Politics of fear or smear?
The New Yorker cover for July 21, 2008 is called the “politics of fear.” It shows the Democratic presidential nominee and his wife fist bumping. Barack Obama is wearing traditional Muslim garb, and his wife Michelle has an AK-47 draped over her shoulder, with a high afro and fatigues. When you look at the right side of the cartoon, there is a picture of Osama bin Laden over the fireplace. The fireplace has an American flag burning in it.
The New Yorker cover published Sunday shows Barack and Michelle Obama with a flag burning in the fireplace.
The New Yorker says the caricature satirizes the scare tactics used against the Obamas in this presidential election. Both the Obama and McCain camp have condemned the cover: “The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree,” said Bill Burton, an Obama spokesperson, in a statement.
The New Yorker’s longtime editor David Remnick defended his magazine’s use of satire in general. He says it’s not the first time he’s approved provocative covers. Remnick also told CNN the use of satire in the Obama cartoon is similar to how TV hosts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart portray the news. The cartoonist, Barry Blitt, told the Huffington Post website he feels the idea the Obamas are branded as unpatriotic is “preposterous” and felt that drawing the concept in a cartoon would show just how ridiculous it is.
Barry Blitt is not new to controversial covers, as the Huffington Post describes. His December 5, 2005, cover for the New Yorker show a depiction of President Bush wearing an apron and holding a duster, looking like a stereotypical housewife. In it he is standing next to the vice president who is sitting back in a chair smoking a cigar.
There was also the “narrow stance” cover on October 8, 2007, showing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a bathroom stall, with a person in the adjacent stall touching his foot. This was right after he made comments at Columbia University, saying “in Iran, we don’t have homosexuals, like in your country.”
And there is “deluged,” from September 19, 2005, which shows the president with his cabinet as water rises in the oval office. This was after Hurricane Katrina when FEMA and the government faced criticism.
Going after public figures foreign and domestic is not new to Blitt or The New Yorker.
So what do you think of the July 21, 2008, cover featuring the Obamas — is politics of fear or smear? Does this caricature help or hurt Obama? Does this cover increase awareness or ignorance, or both? Do you agree with their reasoning for publishing such caricatures?
Let us know and we’ll be sharing your comments on Morning Express.
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