They say a picture is worth a thousand words – and when it comes to the American presidency, some photographs speak volumes. From the intimate to the infamous, the triumphant to the tragic, certain images of the commanders-in-chief have become indelibly etched into the nation’s collective memory.
Pivotal Presidential Moments, Frozen in Time
In a collection assembled by The Guardian, 33 such photographs are highlighted, each one capturing a pivotal moment in a president or candidate’s career. Early images, like the daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams from 1843, provide fascinating glimpses into the early days of photography. Fast forward to the 20th century and beyond, and the camera is there to document the highs and lows of the world’s most powerful office.
There are images of strength and heroism, like Eisenhower on the eve of D-Day or George W. Bush with his bloodied face and defiant fist raised after a failed assassination attempt. Photographs of triumph show Nixon in China and Reagan demanding that Gorbachev “tear down this wall.”
But the camera also captures moments of vulnerability, tragedy, and disgrace. The haunting shot of LBJ being sworn in aboard Air Force One, with a stunned Jackie Kennedy at his side in her blood-stained dress. The crumpled body of RFK on the floor of that hotel kitchen. Clinton embracing Monica Lewinsky. Nixon’s final, awkward salute as he boarded the helicopter after resigning in shame.
This was a conservative city and yet hundreds of thousands of people turned out to cheer him on.
– Fredrik Logevall, JFK biographer, on Kennedy’s final motorcade
Some images reveal intimate, human moments, like George H.W. Bush and family in bed at the vice presidential residence or Obama bending down so a young Black boy could touch his hair. Others show tantalizing what-might-have-beens, like Shirley Chisholm campaigning to be America’s first Black woman president.
The Power and Pitfalls of the ‘Photo-Op’
Not every memorable image was a candid one. From Teddy Roosevelt on horseback to Dukakis in the tank to W’s “Mission Accomplished,” many were carefully stage-managed affairs that became iconic for the wrong reasons. As one former Clinton aide put it, they lived in fear of “a Dukakis in the tank moment.”
- Photo-ops aim to cast presidents as strong, heroic figures
- But many became emblems of weakness, misjudgment, and hubris
- Dukakis tank ride seen as one of worst campaign images ever
- Bush “Mission Accomplished” banner came to haunt his presidency
Pictures of Power, Pictures of Pain
Paging through this presidential album is a tour through the triumphs and tragedies of the American century and beyond. There are scenes of immense geopolitical power – the Big Three at Yalta carving up the postwar world, Nixon toasting Mao. Of civil rights breakthroughs, like LBJ handing MLK the pen he used to sign the Voting Rights Act.
But there is also anguish and adversity. The frail FDR at Yalta, the polio-stricken president propped up between Churchill and Stalin. LBJ watching footage of Vietnam protests, a war he’d inherited and couldn’t win. Carter collapsing from exhaustion while running.
His face was ashen and his mouth hung open.
– Reporter’s description of Jimmy Carter after collapsing during a race
And perhaps most indelible, the images of Kennedys struck down. JFK smiling and waving in the Dallas motorcade. RFK sprawled on that hotel floor, the busboy cradling his bleeding head. Images of youthful promise extinguished far too soon.
The Missing Picture: A Woman in the Oval Office
And yet, amidst this sweeping visual history, one image is conspicuously absent: that of a woman taking the oath of office. We see trailblazers like Chisholm and Hillary Clinton, who came so close to shattering that highest, hardest glass ceiling. But America’s 46 presidents to date have all been men.
As we reflect on the past captured in these photographs, that missing picture looms large. It’s a void that voters may finally fill, if not this November, then perhaps in elections to come. And when that barrier-breaking image does materialize, it will take its rightful place in the presidential pantheon, a snapshot for the ages.
