The naked truth about Dick Cheney's sunglasses

The power of suggestion combined with the power of the Internet is an awesome phenomenon to behold, as illustrated most vividly over the last couple of days by the saga of the reflection in Dick Cheney's sunglasses.

The Ticket, foolishly preoccupied with other matters, comes late to this, but as virtually every Web-surfer knows, a photo that had been posted on the White House Web of the vice president fly-fishing on the Snake River in Idaho, apparently a few years ago, has become a sensation. And it's not because we've become a nation of avid anglers.

No, the reason is that a blog posting earlier this week postulated that upon intense inspection, the reflection in Cheney's trademark sunglasses revealed (pardon us) a NAKED LADY. And that was all it took to generate an extraordinary buzz.

As of a few minutes ago, a Google search of "Dick Cheney" and "sunglasses" came back with more than 87,000 hits. The 100,000 mark is sure to be breached soon.

Times reporter James Hohmann this afternoon tracked down Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride, traveling with the vice president on fundraising stops he's making in Colorado and California. She reiterated what other White House staffers have had to spend time explaining -- upon close examination, it's clear the reflection simply caught the vice president in the act of casting a rod.

"He’s fly fishing," she said, understandably a bit exasperated. "That’s what he’s doing."

And no, she added, there were no naked ladies in the vicinity.

Readers, as always, are invited to comment -- give us your reflections on the reflection.

-- Don Frederick

Photo: David Bohrer / The White House via Associated Press

Comments

[Tannim]

Of course there were no naked ladies around--his pacemaker would short-circuit! (Assuming he didn't try to shoot them first!).

[Rodney Lamprey]

Why does everyone jump to the conclusion that Vice President Cheney would be torturing a nude woman while on his vacation? Was he fishing at Guantamo Bay?

[Rattlesnake Bob]

Don't kid me. I know a naked woman when I see one. It is the reflective image to the left of the hand reflection in the left lens that is suspect. But, hey, leave the old boy alone. If he wants to do some naked fishing, at his age, what harm can it do? I wonder if you could enlarge the image a little more so we could ascertain the identity of the female in the reflection.

[FAQ News reporter]

This has to be photoshopped, I saw the original post and it is clearly either Bette Midler or Dee Snider that is naked in the photos... see for yourself!

http://FAQnews.wordpress.com

[charles chip]

come on the guy is fishing

[Jay Doubleyou]

i liked him better when it was a naked lady.

[bali hoo]

I don't know..the hand holding the rod looks doctored to me.
They sure make the cia work really hard.....another government cover up I say....who is with me on this one
...raise your hand....

[Rick Wallace]

Nobody I have ever fly-fished with holds a rod with their reel positioned that way.

[David]

HEY, sometimes a bare hand DOES resemble a naked lady.

[C Franklin]

who gives a crap if it is a naked man,woman, or sheep?
isn't the fact that Cheney helps destroy the environment on a daily basis enough to be upset about? His questionable activities with Haliburton are forgotten, but when some cross eyed geek with too much time on his hands imagines he sees the woman he will never touch in the distorted reflection in a pair of sunglasses, thats national news? i despair for this country.

[mangowild]

What naked lady in her right mind would get near him? Definitely his own hand. An old friend. hehe

[Angela]

I think the photo has been altered because in the background of cheney there is green (forest or trees) whatever but in the sunglasses it shows blue/ocean-like background...total fake

[captainkona]

That's it! That's a mans hand in those glasses!

I knew Cheney was gay.

;)

[poggy]

Another slow news day, I guess.

[chaz]

I dont see the naked woman. To the right of his hand there is a slight curve upward, which might resemble a woman's hip, but it looks like the tapering downward of the framing/fiberglass hull port side of the boat.
The cast sucks indeed.

[Annette]

I no stretch of the imagination does this look like a naked woman. It's clearly just a hand gripping something.

[Evilscribbler]

It's perfectly obvious it's a reflection of his hand .... what is does reveal is apparently poor technique. The way his thumb is wrapped around the grip, it looks like he is choking it to death. Torturing it, even.
On the plus side, woeful technique = safe (non-renditioned) trout.

[Dylan]

No, I think there is a UFO in his sunglasses. Oh wait, maybe it looks like Jesus. Hmmmm...

[Matthew Snow]

jay doubleyou i raise my hand

it is obviously a cover up they wouldn't put the actual picture on any major news sites haha...this government knows how stupid we are obviously there would not be rumors of a naked lady unless there was one....the picture above does not even bring to mind a naked lady...of course every ignorant person would believe he was really fishing....
www.zeitgeistmovie.com learn what our government is capable over.

[Lee]

C'mon, this is Dick Cheney, the guy who couldn't shoot quail unless they were tied to the ground (and even then). If he's out fishing, it isn't with a fly rod, it's with a stick of dynamite!

[dan]

I "cast a rod" when I saw the original picture too.

[TerryL]

Fly fishing??? So is that a new term that naked ladies use when they are trying to have some fun with Dick er, Cheney?

Yea, that's the ticket, we can say fly fishing and we won't be lying.

[CHONSEY]

HONESTLY I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT! COME ON FELLAS, IF I WERE FISHING AND A NAKED LADY CAME OUT OF THE WATER... I'D SMILE TOO! BIG DEAL, THE V.P. LIKES NAKED WOMEN! IM PRETTY SURE HE HAS THAT IN COMMON WITH 99% OF THE SINGLE MEN IN THE WORLD! AT LEAST HE'S HUMAN... NOT A ROBOT!

[Dave the Man]

Hey Lawrence,

Can you park your political bile for a minute. Everything bad is not Cheney and Bush's fault. Look at you, some of it must be your mother's fault. Get a grip lib.
hahahahahaha

[RgT]

With a increasingly boring Pres. campaign it would seen that the Aug. Press doldrums have come early. And he's fishing.

[a o^o i]

I saw in this picture an arm holding an fishing rod throwing a line, I shall check with my optometrist to also check my eyes. I aren't see no naked woman, I m an normal healthy man.
a o^o i @pg 12apr08

[Phil]

Cheney's credibility would go UP if the reflection in fact included a nude girl. Please, give us a VP who has enough fun to have some naked women around.

[francis]

"I think the photo has been altered because in the background of cheney there is green (forest or trees) whatever but in the sunglasses it shows blue/ocean-like background...total fake"

Nice catch. You really nailed him. The only way he could have greenery behind him and water in front of him would be if he could somehow... seek out a kind of... what would you cal it.... um....

SHORELINE???

[captainkona]

"It's clearly just a hand gripping something."

Think how lucky we'd all be if it was gripping his chest in pain.

[trshaw]

If thats a naked woman..that probably isn't a fishing pole he's holding!

[Crispin Glover's Maid]

Hey Rick;
Cheney may be a money grubbing war criminal, but he does know how to fish. His rod hand is in the correct position for his gear - above the reel holding the line.

[Voysingme]

A perfect example of the Democratic MEDIA being desperate for NEWS. Unfortunately this is NOT news at ALL. You have to roll your eyes up in your head to envision a naked woman out of what is clearly a HUMAN ARM and HAND holding a fishinh pole.

Use your imagination really, realy hard and you MIGHT just see AN ALIEN female with a shriveled up torso and a PENCIL for a head.

The democrats are reaching for anything they can get now. Like I said DESPERATE democratic media. How utterly childish. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa) !!!!!

[pete]

both images on the sunglasses dont match , look at the thumb position and pay close attention to the the bend in his thumb , not even.

[Gary]

This is about one of the most worthless stories on the planet right now...thanks for wasting 3 minutes of my life I will never get back.

[David]

It looks like Monica Louwenski to me!

[Doesitreallymatter]

The picture is doctored to make it look more like his hand. However, the hand position is changed, you can tell by the shadows and the markings on the pole relative to the bars on the the edge of the boat, much less the wrinkles on his hand...would have been nice if they he had a brighter smile

[Raffi Aidiniantz]

If there was a naked lady in Dick Cheney's boat, I'd say he made quite a catch, considering his obtuse conservative, snarly demeanor. I despise him and his conservative, Christian-fundamentalist, fascist, oil-corporation-loving regeime, as does virtually every other person nowadays.

Why can't we return to the 60's and all be liberal? Yeah, baby! Where's the fun gone? Let's bring it back! Vote Obama! Let's go back to being American again! The land of the free! The land where it's possible to live a happy, liberal life! End the conservative staleness! Down with asphyxiating conservatism! Let's make the next generation a people-generation, not a corporate, authoritarian, rule-loving generation! We're tired of that! Yeah! Fun times ahead for me and my kids! Happy times ahead for all of us!

[Stacie]

From David:

"HEY, sometimes a bare hand DOES resemble a naked lady."

Posted by: David | April 11, 2008 at 04:32 PM

Best comment ever!

And to the people not as familiar with photo editing software are I am, NOTHING you see may be true. It may or may not be, but you absolutely can not rely on visual evidence anymore. It's a fun diversion, nothing more.

[Rick Morefield]

I don't see a naked lady and I have a vivid imagination.
I can't even tell if it is a fishing rod in his hand.
If he's fishing and he has a naked female buddy I wish
he would take me with him. I don't like to fish but I do
like naked ladies for buddies.

[John]

Is that a zit on his nose reflected in his right lens, or do I see a nipple?

[Daniel]

Wow. I distrust the Vice President just as much as the next guy, but come on. Can't the man get his fly fishing on? He's not shooting anyone in the face for god's sake.

[Hey!]

Democratic media? Democrat media perhaps, but who said the Democrats are democratic?

[Richard]

SHE is NOT Naked - she is a decent woman !

[Terao]

By just enlarging a part that appears to be nipples, you can easily find the part was pasted with a small rectangular image. This is a very primitive way to make a fake. I would say it is not a professional work.

[vhc61]

Okay...all the comments got me curious. I enlarged it several hundred times. As a photographer I can see what is going on, and it is interesting, at least from a photography standpoint. There is the reflection of someone in HIS right hand lens (on your left), to the left of the reflection of his arm and the fishing rod. She is speaking (mouth open) and is wearing an outfit made with a striped plaid, that is reflected to the outside of her body on either side, but not on the face, due to the position of the curve of the lens in relation to her. A very neat picture; she is definitely dressed in what appears to be at least a mid thigh, and long sleeved outfit, talking while he fishes. No big deal...a great shot if the photographer had gotten her reflection a little clearer. Whoever she is, she should get a 20x30 enlargement and frame it as art...

[hesingswithfrogs]

Nobody has said what part of his sunglasses that they're looking in. In Cheney's right lense (my left) I don't see anything. BUT, in at the bottom right quadrant of Cheney's left lense (my right) I see a naked woman just under the arm holding the fishing pole. Anybody else see that?

[lexicon]

It's clearly a baby's arm holding an apple.

So, the question arises, who is THAT?

[joe]

I believe he spared his rod and toiled too shallow. :)

[Patricia Paredes]

GO Cheney GO!
xo
You are a good sport!

[JC]

Dick Cheney hasn't been that close to a naked woman in 40 years.