Baby Pictures
I wonder whether there's anything to be made of the plethora of childhood photos of Barack Obama that litter articles about him? I don't believe I've ever seen so many childhood photos of a presidential candidate. As far as I'm aware, we're not being treated to similar ones of John McCain. (Some of the young Viet Nam hero, yes, but none on his tricycle.)

Of course this could be because, being less interested in McCain, I've read fewer articles and missed the ones that contain the photos. Or perhaps it's just that Obama was more photographed than McCain; being the younger of the two, he was raised at a time when cameras were more readily available to all.

But I can't help wondering whether there's some deep significance; whether we're meant to make something of all these photos. Are we to like Obama more because we see that he had a childhood? Or less, because we can tell how recent it was? Or perhaps something more subtle, about race or status or something?

Maybe it's a conspiracy.