Why is Rand Paul crossing his fingers on the cover of The New Republic?

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

The new New Republic features a cover story about Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and "it's certainly got people talking," says James Carroll at the Louisville, Ky., Courier-Journal. Not so much for Julia Ioffe's article itself — which, though sold on the cover as "The Real Rand Paul (Can't Be Trusted)," actually "is pretty favorable to Paul," Carroll notes — or even the fact that Paul sat down with a liberal-leaning magazine.

No, it's the cover photo:

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[B]ut I appreciate how he feels. Anyone who has their picture taken knows it's a slightly uncomfortable idea to begin with.... Dealing with an unknown quantity like a photographer — who's going to be capturing that brand — you're working with someone who you don't trust. It's a very difficult thing to do. On top of that, Senator Paul was probably convinced that any serious portrait photographer is not really going to be a member of the Tea Party movement. So it's a loaded situation all around. [New Republic]

As some Internet commenters have observed, there may be deeper significance to this "good luck" hand gesture. The crossed fingers have traditionally been used by POWs trotted out for propaganda purposes to indicate that the subject is participating under duress. Perhaps Paul was embracing the role he's carved out in Washington from day one — that of a conservative freedom fighter deep in enemy territory. [Mother Jones]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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