Pepper's shoddy shoes become "famous"

Yesterday's blog item in this space about the holey shoes Hamilton County Commissioner-elect David Pepper is wearing (left) is drawing comparisons to Adlai Stevenson and an award-winning photo (at right).

Pepper, who while campaigning wore holes in the sole of his left shoe that also was missing its heel, admitted he hadn't taken the time to buy new dress shoes since his successful campaign seven weeks ago. He admitted today that the heels are missing from both of his shoes.

A Washington, D.C. friend of Pepper's noted the blog item and photo were posted to another web site where he noticed it. The site compared the photo of Pepper's shoe to that of a photo snapped in 1952 of a seated Stevenson on the presidential campaign trail.

Here is what the web site of the Flint Journal said about the photo of Stevenson's shoes, taken by one of its photographers. The photo was a Pulitzer Prize for William M. Gallagher.

"1952 Journal photographer William M. Gallagher's picture of Democratic presidential candidate Adlai E. Stevenson (right) and Michigan Gov. G. Mennen Williams would have been just one more picture of a politician until Stevenson crossed his legs, displaying a hole in the sole of his shoe. The flawed shoe was totally out of character for the aristocratic, intellectual Stevenson, who was having difficulty establishing himself as a candidate of the people in his race against Dwight D. Eisenhower. Gallagher's shot, taken with camera held at arm's length so Stevenson wouldn't realize what was happening, became one of the great political photos of all time and winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Gallagher was a Journal photographer from 1941 until his death in 1975, at age 52."

The photos show Stevenson with a hole in his right shoe, Pepper in his left.

"The best part is the hole in Stevenson's shoes is a whole lot smaller than mine," Pepper cracked.