Al's Big Room, Nancy's Glacier, And All That Green Cred

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Yeah, Gore is happening right now, and I’m interested in your take on Steve Pyke’s photo.  I think it’s a really interesting combo publicity shot/ character study.

What I’m particularly interested in, however, is the growing buzz around eco-politics.  As usual, I’m thinking about “the look of it” with the attendant rewards and pitfalls.

With Gore’s high visibility right now, and the perception he’s way down the road on the issue, I’m struggling with the visuals of Pelosi’s weekend mission to Greenland. Especially with Gore in mind, Pelosi’s snaps make it seem like she’s a little desperate (to catch up? to build up her green cred?).  (As further evidence of the strain on the PR hand, check out this shot on Nancy’s blog with her husband and Anderson Cooper.)

I’m also wondering about the whole issue of “visual politics” when we’re talking green.  My sense is that ecology, as ideological subject matter, somehow pulls for a more genuineness.  Perhaps that’s why Rove placed Bush in a policy forum yesterday for his nominal jump onto the global warming bandwagon instead of in front of a polar bear.

(Case in point, that’s why I posted Will Ferrell’s piece on “Green Dubya” — with a link to Bush’s particularly lame speech yesterday — just above.)

(h/t: David, Jamie. image 1: Steve Pyke for TIME. May 2007. time.com. Photo is part of a recent TIME slideshow, Al Gore’s American Life and accompanies the article,  The Last Temptation of Al Gore.  image 2: unattributed.  speaker.gov/blog/)