Edwards’ Mug Shot
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here. Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]
If you are hoping to see a broken man, you will be disappointed. I am frankly a little surprised at how nice he looks in the pic.
Via Cnn.
But at the risk of going all Althouse on this, look at the image on the left. First, how strange is it to smile for a mugshot? I would be curious how often Patrick sees that reaction. And am I the only one who finds that smile very forced and very thin?
The report also states:
A plea deal between the two-time presidential candidate and the U.S. Justice Department fell apart over the the Department’s requirement that Edwards serve jail time. Wanting to have “minimal” impact on his two younger children, the former senator refused to agree.
Hey, if you didn’t want to hurt your younger kids, Senator, maybe you should have waited until your wife was dead before dating other women.
Just a thought…
Update: In comments, ras links to this mugshot by another politician [link removed due to malware concerns] where the guy is smiling and Robin links another pick by a politician, speculating that this might be a politician thing, to smile in your mugshot. Maybe so, but still it gives me the willies.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
You sure do have a purty mouth there, boy!
Icy Texan (1b903d) — 6/15/2011 @ 11:54 amIt’s a politician’s habit, I guess. For comparison’s sake, here’s the mugshot of (now former) Premier of BC, Gordon Campbell, when he was hauled in for DUI: pic.
ras (ceba62) — 6/15/2011 @ 11:56 amDo they give out Breck at the prison dispensary?
Icy Texan (1b903d) — 6/15/2011 @ 11:56 amShot of the back of Edwards’s head reserved for his future roomie.
Icy Texan (1b903d) — 6/15/2011 @ 11:59 amI think ras is right, it’s a politician thing to do. Tom Delay also smiled for his mugshot when he was indicted on money-laundering charges back in 2005.
Robin Munn (5bab32) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:06 pmThat pic is incredibly creepy. Ras’ linked picture looks pretty strange too, but this takes the cake. At least Campbell had the excuse of being DUI, not to mention the decency to have a hair or two out of place.
no one you know (325a59) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:11 pmrobin maybe so. its still creepy. the expression on the right is more natural for the situation. somber but not beaten. its a much better impression.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:11 pmI’d love to see a new feature:
CRIMINAL? or POLITICIAN?
Where you show a picture and you have to vote.
of course, there’d have to be a BOTH option….
Pious Agnostic (291f9a) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:21 pmThe smile is to prevent the mug shot from being used against him by political opponents. For example, with Delay, if he had the usual mugshot scowl, that picture would be used by every political opponent and in every news article about the scandals.
So they smile, and then the value of the picture, to political opponents, disappears.
Bob (0d76b4) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:21 pmEdwards will make great fodder for Bubba.
But it isn’t rape-rape.
DohBiden (15aa57) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:24 pmComment by Bob — 6/15/2011 @ 12:21 pm
Well at least that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.
no one you know (325a59) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:26 pmBob is right. Check out this article:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/LegalCenter/story?id=1237713&page=1
If you look at mug shots from various celebrities like Linsday Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, etc., you’ll often notice that they look like they are posing. It’s a PR thing. Especially with politicians, as Bob said, since a bad mug shot could be used against them from opponents just as a sloppy celebrity mug shot would garner negative press.
rogerthat (f5aad4) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:29 pm<>
Politicians have a “go to” smile which they practice in front of a mirror.
Obama’s fake smile is so good it won him the nomination
rab (7a9e13) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:31 pmand presidency.
“It’s a politician’s habit, I guess. ” — that or it is further evidence of his sociopathic personality.
On another topic: I am sorry that I missed Patterico’s interview. Can you post it for those of us who were unable to present earlier? It has been a very busy week.
bmertz (d77c52) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:37 pmThe reason they smile is to take the power away from the taditional mugshot. By smiling, it looks like any other photo.
Stars do this alot when they are arrested. Since you are not holding up a number anymore, smiling mutes the picture’s impact.
Matt (4d32f9) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:48 pmbmertz
you can go to the same link and its nearby below the live embed.
and i will be likely to embed it in another post i am working on tommy christopher.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:51 pmWhat rab said. And a pol is not going to let you know he’s down. Never give up, never say die, never say you’re sorry, and all that.
jeanne (5a5d33) — 6/15/2011 @ 12:52 pmEvery week, The Smoking Gun runs 15-20 mug shots from around the country. Quite a few of them smile. Others are in tears, of course, or visibly angry. Of the smiling ones, some are crazy, but many are simply people smiling to make the best of a bad situation.
I would imagine that the only mug shot of a politician NOT smiling would be one taken in the immediate aftermath of some sting operation. When they have time to compose themselves and turn themselves in, I think they pretty much all smile. If you don’t smile, it’ll be seen as acknowledging that the charges are serious and you have something to answer for, or are worried about them. If you smile, you project a sense of confidence, that the charges are laughable and not at all serious.
PatHMV (ce32e8) — 6/15/2011 @ 1:10 pmI recall when Tom Delay did this smiling for the mugshot, people thought it was clever. At the time, Delay was thought to still have a political future, and the mugshot looked much like a campaign photo.
I think that inspired much of this.
And many others have said, it’s good PR.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/15/2011 @ 1:26 pmDelay wore his congressional pin. It almost looked like a photo his campaign would put out.
Smiling Tom (different link than the one in the story with the board)
Darin H (5c7b1e) — 6/15/2011 @ 1:47 pmAaron,
bmertz (d77c52) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:01 pmThank you and I’ll check back for your post.
First, how strange is it to smile for a mugshot? I would be curious how often Patrick sees that reaction. And am I the only one who finds that smile very forced and very thin?
Someone has answered this but I will repeat. This is done for a reason. Tom DeLay, who was persecuted by a rabid leftist DA in Austin (The blue zone of Texas), did the same thing. DeLay knew the left was anticipating the mug shot, just like Sarah Palin’s e-mails. I don’t think many people care about Edwards. I have been told that even Kerry disliked him and the staff kept Edwards away from him.
Mike K (8f3f19) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:05 pmWarning: the link to the Campbell picture was flagged for malware. Firefox won’t even take me there.
Speaking of DeLay, any explanation for how on earth a jury managed to convict him of that ridiculous charge, and the appeals court didn’t throw it out? The charge was so absurd on its face that I had expected even the dimmest judges to dismiss it on sight. So what gives? And what recourse has he got now?
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:23 pmthanks for the heads up on the malware. i removed the link just to be safe.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:30 pmOh, well he wouldn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of him looking unhappy or distressed or broken. And all photos are out there forever, especially this one, and he knows it. He’s too vain to put that kind of pictorial epitaph on his career.
SarahW (af7312) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:33 pmI am no expert, as you no doubt already realize. This charge was some kind of novel interpretation of laundering when he used national funds for various campaigns? It did seem really unfair given that there was plenty of evidence Delay was attempting to follow the rules, and this interpretation was bold and novel.
I don’t really know, though.
Dustin (c16eca) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:34 pmI think his mugshot is politically genius. I thought the same of Delay’s.
The last thing you want is a Yasmeen Bleeth mugshot. You either have to go glam or go full Nolte.
MayBee (081489) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:36 pmDo you suppose Edwards brought his stylist and hairdresser with him to the booking photo session?
JVW (24ee9a) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:50 pmhis children must be very proud of dear old dad
here this is kinda fun it’s when our friend Mr. S first decided that John Edwards was quite possible a flagrantly douchey man-whore
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:56 pmquite *possibly* I mean
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 6/15/2011 @ 2:57 pmI googled, MayBee. Now my eyes are bleeding.
JD (12724a) — 6/15/2011 @ 3:08 pmIt’s not just Politicians. Bill Gates’ mug shot shows a smiling young entrepreneur.
I had a lefty tell me that he examined DeLay’s mugshot carefully. His face was smiling but his eyes weren’t. He was a broken man according to lefty wish casting.
bonhomme (e75b3f) — 6/15/2011 @ 3:28 pmAt the time I remember them saying that DeLay did it so that his political enemies who pursued case after case against him couldn’t easily use the pic against him.
Smart!
And Edwards was smart to follow that precedent.
T D (2b4fea) — 6/15/2011 @ 5:31 pmThis is an unjust prosecution. It’s a scary America where federal prosecutors first decide that we don’t like someone, and then attempt to expand the criminal law in order that we can all get our jollies by seeing him in jail. And they get away with it; prosecutorial immunity. The worst that can happen is a few stern sentences in the dismissal opinion of a federal District Court judge.
Brian (68dcfc) — 6/15/2011 @ 5:44 pmGeneral question – why do people smile in mugshots?
JEA (ec39a5) — 6/15/2011 @ 5:50 pmJohn Edwards’ mugshot looks more like Glen Campbell that Glen Campbell’s mugshot looks like Glen Campbell.
Flying Manatee (6e3d8f) — 6/15/2011 @ 6:50 pmit’s the: ” this all nonsense and it will be gone as soon as these people come to their senses” smile.
Other assorted miscreant hicks, gangsters and meth fiends smile because they are still high.
SteveG (cc5dc9) — 6/15/2011 @ 6:56 pmPlus the take a photo for everything now: photos of drunks in public is guaranteed to eventually generate some nice smiles on people who are standing in their own pee
Brian, are you talking about Edwards, or DeLay?
I haven’t read the indictment against Edwards, but based on what I’ve seen reported it doesn’t smell right to me. However he certainly did something underhanded, even if it wasn’t criminal. DeLay, on the other hand, did nothing wrong at all. He made no effort to cover up what he was doing, because he had no idea that anyone would consider it improper. So his conviction and (if I understand correctly) impending incarceration are certainly unjust.
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 6/15/2011 @ 7:14 pmThat’s the picture of a guy who just asked what it would take to get you to buy that used Pinto hatchback.
MU789 (7d49e3) — 6/15/2011 @ 7:55 pmThose are good pictures of Edwards. Perhaps he can use the facing-shot for his Plenty Of Fish profile.
I hope justice prevails, Milhouse. I don’t know enough to be confident the charges are warranted as legitimate crimes. There are certainly too many federal laws.
Well, except for an Anti-Online Masturbation Act. That is desperately needed. (inside joke)
Random (6c802e) — 6/15/2011 @ 8:42 pmPretty boy.
He’ll be Miss Popularity in the big house.
lamchopsl (a91fe8) — 6/15/2011 @ 10:43 pmTom DeLay started the trend by smiling for his mugshot after he was indicted a few years ago. He said he smiled deliberately because he wanted to make sure Democrats didn’t use his mugshot for political gain.
Kim Priestap (197c11) — 6/16/2011 @ 7:37 pmOh really? I never knew that! It’s amazing what one can learn by reading a comment thread!
Milhouse (ea66e3) — 6/17/2011 @ 3:01 pm