Photoshop and Political Cheap Shots: Photog Doctors McCain Pics to "Stir Things Up"

Photoshop is front-and-center in the political blogosphere this week. Here's why:

Canadian-born photographer Jill Greenberg was hired by The Atlantic magazine to shoot John McCain for its October cover. She did. The media-hungry Greenberg also shot some horror-show pics of McCain lit by a strobe from below, casting creepy shadows on his face and on the wall behind him. She put those on her website. She also photoshopped some of the McCain shots, and added "funny" captions above and below his head.

Here's my personal favorite, in which Greenberg unfairly superimposes Sarah Palin's mouth on McCain's face:

Just kidding about Palin's mouth, and sorry for the disturbing image, but that is really one of the McCain Photoshop creations at Greenberg's web site.

Here's what the Editor of The Atlantic has to say about it.

Many in the blogosphere are saying that Greenberg, a Democrat, is simply using her freedom of speech (and her copy of Photoshop) to create a satirical comment on an important political event, and she has every right.

Fine, but what a sophomoric way to do it. I put Greenberg's artwork down there with those emails you get insisting that Barack Obama is a Muslim. Greenberg comments that she was trying to "stir things up" before the election. But her pictures are just more junk, more noise in an already spin-crazy campaign. If anything, you end up sympathizing with McCain.

But that's just what I think. Check out Greenberg's photos (click "names" then go to John McCain) and let us know what you think.

UPDATE: Greenberg has apparently removed the images from her web site as of 4:25 PM Eastern. I'm glad I screen-grabbed the one above in time.

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