Mitt Romney may want to watch where he squats after a troubling photo of the candidate bending over in front of schoolchildren was beamed all over the world.
The photo shows Romney crouching down in front of the gaggle of young students at Fairfield Elementary School in Virginia, where he had been campaigning on Monday.
But behind him, one of the children is looking down, her mouth gaped open with a look of shock on her face.
The combination of Romney’s lower-lip biting and the look on the girl’s face sparked caption contests on Facebook and anger among those who believe the AP was out of line to publish the photo in the first place.
Steve Manuel, an award-winning photographer and Penn State lecturer, told FoxNews.com: ‘In this photo, while it may appear funny, AP knows exactly what viewers are thinking.’Â
‘It’s not legitimate news. AP knows that viewers are going to chuckle and imagine what the little girl is seeing, and it makes Gov Romney appear a bit foolish.Â
In doing so, the AP clarified that the student behind the Republican presidential hopeful was reacting because he would be posing in front of her and her classmates.
The photos were taken as Romney commanded his motorcade to turn around for an unscheduled stop at the school as he saw children waving from the school yard, according to ABC News.
The network reported that Romney told the kids: ‘Thanks for waving at me as I came by, I decided to come by and say hi to you guys.’