Mayara Tavares: The debate over the 'Obama looking at girl' photo

Scrutinizing a snapshot of a Brazilian girl and two presidents at the G8

obama girl photo
(Image credit: Maurizio Bambatti/EPA/Corbis)

"I'm a little disappointed that our president is a bit of a pig," said Michele McGinty in BeliefNet. The photo currently making the rounds on the Internet and on TV clearly shows President Obama checking out a girl—Mayara Tavares, 16, of Brazil—at the G8 conference. After close scrutiny of the "Obama looking at a girl" photo, the only thing that can be said in the president's defense is that he wasn't leering as badly as French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The "Obama looking at girl" photo certainly looks bad, said Lynn Sweet in the Chicago Sun-Times. But if you look at ABC News' video, you can see what President Obama was really doing as Mayara Tavares—who was identified by some news outlets as Mayora Tavares—walked by. "Conclusion: Obama was not looking; Sarkozy maybe."

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