The White House Picture on Historic Pride Weekend

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A certain amount of the buzz this weekend had to do with how Friday’s NY gay marriage victory, and the bold commitment of Governor Cuomo, its prime mover, reflected back on Obama. It didn’t help that the Prez was in NYC Thursday night at a pricey, if not quite kumbayah fundraiser with the gay community.

Given the politics, not to mention the Friday and Saturday’s celebratory photos at the NY State Capitol, followed by celebrating throughout the state, the White House “Photo of the Day” on Friday, still up through the weekend, is striking in contrast. If the tone and body language seems to parallel Cuomo and Bloomberg, et. al. at the Pride March, the White House photo could also be seen to recall Bush’s second term, the heavy reliance on military photo ops providing a reliable and even necessary safety valve.

(photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images caption: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Sandra Lee march during the 2011 NYC LGBT Pride March on the streets of Manhattan on June 26, 2011 in New York City. Thousands of revelers had reason to celebrate since New York state legislators approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage which Governor Cuomo signed in to law on Friday June 24. photo: Pete Souza/White House caption: President Barack Obama jokes with military personnel along a tarmac ropeline before boarding Air Force One at Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh, Pa., June 24, 2011.)