Bob McNeely

Robert McNeely (born 1945) is an American photographer, best known for being the Chief Official White House Photographer from 1993 to 1998, during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

Life and career

Early career McNeely was drafted into the Army in November 1967 when he was 21, and served in combat in the Vietnam War. and earned a Bronze Star Medal. While there, he bought an inexpensive Nikon camera, started taking pictures and ended up running the Army photo lab. This would be the only formal training he would receive, as he moved to California to follow the campaign trail of George McGovern, impressed with McGovern's opposition to the ongoing war in Vietnam. He returned to the White House the following year, after Clinton's victory in the election.

An example of McNeely's work, shot in his trademark black and white film, of Clinton meeting with former President Richard Nixon, 1993. In November 1995, McNeely's photographs became a source of political leverage in the wake of the first federal government shutdown later that month. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated during the ongoing disagreements over the budget, and a delegation consisting of Clinton, Vice President Gore, Speaker of the House Gingrich and Majority Senate Leader Dole amongst others flew aboard Air Force One to the funeral. Gingrich complained that he was not able to discuss the budget and was sent to the back of the plane, so he shut down the government in retaliation. McNeely remembered that he had taken pictures of Clinton and Gingrich together on the flight back to Washington, and showed them to Press Secretary Mike McCurry, who saw the potential in outsmarting Gingrich. McNeely made multiple prints of the perceived incident and left them in the media briefing room in the West Wing, where they were taken by journalists. Once the photographs were published, the press criticized Gingrich for his false claim. He was also excluded from meetings with lawyers in fear that he might testify on what he had heard, and frustrated over the focus of the President's personal life, quit the position in September 1998, citing a desire to be with his family.