Obama Camp Slams Satirical â??New Yorkerâ?? Magazine Cover

Aides to Barack Obama are blasting a New Yorker magazine cover that depicts â??President Obamaâ?� in the Oval Office, wearing a Muslim-style outfit and doing a fist-bump with his wife, Michelle, who is dressed in camouflage with an automatic rifle slung over her back.

A picture of Usama bin Laden hangs above the mantel of the fireplace, which has an American flag burning in it.

The July 21 cover, titled â??The Politics of Fear,â?� is intended to be a parody, an attempt to show how â??scare tactics and misinformationâ?� are being used to try to derail Barack Obamaâ??s campaign, says cover artist Barry Blitt.

â??I think the idea that the Obamas are branded as unpatriotic [let alone as terrorists] in certain sectors is preposterous,â?� Blitt wrote in an e-mail to the Huffington Post. â??It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is.â?�

The Obama campaign has had to fight an intensive e-mail spam campaign that claims Obama is secretly a Muslim, and his wife is a black radical. Campaign spokesman Bill Burton called the New Yorker cover over the top.

â??The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obamaâ??s right-wing critics have tried to create,â?� Burton said.

â??But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.â?�

Obama did not reply to a question about the cover when he answered reportersâ?? questions on Sunday in San Diego. John McCainâ??s campaign also slammed the cover as â??tasteless and offensive.â?�
Obama Camp Slams Satirical â??New Yorkerâ?? Magazine Cover - Americaâ??s Election HQ

Hate to stick up for the s.o.b. but this is completely out of line. Wouldn't it be nice if the news were to report things on factual information.

Have a good one!:s4:

Good catch on the American flag in the fireplace Psycho, I didn't catch that when I saw this on CBC television not 20 minutes ago. I'm surprised they, CBC, didn't mention the picture of Bin Laden in the background; nor anyone taking note of the mischeivous gaze on Obama's face that seems to suggest he's looking back at Bin Laden for instructions/approval. Sort of like AlQaeda are pulling his strings. Well, that's my interpretation anyway, I get carried away since we did this (photo analysis) in one of my college English courses.


I'm a little torn to be honest. At first I thought this was totally outrageous and inappropriate, but in reading the actual title followed by the authors explanation.... Not sure quite what to make it of :wtf: ... but I suppose that was the point. Anybody know if the cartoon was followed by an in-depth article?

Don't think it's distasteful at all when you gather all the facts. The picture of what republicans paint him as. When in a picture, people find that revolting, perhaps those tactics republicans use is distasteful as the image conjours.

What kind of satire do you expect from the New Yorker? I think it's very well the damn truth.

Is it distasteful? Yes.
The real story behind this picture is how scary it is that some people are ignorant enough to actually put Obama in the same category as Bin Laden. Some minds are so twisted and impressionable that they see a man of color with a funny name and they immediately group him with American loathing terrorists. :rambohead:
We obviously haven't come very far as humans.
:s4:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gandalf_The_Grey

Anybody know if the cartoon was followed by an in-depth article?

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From what I've heard from the news channels (I haven't actually read the article myself), there is actually a very pro Obama article included in the magazine.

The cover was meant to be satirical, to show all the nasty things that have been said about Obama by folks who want to believe things that aren't factually true and who're determined to believe the worst about him. The New Yorker uses satire a good bit, but in this case it certainly backfired and just seems tasteless. Good article, though!

have we become so mired in political correctness that there is no longer any room for humor? i find it odd that in a culture where comedians make their living lampooning the pratfalls of presidents, a cartoon that wasn't even aimed at the democratic candidate should be called into question. it seems as if we are taking every opportunity to paint obama as the underdog. after all, americans love an underdog. doesn't the democratic party believe that his false promises and pointless rhetoric are enough to sway a gullible public? what sort of children are these political animals, that they feel the need to protect their candidate from the slings and arrows of a harmless joke?

i have little doubt that this candidate for socialist change, the savior of the new left, will find himself ushered into the oval office by the credulous voters of this country. taken in by promises of comfort and safety, the masses will sheepishly cheer this victory for the cult of entitlement - thinking it proves how intellectual they are to have chosen a doctrine of fairness over one of individual responsibility. undoubtedly, the administration of this hero will put an end to such pettiness as freedom of speech.