The media portrays the leaders of the United States as heroes well above the average human or bombards them with personal attacks. The photograph, The Situation Room by Pete Souza, offers viewers a glimpse at the human aspect of our leaders. Through facial expressions, attire, posture, and individual focus the photo captures the human emotions and feelings of important leaders, including President Obama, Vice President Biden, and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The photo captures the reactions and emotions of our leaders eagerly awaiting updates from Seal Team Six’s mission to get Osama Bin Laden. These powerful men and women displayed the same emotions as other Americans during a significant moment in our country’s history. The photo serves as a remainder of the typical human emotions, feelings, and thoughts of our leaders. 

The facial expressions of men and women in the photo suggest a sense of nervousness and anxiousness present throughout the room. Numerous other Americans, including myself, shared these same emotions during the raid the get Bin Laden. Aside from one man, all the eyes in the room are focused squarely on the screen, which is not pictured. Even President Obama, one the busiest people in America, is locked into this mission despite many other important issues on his agenda. President Obama also expressed anxiousness and nervousness while awaiting updates about the mission by leaning forward in his chair with his arms rested across his lap. He worried about the welfare of the brave soldiers and desperately hoped the mission would be a success. He was under immense pressure and this photo captures him expressing these human emotions shared by the same people who fail to recognize him as a human being. He was emotionally invested in our attempt to get Bin Laden just like his fellow Americans. Hillary Clinton expresses genuine nervousness in the photo. As Secretary of State, she too is under intense pressure. But as a human and an American, she is deeply concerned with the welfare of the soldiers and the success of the mission. With her eyes set squarely on the screen, she gasps and covers her mouth. She is obviously nervous and concerned with the mission and those involved in it. Other Americans definitely mirrored Hillary Clinton’s posture and emotional makeup while awaiting the mission to unfold.

Aside from one man on the computer, the focus of all people in the room is fully directed towards the screen providing updates on the mission. The people in this room are some of the busiest people in the country, but they, like so many other Americans, just had to make time for this mission. Despite the jam packed agendas, computer screens are blank and nobody is on a cell phone. The mission to get Osama Bin Laden resonated with Americans and captivated an entire nation, including the people in this photo. Even an unknown staff employee is eagerly leaning around a person in order to view the screen. This employee’s devout focus on the screen not only represents the interests of those in the room, but also the interests of fellow Americans during the mission. The door into room is also closed, possibly to prevent any interruptions so they can remain focused on the mission and nobody even attempts to acknowledge the presence of a photographer or pose for a political picture.    

At first glance, the photo does not look like one that includes three of the most important people in the United Sates and their staff based on attire. Nobody is dressed up for a typical politician photoshoot where each person is focused on looking their absolute best. President Obama especially appears almost unrecognizable without his usual high class outfit. Not even he, Vice President Biden, nor multiple other men in the room are wearing a suit and tie. They are dressed like typical Americans going to work as a chemistry professor or preparing to sit behind a desk all day selling insurance. A person who could not recognize faces would have a difficult time believing this photo shows the most powerful person in the free world and his staff anxiously awaiting updates from one the most important events in the history of the United States based on the dress code. Many people struggle to look beyond the typical fancy suit and tie of our leaders and fail to see the emotions, feelings, and thoughts underneath it. The photo shows our leaders’ emotions by removing the attire they are so often associated with. The removal up the presidential outfits represents an opportunity for people to observe our leaders’ human aspect hidden beneath it.  

This photo by Pete Souza provides a much more genuine representation of our leaders by giving viewers the rare opportunity of observing their human emotions and feelings. In the photo, President Obama and Secretary State Hillary Clinton shared the same emotions as other Americans awaiting news on the mission to get Osama Bin Laden. President Obama displayed anxiousness while Hillary Clinton showed nervousness during the mission. Even the clothes the people are wearing do not suggest a group of our country’s most powerful leaders. They are not dressed like typical politicians posing for the pictures we see on every magazine, newspaper, and news channel. Finally, the focus of everyone in the room was squarely on the mission to get Bin Laden, just like so many other Americans. Dispute such busy agendas, they became emotionally invested in a monumental moment in US history. Overall, the photo offered people a small glimpse into the human emotions, feelings, thoughts, and actions of our powerful leaders. Too often, people forget our leaders are humans at their core when they place them on such a high platform or bombard them with personal attacks. Our leaders are much more than just a prestigious title and stereotypes, they are human beings.
