Why did the Navy give them permission in the first place? Because McCain was in the Navy? Because King George told them so?

This is a non-story. Military personnel have been so often used by George Bush for promos that nobody notices. Bush has posed and spoken in front of entire units. It may be possible that completely new designations have been assigned: "17th Presidential Photo Opportunity Division." There may even be a new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS): 32B00 -- Presidential Speech Audience Performer, nicknamed a "prop."

If the McCain team really wanted imagery to underscore education reform, don't you think they would have picked something that , you know, actually looked like a school instead of a Mediterranean mansion?

I must be the only left-thinking person who believes the GOP on this one. I just find it impossible to believe that some cameraman drove all the way from a Hollywood studio to a North Hollywood, taped several minutes of footage at the middle school, all on a mistake?

On the other hand, what are the chances that GOPers were looking for the Walter Reed hospital, and instead just happened to come across a middle school which is used by every movie company as a prop?

My guess is that it never occurred to anyone that the high school looks like a mansion until it aired.

I must be the only left-thinking person who believes the GOP on this one. I just find it impossible to believe that some cameraman drove all the way from a Hollywood studio to a North Hollywood, taped several minutes of footage at the middle school, all on a mistake?

I think you're mixing up the two different image problems that cropped up at the convention: they used a still photograph of Walter Reed Middle School that they bought from a photo agency. They didn't send someone out from the RNC to film the school. It's pretty clearly a research mistake by whatever company put the images together.

Maybe you're thinking of the staged military funeral using actors that they put in one of the videos?

According to Greg Sargent, the image behind McCain was video footage, not a still photo.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/mccains_speech_backdrop_was_us.php

So, either the McCain campaign accidentally came upon a middle school which just happens to be near Hollywood and is often used by movies and TV shows as a background. And someone had to film it--I'm guessing that studios don't have that type of footage in their stockrooms.

Or, they meant to use THAT school, and their error was not realizing how silly it would look on TV.

Tucker Bounds is starting to remind me, more and more, of Baghdad Bob (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammed_Saeed_al-Sahaf) -- remember the Saddam Hussein information minister who continued insisting that the American forces in Iraq were in full retreat...when they were in fact only a few hundred yards from where he was speaking to reporters.

Another dishonorable mention in this category is Robert Mugabe's current press secretary, Bright Matonga, who kept insisting what a lovely, fair presidential campaign Mugabe was running, and winning -- even as ZANU-PF thugs imprisoned and tortured the opposition's leadership.

Of course, understanding that this is the kind of company that Tucker Bounds belongs in is not terribly reassuring for the state of American democracy!

Did you see the other video screen goof, as reported on The Daily Show? When Lindsey Graham spoke about victory in Iraq, the backdrop shifted to an image of a military cemetery. Creepy.

Better for the GOP would have been using FreeDarko.com staff to get its images.