Halo To The Chief

The Observer has a fascinating, but disturbing piece about reports that President George W. Bush has claimed God has spoken to him and told him to take this nation to war.

Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP

But perhaps as equally fascinating is the AP photograph (above) that accompanies the article.

We've seen a lot of photographs of Bush in front of some backdrop, typically words from the banners behind him as he speaks, usually cropped to highlight a few words that when taken alone offer an ironic visual. Photographers that follow the presidential beat undoubtedly keep themselves amused by searching for these types of photo ops.

However, Charles Dharapak gets a small prize, and a special mention, for snapping a photo of Bush in front of what is probably the presidential seal, his head obscuring the seal in such a way that it looks like a halo right out of some classic painting of holy saints, or Jesus Christ.

Of course, press conference opportunities for such photos have lead to a number of other similar shots, as a quick Google Images search reveals - hence my giving Mr. Dharapak only a small prize.

The possibility that Bush believes he is on a mission from God is obviously nothing new in many people's minds. He has insinuated as much to Bob Woodward, when he said, "there is a higher father that I appeal to". His early speeches pounding the drums of war often used the word "crusade".

His evangelist supporters, of course, love this image of Bush. Fiscal conservatives probably cringe, and the rest of us are pretty much horrified by it.

We thought we were electing a President, but instead we got a religious zealot. The politicians podium has turned into a preachers pulpit. The lines between church and state have become increasingly blurred, and America is looking very different from the ideal most people have held about it, and what it stands for.

The image of a haloed George Bush captures so many troubling aspects of this presidency. The question remains if this image will stick with us and continue to tarnish how we perceive our nation, and how others perceive us, or whether this country rise up against the direction we have been heading over the past five years, and start voting for change beginning with the next big elections in 2006.