopping to talk with a Secret Service agent. I hadn't planned on being on the 32nd floor of the St. Francis. No way was I going to spend $15,000 for a ticket to a hobnobbing session with Obama and deep-pocket Democrats. But then came the call from the White House asking me to attend. So there I was, along with Dick Blum, Richard Goldman, Nancy Pelosi and some of the Bay Area's highest rollers - many of them...

Details emerge of the scam job meeting on the White House lawn. Michelle Malkin tells Sean Hannity the greasy tactics of the Obama White House.

A Republican doctor-congressman mocked President Obama yesterday -- by waving his white lab coat in the air on the House floor as he lambasted a staged White House photo op with friendly doctors. Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey skewered the massive photo op on Monday -- highlighted in The Post yesterday -- in which White House staffers handed out white coats to physicians to visually show MD support for Obama's controversial health-care overhaul. Gingrey said a dozen GOP House doctors requested a meeting with Obama last month to discuss health care -- but got no response.

So Obama had to dress up a bunch of liberal doctors (most of whom are big democrat and Obama donors) and parade them in front of cameras to 'prove' doctors want Obamacare. Right. Remember, send these to your reps and senators along with your notes and emails. Let them know you're watching. Lit drop these in different places. Give to people who you know are on the fence and unsure. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

Politics: The administration stages a photo-op with handpicked doctors who support its health care reform. Fortunately, most doctors still believe that the first rule of medicine is to do no harm. It would seem some doctors still make house calls. Some 150 of them made one at the White House Monday in an attempt to give a booster shot to the administration's chaotic and stalled health care reform drive. Rather than a grass-roots uprising of physicians, this was a classic case of AstroTurfing. Attendance was by invitation only, and 40 of the 150 were said to be members of Doctors...

Doctors from all 50 states come to support reform. White House Photo, Lawrence Jackson, 10/5/09 Love the lab coats. Adds just the right touch of staging, don't it? I actually first heard about this from a 6 year old I was driving to work, yesterday afternoon, after picking him up from his school along with his sister (I teach gymnastics, and they both take classes). He asked me why the president was with doctors (he must have seen this on tv at school, or something). I had no idea what he was referring to, but said it probably had to...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message. In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama. A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama's pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress. OOPS!...

The biggest phony photo op in the history of the Rose Garden, 2 more of the Doctors on stage with Obama...

President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message. In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama. A sea of 150 white-coated doctors, all enthusiastically supportive of the president and representing all 50 states, looked as if they were at a costume party as they posed in the Rose Garden before hearing Obama's pitch for the Democratic overhaul bills moving through Congress.

/begin my excerpts [No. 32][Analysis] Faking Good Health by Kim Jong-il, a Risky Move - Faking appearance of good health to boost his negotiating position with U.S. - Smoking and drinking, a result of mild depression, a complication from his stroke - Ignores doctors' advice that he should have a healthy life-style - Words among N. Korean high-level officials, "his days are numbered" Recent reports say that Kim Jong-il's health has improved. He is said to be mentally alert, and his speech, normal. However, this appearance masks the worsening condition inside. It is true that he has shown improvement in...

This is the meeting was held last night. It was not a town hall even though it was passed off as one. She stated when she came in that she didn't know we would all be there, (get a clue Shelley), but, she had printed pieces of paper to give us for a telephone town hall. What a crock. The room held 79 people and only 3 or 4 people who were opposed to Health Care got in. In the meeting, as reported to us, she stated she is voting for the Health Care Bill. Probably 60 or 75 people...

An incredible shining moment on the Senate floor, a speech in my estimation, should have been made by the President of the United States...

The director of the White House Military Office submitted his resignation on Friday, less than two weeks after he authorized a flyover by an Air Force One backup of the Statue of Liberty that terrified thousands of people in New York City. Louis Caldera, who served as the secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration, apologized for the “distraction” that approving the flyover caused. He said in a brief letter to President Obama on Friday that it “has made it impossible for me to effectively lead the White House Military Office.”

The White House says it will indeed release a photograph from the $329,000 "photo shoot'' of one of the Air Force jumbo jets that serve as Air Force One when the president is aboard but mainly served to scare a lot of New Yorkers in that recent flyover. President Barack Obama voiced outrage over the incident, as did the mayor of New York, the senior senator from New York and many street-level New Yorkers who didn't know what to make of the presidential aircraft trailed by an F-16 fighter making low arcs over the Hudson River. It was a "photo-op,''...

Just announced on FOX news: "The White House has declined to release the photos taken of the backup of the AF1 plane that flew over NYC and past the Statue of Liberty for a photo op last month..." No more details available on FOX's website. Remember this: Photo Flop

Ok, I'm going to get ribbed for this but I have a thought on the AF1 thing the other day over NYC. Using AF1 (symbol of the most powerful man on the planet) with fighter escort (most advanced/powerful airborne weapon on the planet) to mock the American people in NYC was BO's way of showing his "friends" (and those he bows to) that he is one of them. Feel free to tell me I'm way off.

A perfect storm of idiocy led to a frightening 9/11 flashback for thousands of New Yorkers Monday when a jumbo jet and an F-16 fighter jet buzzed lower Manhattan without warning. (video -- flyby) (video -- panic) (video -- Ground Zero) A "furious" Mayor Bloomberg denounced the dunces who dreamed up the stunt. Bloomberg said, "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo-op right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe defies imagination. Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase it, but they did. I also think that once they had told us, we should...

The White house explantion imo doesn't pass the smell test. They say it was a photo-op for the purpose of using the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. But that raises the question: who was taking the photos? Other than 2 F16s there was no mention of a fourth plane taking pictures. And both F16s were trailing AF1, which would have not been a great postion to photograph AF1 with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. Was the explantion of a photo-op the real reason or was it just the excuse given?

A photo-op over the Manhattan skyline that sent thousands of New Yorkers running for their lives has officials in Washington, D.C., running for cover. Many New Yorkers on Tuesday were asking what the Obama administration could have been thinking when it authorized an Air Force One backup plane to fly over the city for photos capturing the presidential plane with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The 747 plane, with an F-16 escort following close behind, circled the Statue of Liberty and the skyline near the World Trade Center site for about a half-hour. Offices were evacuated. Emergency call...

President Barack Obama greets FBI Director Robert Mueller after Mueller introduced him to speak to FBI employees at FBI headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April 28, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama smiles as he puts on a cap given to him by FBI director Robert Mueller during his visit to FBI headquarters in Washington April 28, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama receives teddy bears as a gift for his daughters from FBI director Robert Mueller during his visit to FBI headquarters in Washington April 28, 2009. President Barack Obama delivers remarks to FBI employees at FBI headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April...

President Obama's White House was forced to issue an apology Monday after a photo opportunity gone badly wrong - an Air Force One backup did a low flyover over Lower Manhattan, prompting terrified citizens to flee their offices and high-profile accusations of government insensitivity in the post-Sept. 11 era. White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera issued a brief statement saying he was to blame, and an administration official said the president was "furious" about the photo op, which had been in the works for one month. "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for...

An airliner and supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline in a flash just as the work day was beginning Monday. Within minutes, startled financial workers streamed out of their offices, fearing a nightmarish replay of Sept. 11. For a half-hour, the Boeing 747 and F-16 jet circled the Statue of Liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline near the World Trade Center site. Offices evacuated. Dispatchers were inundated with calls. Witnesses thought the planes were flying dangerously low. But the flyover was nothing but a photo op, apparently one of a series of flights to get pictures of...

Watch Video: http://www.butasforme.com/2009/04/27/white-house-sorry-for-terror-scare-in-nyc-why-obama-wanted-to-do-a-photo-op-right-around-the-site-of-the-world-trade-center-defies-the-imagination/Why Obama wanted to do an airplane photo op right around the site of the World Trade Center defies the imagination…

Of course no one is taking responsibility for this. Who would want their name on this public relations fiasco? Following an astonishing decision to let a Boeing 747 buzz the Manhattan skyline this morning without informing the public, you get what you typically expect from government when a mistake is made: not my fault. 9/11 Bringing back memories of September 11 to New York City residents, entire buildings were evacuated after — what turned out to be one of President Obama’s planes — swooped low over the Statue of Liberty into lower Manhattan on Monday morning. The 747 was escorted...

A photo shoot involving a 747 used as Air Force One and two fighter jets flying at low altitude led to hundreds of frightened calls from residents and workers in Lower Manhattan this morning, triggering memories of 9-11 as many evacuated their offices... According to officials, the flight -- authorized by the FAA -- came in as low as 1000 feet to 150 feet above the city as it made a large circle over Manhattan, Staten Island, and New Jersey... Other officials noted that they were led to believe the flight would be limited to the area near the...

A jumbo jet being chased by a F-16 fighter jets buzzed Lower Manhattan this morning, panicking New Yorkers, many of whom were forced to evacuate their office buildings. It was not a terrorist attack, however, but a photo opportunity for Air Force One, sources told the Post.

Obama's FAA and Air Force scare the s%!t out of New York office workers by flying Air Force One, escorted by an F-16, low over Manhattan in what was described by the the FAA as a "photo-op".

(From Drudge Report)

After pushing Congress for weeks to hurry up and pass the massive $787 billion stimulus bill, President Obama promptly took off for a three-day holiday getaway. Obama arrived at his home in Chicago on Friday, and treated wife Michelle to a Valentine's Day dinner downtown last night. The couple was spotted leaving upscale Table Fifty-Two, which specializes in Southern cuisine, with the first lady toting what appeared to be a doggie bag.

Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden are getting trigger happy for the spot light. They are seen this morning in a surprise ceremony at Arlington National Cemetary, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Not only is that the duty of the President on Memorial Day, it is an encroachment of the solemn respect earned by what the tomb represents. I resent it being used for a photo-op by two Senators who have voted against funding military.

CHICAGO – A dozen grade schoolers got their own chance to quiz President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday, getting an earful on such issues as longer school days, how it feels to be on television, and even the first puppy's "business." "How will you feel when you move to the White House?" one child asked. "I'm going to be excited," Obama said, explaining that he would have a "pretty nice office" in the shape of an oval when he got to Washington. Obama was joined by Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Arne Duncan, the head of the Chicago school system and...

Obama is so close to his Grandmother, he's flying to Hawaii to visit her. But according to this article, the most recent picture of them together is 25 years old. And since Obama thinks so highly of Grandma, wouldn't you imagine that he would want his daughters to visit and get to know their great-grandma?

Photo Ops in Politics by: Irene Warren, September 29, 2008 Big-name news celebrities shared center stage at the Brookings Institution recently to host an exclusive presentation with Kiku Adatto, author of Picture Perfect: Life in the Age of the Photo Op, as they explored photo expressions and addressed the problems with photo ops in politics, William A. Galston, with the Brookings Institution, explained. “The event is part of the Governing Ideas series,” Galston noted, “it is intended to broaden the discussion of governance issues through forums on timely and relevant books on history, culture, legal norms and practices, and also...

Both major presidential candidates have been invited to the event, which CBS has agreed to broadcast live. So far, only Mr. McCain has agreed to attend. [...] Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said that while the senator has a scheduling conflict on Aug. 11, he "strongly supports" veterans and military families, and he has worked hard on their behalf in the Senate. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is expected to attend a private fundraiser for his presidential campaign on Aug. 12 at the Halekulani Hotel, several sources said.

Barack Obama's claims that he was not going to use a planned visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center as a photo-op were blown out of the water tonight by a spokesman for Landstuhl who told Stars and Stripes that plans had been made for Obama's campaign press contingent to film the candidate as he entered and left the hospital.U.S. European Command spokesman Lt. Col. John Dorrian said that local and traveling press would have been brought to the entrance of Landstuhl to film Obama entering and leaving the hospital.The article also noted that it would have been permissible for Obama...

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube get the skinny on the abrupt cancellation of Barack Obama’s visit to Landstuhl and Ramstein yesterday. The campaign tried to excuse it by claiming that it wouldn’t be appropriate to visit while on a campaign-funded portion of his trip, but that wasn’t the real problem. When Obama found out he couldn’t use the visit as a photo op, he canceled: One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama’s representatives were told, “he could only bring two or three...

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube get the skinny on the abrupt cancellation of Barack Obama’s visit to Landstuhl and Ramstein yesterday. The campaign tried to excuse it by claiming that it wouldn’t be appropriate to visit while on a campaign-funded portion of his trip, but that wasn’t the real problem. When Obama found out he couldn’t use the visit as a photo op, he canceled... In fact, those same rules applied for the CODEL trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve to keep politicians from exploiting military facilities for political reasons, and to ensure that all visitors get treated...