Conventional Politics
When I photographed the Republican National Convention in Houston in 1992 for The Colorado Statesman, there were tall, looming photographers in front of the stage before the last night’s finale, when George H.W. Bush would appear. John Sununu offered me his second row seat to stand on, but I thought I could do better to get the shot. I approached an agent of the Secret Service and asked if he would lift me onto his shoulders. Right before the balloons dropped, he lifted me up, and then was reluctant to let me down as he galavanted towards the podium and Barbara Bush began to point in my direction. At subsequent conventions I have scoured the floors to find a friendly Secret Service agent to raise my vantage point. But given the post-9/11 heightened security, it will never happen again.
