There is actually discussion online that this photo has been Photoshopped and that GWB didn’t actually step on the flag during a photo-op visit to a September 11th memorial near the WTC Site.
Sorry, it’s very real. Reuters photos of the event show the flag mat [WTF??] pre-positioned precisely in front of the photographers’ position, a classic Sforzian composition, albeit one that went horribly wrong [as far as these things go.]
There are additional pictures of Laura Bush walking on the mat, and both of them standing on the flag. [Jason Reed/Reuters via Yahoo]