Does this look better to you?

The evil-looking picture of Condi Rice that has some people up in arms was, indeed, altered by a USA Today photo editor, but the comically demonic white eyes were apparently an accidental result of over-brightening - not, as some have suggested, an attempt by the "liberal media" to make Republicans look evil. (Republicans are doing that just fine all by themselves.)

Here's how the photo should have appeared. And below is the USA Today editor's note explaining what happened.

"Editor's note: The photo of Condoleezza Rice that originally accompanied this story was altered in a manner that did not meet USA TODAY's editorial standards. The photo has been replaced by a properly adjusted copy. Photos published online are routinely cropped for size and adjusted for brightness and sharpness to optimize their appearance. In this case, after sharpening the photo for clarity, the editor brightened a portion of Rice's face, giving her eyes an unnatural appearance. This resulted in a distortion of the original not in keeping with our editorial standards."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-19-rice-congress_x.htm