Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) recently released a television advertisement in which he used a (possibly doctored) image of himself standing in front of a row of WWII veterans, with the caption, "has rare commitment to values" superimposed onto the photo, and the ad moves too fast to read the entire caption (which means very few people notice the caption is attributed to a newspaper!!)
Shadegg says this is the original image, that it has not been cropped or changed in any way. But it looks like a composite of multiple photos...
The event where the photo was taken had nothing to do with Shadegg (as Shadegg admits) -- the vets were there to ask Cheney questions about the war, questions that Cheney refused to answer. Shadegg, by his own admission, had nothing to do with the event -- he's just using the photo because that is the photo that he has available of himself and vets...
One of those vets has asked Shadegg to cease using his photo, and Rep. Shadegg (R) sent the vet an 'apology' letter that attacks the veteran for attending the event!
When this Constantine O'Neill saw his image on television he immediately sent a letter to Rep. Shadegg asking him to stop using his image:
At age 20, I joined the National Guard in 1939, then fought in the Army Infantry during five separate beach landings in World War II. I was captured in Italy as a war prisoner and taken to spend 22 months in a German prison camp. When they finally left me to fend for myself and find my American troops, at 87 lbs, I staggered my way for days and found a French hospital where I spent months recuperating.
Now I'm 89 years old, and my wife Mary and I have been married 63 years. We've lived through a lot, but when I saw a picture of myself in one of your ads, Mr. Shadegg, I began to cry because I was so angry.
His letter went on to say that he could never support Shadegg, and asked respectfully that Shadegg not use his image, especially with the superimposed caption of "has a rare commitment to principles."
The letter that Shadegg sent in response said:
Neither the photo nor any text in the TV commercial depicts or claims that you or any of the others in the photo support me. It is just a photograph taken in real life, at an event that you and I attended.
Nevermind that the caption superimposed onto the photo has a quote that says,
"has rare commitment to values"
Just below that caption, in a smaller italicized font, it also says "Arizona Republic" with the date, but when you watch the ad, it goes too fast to read anything other than the quote in large letters. So the attribution to the newspaper is not really noticed. I don't have a link to the ad, but here is a screenshot.
The letter also contains this oddly patronizing statement:
The picture shows you smiling broadly, no doubt as a result of well deserved pride for your service to our nation.
And this:
I do understand the concern expressed in your letter. However I hope you understand that when you attend a public event people will take pictures and those pictures are theirs to use as they wish.
But the real gem in the 'apology' letter is this:
The picture is what it is - a picture of me standing in front of a group of veterans. I'm deeply sorry it upset you but I can only suggest that perhaps you should not have attended the event if you did not wish to have your picture taken and would react so strongly.
Then Shadegg adds a confession that the event had nothing to do with him... In other words, Shadegg is using this image to imply that he has the support of veterans (and he's telling the vet that he shouldn't have attended the event if the vet didn't want his image used), but the veterans did not even know Shadegg would be at the event:
As you know the event featured Vice President Dick Cheney and I had nothing to do with his appearance, your invitation to the event, or his handling of the event.
If Shadegg had nothing to do with Cheney's appearance, the invitations to the event, or the handling of the event, then why is Shadegg using imagery from the event to imply support from those veterans (or even involvement in veterans affairs) in a television ad?
Considering that the veteran did not support Dick Cheney, Shadegg should not have assumed even tangential Republican support from these veterans. The original letter from the veteran to Shadegg, asking for the removal of the image from the ad, said:
The photo was taken shortly after the Iraq War began when Vice President Dick Cheney came for a visit at Falcon Field. We attended because we were told we could ask him questions about the war. He refused to answer.
O'Neill believes that the photo was doctored (at least cropped), but Shadegg says this is the original photo -- uncropped, unchanged. The photo does look odd, not like an original print... you can judge for yourself.
According to a press release released today by Shadegg's opponent, Bob Lord, the veteran's wife, Mary O'Neill called the Bob Lord campaign for help and said:
First Shadegg implied in his ad that we support him, and now he is attacking my husband and my family in what was supposed to be an apology.
My husband was strong enough to live through a German prison camp, but this made him break down and cry.
The veteran concluded in his letter to Shadegg:
I have never supported you and never will. I could never support someone who doesn't represent my values or the values of veterans. I have fought all my life, but you never once fought for me. Now you are exploiting me and my fellow POWs.
P.S. You might also be interested that the first public poll for head to head numbers in Shadegg's re-election race has Bob Lord (D) ahead 45 to 44. If you are in Arizona, Bob Lord for Congress is phone banking and canvassing all the time. Please give us a call at (602) 274-0068 or e-mail them at field@lord2008.com to schedule a time to help out!
I am not affiliated with Bob Lord's campaign, but I am a supporter.