When the photo of the Situation Room was released, depicting our leaders and decision-makers as they watched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, my own eyes automatically flickered to Clinton. Hand over her mouth, she looks visibly shaken at the seriousness of the mission.
And then when I look closer, I see more of the same. Obama looks like he feels the weight of this decision. No one is smiling. Necks are craning there in the back, but not because what everyone is looking at is wonderful. I imagine that it is instead so concerning that one cannot help but keep their eyes on it.
But this is interesting: Clinton feels the need to defend having her right hand over her mouth. Check out this video:
She feels the need to explain that instead of an emotional response, this may just be allergies.
Frankly, I don’t mind either way. I felt that it would have been appropriate for everyone to look concerned at what they were seeing, but I also totally understand if it was allergies. But I think it is really interesting that she feels the need to define what exactly it was. It’s like she is trying to minimize her image as someone who might be emotionally affected by her decisions.
Maybe I am reading into this. Or maybe it is my spring allergies talking. But I think there is something here.
Photo source: the White House Flickr Stream, found here.
Video source: the Associated Press YouTube channel, found here.
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