Jill has a style. The Atlantic chose her for that style. The shot on the cover is in that style. The Atlantic is happy with that image. So, the job was done correctly. Whether or not you or I like her style (I don’t but that’s not the point here) she’s well known for it. The Atlantic no doubt knew what they were getting into using her for the cover.

What this is about is the outtakes, what she did with them and what she said about them.

I think it’s important to sort those two things out.

That said, this brings up a much more nuanced issue which is this: Do you think Fox chooses the most flattering images of Obama when they show his face on a story? Do you think MSNBC shows the most flattering pictures of McCain to illustrate their stories? It’s a slippery slope and it’s not as cut and dried as we’d like it to be.

I’m not defending what Jill did here, I’m saying that there are subtler issues that are part of the politics of portraying political figures.

On a totally different tach, do you think it’s pornographic when McCain approves an ad that lies about Obama’s record? The last batch of ads he ran seemed over the top to me. This has nothing to do with what Jill did, it’s just another issue where someone went over a line.

It’s done. Doesn’t make what Jill did right, but it’s done.

And, do you think Richard Avadon or Irving Penn always show their models in the best light? I think not. They have and had political baggage as well.