Best of 2008: National photography
The party celebrating John McCain’s win in the New Hampshire presidential primary appears to be over, but only moments ago, the crowd was chanting “Mac is back! Mac is back!”
It was a comeback -- and only the beginning of victories in the primary election -- for the Arizona senator, who went on to win the Republican presidential nomination.
The run for the White House dominated the news and the nation choose Barack Obama - the first African American to be elected president. Alaska gov. Sarah Palin vaulted into the national spotlight when she was picked as John McCain’s running mate and Pope Benedict XVI visited the US, offering Mass in front of 46,000 at Nationals Park in Washington D. C.
Barack Obama becomes the first African American to accept the Democratic presidential nomination -- and to eventually win the White House. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Hillary Rodham Clinton makes a historic run for presidency, the strongest for the nomination of a major party by a female candidate.
The New York senator ended her candidacy in June: Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure Sen. Obama is our next president.” (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
John McCain accepts the Republican presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minn. in September.
In November, after an often gritty fight with Barack Obama’s campaign, McCain offered his concession speech. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Sarah Palin vaulted into the national spotlight when she was picked as John McCain’s running mate. Little was known about the Alaska governor, but that quickly changed. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
A future Democrat, as the T-shirt says, attends the Democratic National Convention in Denver. More than 75,000 people filled the stadium to hear Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Many blue-collar workers in Cleveland, like these steel and railroad employees, are facing an uncertain future. Voters in the racially divided city seemed to want to believe Barack Obama’s promise of hope and change, but struggled with generations-old grudges and fears. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Sarah Grimmett, 85, has spent her life in Clarksville, Miss., and has had her share of major floods, including one in June. With the help of the Missouri National Guard, she remains in her waterfront apartment. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
From left, Jessica Starling, Nikisha Glenn and Chevon Chatman pose at their commencement ceremony at Grinnell College. They are members of a “posse” of L.A. high school graduates who braved loneliness, doubt and the cold to study in Iowa. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by President Bush at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at the start of his six-day visit. It was his first papal visit to the U.S. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Bishops enter Nationals Park in Washington before Pope Benedict XVI offered Mass in front of 46,000. He said he was sure the “profound harmony of faith and reason” of U.S. Catholics would allow them to confront urgent societal issues. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Haley Brigham, 12, hangs salmon to cure in Fairbanks, Alaska. The jerky can fetch $20 a pound. Ich-infected salmon turns black and oily and creates a stench in the smokehouses. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Advertisement
Workers plant oyster “seeds” on Samish Bay in Washington. A rugged strain of bacteria has wiped out billions of larvae, crippling production and causing a shortage at hatcheries from Southern California to Canada. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)
Bales if hay dot the landscape along Interstate 95 between Billings and Bozeman in Montana.