Op-Ed: Mike Huckabee's sneaky ad is a miracle

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Bob Wickers, Huckabee's media consultant, the man who made the ad, claims that the cross imagery was "absolutely accidental." Wickers claims that Huckabee was simply sitting in front of a built in cabinet and that the media team, professional image makers and photographers, were unaware of "this whole cross imagery."

This is a claim that taxes one's credulity. As a professional photographer with over thirty years experience I know that any photographer or cinematographer who was unaware of what was going on in the background of a carefully set up shot that they were doing would have never made it out of photo school. Being aware of the background is so vital to professional photography (and cinematography) that even a moderately well trained cameraman will spend a considerable amount of time checking it before making the final shot.

The second tip off that this was not the accident that Mr. Wickers would have us believe is that the background is separately lighted. A spotlight has been set up behind the candidate and focused directly on the white framing. It is impossible to set up such a light and not be aware of what it is lighting--unless the grip (light person) is blind.

The third tip off that this was a planned shot is the fact that a "gobo," short for "go between," a light blocking panel, has been set up in such a way as to shade the right arm of the "cross." If one watches just the right arm of the cross during the video (perhaps with the sound turned down) one will see the shadow falls on that part of the arm just enough to balance the left arm, which is "accidentally" cut off by the Christmas tree.

Accidents like that take a whole lot of planning.

What makes this video such a tour de force however is that it is a "dolly shot" meaning that the camera is set up on a wheeled cart and pushed along a track in front of the candidate. This makes the background (which no one is supposed to have noticed) "move" in relation to the candidate while at the same time keeping perfectly focused on him. The "cross" does not disappear behind the head of the Mr. Huckabee until just a moment after he notes that the season is a "celebration of the birth of Christ."

This is not to deny that Huckabee has the right to place a cross in his ads if he so desires. It is a free country and he is, after all, a minister. What is not so honorable however is to try to pretend that it was all just a happy "accident." Mike Huckabee has carefully nurtured his "aw shucks" "southern bumpkin" persona.

But the voters should not be fooled, Mike Huckabee is no rube. His home spun facade concealers a very sharp and sophisticated mind, one he hopes his opponents do not know he has until it is too late. Again, nothing wrong with that. It is simply interesting to watch from a purely academic point of view.

Asked about the ad, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said:

"It reminds me of what Sinclair Lewis once said. He says, 'when fascism comes to this country, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross.' Now I don't know whether that's a fair assessment or not, but you wonder about using a cross, like he is the only Christian or implying that subtly. So, I don't think I would ever use anything like that."