In what may be the biggest blow to their campaign, the Obama camp proved themselves artistically retarded when they blasted the left-wing literary rag for its choice of cartoons. The cover depicts Obama in traditional Muslim garb and his wife as a radical terrorist, ala the Black Panthers, giving one another a "fist-jab" in front of a burning American flag. Each of these grandiose images directly lampoons one outlandish criticism or another that Conservative pundits have lobbed in the Democratic candidate's direction thus far in the campaign. That Barrack Obama's people do not realize this is evidence of undeveloped artistic sensibilities. That they do not like it is regardless.
But the New Yorker, once a bastion of literary wealth, has become a parody of its own former glory, which makes me wonder if this was not a concerted effort:
The Obama camp uses the cover and the controversy they, themselves, stir to gauge public opinion and the New Yorker sells a few issues someone actually reads. Conspiratorial and theoretical, it may be, but I am cynical man; my fist-jab over all this works differently (it's vertical).
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
2 comments:
The only reason that this Mr. & Mrs. Obama satire DOES have impact — and may very likely spread — is because like all good satire, or good humor for that matter, there’s more than a germ of truth in it. Otherwise, the satire would utterly roll off the Obamoids’ backs, having no impact.
Not necessarily. After all this is politics in an election year and the Obama camp is fighting these silly propagandist images and techniques, so they don't want them getting out there in any form, but that's part of the problem.
Obama and his people apparently think so little of us that they are under the impression we cannot think for ourselves and need them to dictate - ahem, explain - what we need to know. Further, they are the ones who stirred this whole thing up!
I'm a fricking writer and I don't keep up with the NY anymore - canceled my subscription over five years ago and never looked back! The New Yorker is about as influential a magazine these days as, oh I dunno, The Atlantic, maybe?
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