By Arlen Parsa
    Filed: Wednesday April 18th 2007, 8:19 AM

Everybody whos ever had pictures taken of them knows that sometimes they can be embarrassing.

Now, if you happen to be the President of the United States, you tend to get a lot more photos taken of you.

So it would stand to reason that there would be a larger number of embarrassing ones. For your enjoyment, The Daily Background presents. The top 15 most embarrassing photos of George W. Bush, complete with back stories and all.

15. Juxtaposition can be a killer

On the right, we have a 2005 headline proclaiming that the House of Representatives has banned gay unions. On the left, we have a picture of Bush holding hands with Saudi Prince Abdullah. Juxtaposition can be a killer. In fact, holding hands is quite common among men who are (just) friends in some parts of the middle east, but it still struck some as odd that Bush would try to emulate this part of Saudi culture at his ranch in Texas. By the way, the Senate never passed the civil union ban, although Abdullah did eventually become King of Saudi Arabia, months after this photo was taken. (Link to larger photo)

14. Nice try

After a reporter tried to ask a followup question during a 2005 press conference in Bejing, Bush tried to abruptly leave, only to find himself facing a locked door. The reporter, who was only the sixth person to ask a question at the conference, had asked why he had seemed oddly hurried at an event earlier that day. After Bush said jet lag was to blame, the reporter asked if he could ask a followup question. No you may not, Bush answered, and promptly left. Or at least, he tried to.

13. The One finger victory salute

While prepping for a local television appearance, then-governor Bush playfully flipped off the camera for a brief second. After checking his hair and saying that an advisor was still tellin me wut ta do Bush offered the gesture to the camera, which was already recording (though not broadcasting the video live yet). Are we rolling tape on that? one person present joked. Just a one finger victory salute, Bush exlained.

12. Photoshopped out

The left half of this photograph (with Bush intact) is the original, the right half (with Bush removed and replaced by more soldiers) is a photoshopped version altered by the Republican National Committee for use in a campaign advertisement during the 2004 election cycle. Regardless of whether or not altering this photo was appropriate, it is against Department of Defense rules to use uniformed members of the military in campaign commercials.

11. A very boring person

Bush was asked at a 1992 wedding of friends to say a few words about the bride and groom. The problem? He was totally trashed. In the wedding video, Bush can be heard saying the pair are wonderful people, this being an election year. He also said that the two were beautiful but very boring people because they did not drink. At the time, Bush was governor of Texas At the time, Bush was not yet governor of Texas, and had supposedly been cold turkey since 1986 when he quit drinking after it became a problem, even earning him a DUI. (Link to full video)

10. Vacation

A day after it was widely reported that the levees started breaching in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, Bush was vacationing in California with country music star Mark Wills. Bush later played golf at an exclusive resort, while 80% of the gulf coast city was underwater and local authorities were pleading for help from the federal government. This photograph led to widespread criticism that Bush was not taking the situation seriously enough, despite the fact that scientists had warned for years that a hurricane hitting New Orleans could be one of the top 5 worst natural disaster scenarios.

9. The Briefing

Right before Bush was hanging out with country music stars on vacation, he had been briefed about the very, very grave possibility that the levees in New Orleans might overflow in a video conference. A secret videotape of the briefing was later leaked to the media and the footage was shown on virtually every television news program. Bush sat silently and did not ask a single question or show particular interest in the briefing. He later said after Hurricane Katrina: I dont think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. (Link to full video.)

8. Dont tread on me

To commemorate the five year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, President Bush and his wife Laura stood on a doormat with the American flag on it to give a short speech in 2006. The image flew around the internet at a high speed, with many criticizing him for standing directly atop the American flag at an event for the press. No word on whether or not he later wiped his shoes on it. (Update: Shakespeares Sister adds via email: Thats totally hilariousI wonder how many of those were snapped by Jason Reed, the Reuters photog who has captured MANY of my favorite photos of Bush over the years. I know he did #8 for sure.)

7. Dont most people cook that?

Ah, corn. At a 2004 campaign stop in Iowa, Bush stopped to talk with local corn farmers. After picking up a nearby cob, he promptly shucked it and proceeded to take a bite. The only thing was, it was still raw. Although its unclear whether or not the president knew that the corn was uncooked until he tried it, one farmer a country music singer in the background appeared to be cracking up with laughter behind him. Bush continued to make a grimace while he took several other bites, perhaps in an attempt to save face. (Update: apparently everyone ever eats raw corn)

6. Can I take a bathroom break?

I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible. Thats what this note that Bush wrote to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at a 2005 UN General Assembly meeting. Aside from the poor grammar, it was viewed as somewhat embarrassing that the President of the United States had to ask one of his employees whether or not its okay for him to go pay a visit to the nearest urinal.

5. Jack, meet George

This photo, leaked in early 2007, depicted Bush and the worlds most famous (and corrupt) lobbyist, Jack Abramoff posing at a 2003 fundraising event. Abramoff, who is now serving a prison term of nearly six years, owes the government in excess of $20 million for his corrupt activities which allegedly included deep ties within the White House. When this photo surfaced along with Abramoffs claims that he met with Bush on several occasions and that the president even remembered his childrens names, it created quite a stir.

4. The way to a mans heart

They say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach. In the case of George W. Bush, that may be true literally. This photo, snapped by a photographer during a moment of silence at the White House on the third anniversary of 9/11 in 2004, captured the President holding his stomach instead of his heart, as those around him were.

3. Anyone care for some molded plastic?

At first glance, this might look like the ultimate photo-op; the Commander-In-Chief serving American soldiers in Baghdad with a perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq. Only thats exactly what it was a photo-op. It later turned out that the perfectly-cooked turkey Bush served was actually made out of plastic and merely decoration.

2. The Pet Goat moment

As the World Trade Center towers were burning in New York, Bush was in a Florida elementary school classroom reading The Pet Goat (often called My Pet Goat). As video footage taken by a local television station at the press event showed, Bush sat there for minute after agonizing minute after agonizing minute, even after being told by his chief of staff that America is under attack. With no staff members telling him what to do next, Bush sat there for seven whole minutes after the elementary children finished their book.

1. Mission not so accomplished

On May 1st, 2003, Bush was flown to the USS Lincoln where he made a speech announcing what he said signified the end of major combat operations, and that In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. After the giant Mission Accomplished sign behind him was criticized by many, the White House initially claimed that the Navy had made put it there, but it was later revealed that the White House produced it. On the same day, the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a similar announcement about the end of the war in Afghanistan.

Secretary Rumsfeld said in an interview that Bushs speech originally contained the words mission accomplished but he asked the Commander in Chief to remove them since they seemed too conclusive at the time. Administration officials made similar statements in what is now seen as only the beginning of the Iraq War, with Rumsfeld stating that he believed the insurgency could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months. Vice President Cheney also predicted that the insurgents were in their last throes around the same time.

Four years later, both conflicts are still ongoing and the United States has been involved in them longer than World War II. The vast majority of casualties, both civilian and military have occurred since Bush made his famous speech.

See here for the honorable mention photos that didnt quite make the cut for one reason or another.