Karl Escapes Citizen’s Arrest, Natch

At first, I felt cheated by this particular shot … of Rove being accosted on stage on Tuesday at a mortgage bankers convention in San Francisco.  (It’s the pic the NYT ran, and which nearly everyone else seemed to use.)  My first take had to do with the visual media fronting for Karl once more, avoiding the instant where — as the woman attempts to make a citizen’s arrest —  he elbows her away.  (C&L has the video.)

But on second thought, it seems even more telling that Karl — clearly on the hot seat given the lunging protester; the glaring George Mitchell; and the likely fat speakers fee from a room full of America’s darlings, the mortgage bankers — sits there staring straight ahead, like he’s oblivious, wearing that sh-t-eating grin like it’s still 2003.

By the way, don’t you just love that tag line on the sign?  It reads: “Investing in communities.”  I guess I’m also surprised nobody tried to execute a citizen’s arrest on any of those mortgage brokers.

(image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.  October 21, 2008. San Francisco)