The Errant Æsthete

Condoleezza Rice has perfected the MAPO, the “Matching Armchairs Photo-Op.” An in-depth look at the delicate relationship between global diplomacy and furniture arranging.

How did this once-obscure photographic setup become Ms. Rice’s area of specialty? She was guided down this historic path by her former aide Jim Wilkinson, the man charged with making the novice Secretary of State appear convincingly lifelike and even likable. [thnx designobserver]

From Glenn Kessler’s The Confidante:

To counter the notion that Rice was cold, Wilkinson decreed that almost no pictures should be allowed of Rice alone after she moved to the State Department; instead she should always be photographed with other people in an effort to warm her up. […] To show Rice cared about diplomacy, he wanted Americans to see that their secretary of state was at work overseas.