MUGSHOTS OF THE RICH AND/OR FAMOUS

I don't claim to be an expert on mugshots; but from those that I've seen, they're usually not the most flattering photos.

EXAMPLES












Contrast these images with Tom DeLay's mugshot.


VERY different.

The image is so flattering that I think DeLay should consider using it as his official Congressional picture. With the help of Photoshop, add an American flag behind his right shoulder and it's perfect.

Of course, the Dems aren't happy. Neither are the media liberals.

AP writes:

Why is Tom DeLay smiling? After all, he's been indicted. Forced out of his job as House majority leader. And called into court for fingerprinting and a mugshot like a common criminal.

Answer: A photo of DeLay grinning from ear to ear doesn't pack quite the punch in a Democratic attack ad as one that looks more like the mugshot of, say, actor Hugh Grant.

Note the House of Representatives security pin on DeLay's lapel.

He looks in the photo like a proud member of Congress who might just have won the lottery, not one indicted on charges of money laundering. The photo looks like it could have been taken anywhere.

And that was just the point.

Democrats nationally are already sounding as if they'll make DeLay the poster boy for bad Republican behavior in next year's elections, when every House seat and a third of those in the Senate are up for grabs.

...For his mandatory booking Thursday, which caused him to miss voting on a gun industry bill popular in his home state, DeLay did everything he could to prevent images of the event from being committed to film.

Rather, the photo projects the confidence DeLay exhibits in all of his scuffles. For anyone who didn't get it, DeLay's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, articulated the message it was intended to send.

"If you saw Congressman DeLay's mugshot, he was smiling," DeGuerin told reporters. "He's eager and he's ready to go."

I think it's funny that DeLay's mugshot is the subject of media analysis.

The Associated Press devotes a story to the mugshot.

BREAKING NEWS: DeLAY SMILED!

I guess the mainstream media needed to make sure that no one would be fooled by a smiling DeLay. They don't want the public to think that he really smiles. It was a calculated move, Republican damage control.

A smile doesn't change the fact that DeLay was photographed and fingerprinted yesterday.

A mugshot by any other name is still a mugshot.

I'm sure that a scowling DeLay was what Dr. Dean and the DNC were hoping to get. However, they had to realize that those hopes were unrealistic.

Never fear! The DNC can always go back to the fake mugshot they were circulating back in April. It was up on the homepage of the DNC for weeks and weeks.

Very classy.