The Belarusian Widows (Or, The BAG Takes Some Visual Liberty During A Pause In The News Cycle)

As far as I can tell, there aren’t many images of Bush actually talking (as opposed to simply posing head-on) with wounded soldiers, or others who have experienced severe trauma from political cataclysm. (What we do know, however, is that Laura Bush consistently explains how victims end up consoling the Bushs.)

Maybe “W” has his mind on his upcoming trip to India and Pakistan. Perhaps the eye contact is a harder to come by because the two women are aggrieved (and/or attractive) and Bush has to carry the conversation.

From a political standpoint, however, the image would be completely trivial if not for the body language of Assistant Secretary of State Steven Hadley. Although you need to see it in its original version, this seems like a nice example of the handler-of-the-moment — regardless how minor the situation — being reflexively on guard to insure Bush (at least half-way) delivers the content.