Turns out the pictures that ran in major newspapers around the country were reenactments where President Obama, after telling the nation about the OBL raid, did a do-over for the photographers. Reuters explains:

Further clarification in response to some of the comments below: Every nationally-televised Presidential statement of historical significance and of this nature, going back decades, is made specifically for television. The concept of accommodating still photographers immediately after these events is a courtesy extended to us by each administration so that a still record of the event is made by the independent press that work at the White House. To reproduce the same angle that viewers had just seen on TV, the still photographer must step right in front of the teleprompter and block the TV camera. This is the only way to do it, so stills cannot be in that position during the event. In addition, the noise made by the still cameras and the movement by the photographers themselves would be an unnecessary distraction for the President if pictures were take during the live address.
The fact that still photographers even get this picture is a result of negotiations made between the press and each successive presidential staff, for the benefit of the printed press whose needs we try to meet every day. Our photo captions explain full disclosure that the pictures are taken following the actual address to make clear the circumstances under which the picture was taken.

So, let’s give them a pass for this one as it’s standard procedure for all presidents. But, what does smack of hypocircy is that the AP and Reuters, after staging these Obama photos, boycotted coverage of the GOP debate in South Carolina for being asked to conform to the same basic rules:

The Associated Press announced Wednesday night that it’s not going to cover tomorrow night’s Republican presidential debate, citing “restrictions placed on media access.” “The debate sponsors, Fox News Channel and the South Carolina Republican Party, will only allow photos to be taken in the moments ahead of the debate and not during the event itself,” the AP said in an advisory to editors. “These are restrictions that violate basic demands of news-gathering and differ from other debates where more access was granted. Accordingly, the AP will not staff the event in any format nor will the AP disseminate any pool photos taken by another outlet.”
The AP said the decision was “consistent with longstanding policy” in coverage of events like these, and would be reassessed “should access conditions change.”
Reuters confirmed that it would not be covering the event photographically, because it shared concerns about access. However, Reuters did not confirm whether it would be going as far as AP and not filing text either.
“This is about whether visual journalists will be treated with the same respect that text journalists are treated,” said Michael Oreskes, AP’s managing editor for U.S. News. “The public has a right to see presidential candidates as well as to read about them, and we think this debate should get off on the right foot.”

What a joke. The photogs use the argument that they need the same angle to take pictures of the president and engage in a reenactment, but can’t suck it up for the Fox New restrictions?