Testimony from Iraq warblogger Benjamin Runkle, together with other photographs posted by Michelle Malkin, bolster the argument that the photo of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) eating amid empty chairs posted on several right-wing Web sites
is authentic. That likely won’t quell the torrent of opinions on both sides, though. Hoping to answer the question conclusively, I’ve called Kerry’s offices in D.C. and Boston. No one answers, thought I left a message at the Boston office. We’ll see if someone calls back.
The issue of interpretation lingers, however. Can one reasonably conclude on the basis of the photograph (and accompanying testimony) that troops snubbed Kerry during his Iraq visit? Here’s another picture of Kerry eating, this from Malkin’s Web site:
Perhaps snubbing, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Update: A Kerry staffer now says that Kerry was giving a media interview in the picture, hence the empty chairs surrounding him.