How the New Yorker cover helps Obama.

[AtomicKitten]

I try not to react when stuff like this happens but rather think about it for a bit. IMO - By combining just about every rumor known about Obama into one cover and punching it up, we are forced to talk about whether or not/just how offensive it is. In doing so, we are forced to point out how each of these rumors is completely false.

Chris Matthews just said they'd be talking about it for a few days.

Thanks New Yorker. Well played.

[NC_Nurse]

1. That's the way I saw it. I seem to be in the minority here though...

Glad you did too.

[Sensitivity]

28. Sounds JUST LIKE the MARY BETH team when SWIFTBOAT ad first appeared

They did not understand the insiduous nature of this type of character assasination.

The promotion of these kind of smears into the MSM discourse give "permission" for similar types
of jokes and derogatory comments about the person.

Not many really believe the smears, but people don't want to elect the butt of jokes as PRESIDENT.

[EstimatedProphet]

35. Freepers are the butt of the joke

[NC_Nurse]

40. The swiftboat thing wasn't a joke. They were dead serious.

[zulchzulu]

2. Good call AK

The discussion as to why the cover is causing a ruckus will bring another reminder to many that don't seem to get it. It brings up how people's stereotypes or email rumors are crap.

The MSM will blabber about this until the next nugget is handed to them.

[tigereye]

39. it's hilarious since mostly only we political geeks pay attention to their articles

the New Yorker could use some pub.

[NYC_SKP]

3. I concur, it might be helpful. nt

[opihimoimoi]

4. The New Yorker thing was over the top...couched thinnly by Satire

[27inCali]

5. yeah, these rumors have to be confronted

if we're going to nab those swing states where to numbers look good right now.

The rumors I think do two things

1) Might scare off a few semi-conservative indies who are tempted to vote Dem on economics.
2) Might help bring out super conservative types who aren't stoked about McCain and might otherwise sit this one out.

both these groups of people are fundamental to winning the swing states.

If we can roll all the RW talking points into one big ball of silliness to be mocked for it's inaccuracy, we might have a shot at defusing it's potency.

Also I think taking the tact of mocking your opponents attacks one you reflects a very sort of winning attitude which conservatives types are vulnerable to. They like winners because they like authority and black and white paradigms where they don't have to think, mocking your oppopents sharpest attacks upon your character exudes a sense of confidence that they assume always accompanies genuine ability.

[Not the Only One]

13. these people are like the people in Idiocracy

They are too stupid to realize that the New Yorker is poking fun at them. They think this is an accurate depiction of him and Michelle.

[murray hill farm]

6. That is how I see it!!

It gets those lies out in the open...shines some sunlight on them...makes fun of those dumb enough to believe such lies...and it is replayed continuously stating over and over and over that those stories are lies and completely untrue. This cover is the perfect way to get these ugly myths out into open and smack them down again and again.

[CTyankee]

32. Absolutely agree! If this had been done after the Swiftboat stuff started

it would have been defused fast.

I'm thinking that right now the right wingers on cable are seeing what is happening and are already trying to button down this story. I think they're getting it that the more they talk about this, the more they expose their own weak, bigoted mindset. Watch them shut up fast...

[BuyingThyme]

7. That's what the New Yorker had in mind.

(From your OP I can't tell whether or not you understand that.)

[BlooInBloo]

8. I've got a standing $10 for the DUer who goes up to Obama and tells him....

That white folks depicting him as a terrorist and his wife as a murderous black panther HELPS him.

And %15 if you tell him it's just a joke.

[tekisui]

12. Obama has every right to be offended.

He was the one being portrayed. I think, though, that it proved a point of the absurdity of the RW smear campaign against him. It has made the absurdities topic one of conversation.

[woolldog]

14. I'll chip in $100 if you tell him to "just get over it"

[BlooInBloo]

20. +$20 if they call him "oversensitive".

[John Q. Citizen]

22. It's better than black folks wanting to cut his nuts off IMHO.

Do you believe the right to bear arms is bad?

Are the Black Panthers "murderous?"

It's not a joke. It's making fun of the right wings lies. It's ridicule of the right wing.


A joke usually has a punch line. This isn't a joke, it's a cartoon.

Why would someone tell Obama that it's something it's not?.

I will tell him it's satire if I see him. You can tell him it's the end of his campaign for president , since it appears that's what you believe it to be.

I think you are wrong though.

[EstimatedProphet]

36. You want me to fly to his office for $10?!?

The gas to get to the airport costs twice that! Make it worth my while and I'll happily do it!

But you know what? I bet he already knows.

[aikoaiko]

44. Do you not think it was satire mocking his opponents who have attempted to smear them both?

I suppose if you really think the NYer is trying to convince people that Michelle is an aggressive militant and Barack is a jihadist Mulsim, then I can understand your post. But if you think it was satire (maybe even bad satire), then I don't get your response.

[KittyWampus]

48. I'd be happy to tell him that confronting that bringing such crap into the open for discussion

helps him.

So hand me your money. A fool and their money are soon parted.

[jefferson_dem]

9. I'm totally on board with this sentiment.

:thumbsup:

[KaryninMiami]

10. I greatly appreciate your way of seeing this- and you are correct.

At least on MSNBC - this is a major story. I assume it's on CNN as well. Not sure about the major networks however- anyone see it on one of them tonight?

So, while this may not be the method that most of us would have ever considered and yes- it's ugly and tasteless and all of the adjectives many of us have been feeling. But the fact that every news outlet - I assume- even FOX - who discusses this story is REAFFIRMING THE TRUTH about Barack Obama and frankly, that's not a bad thing. Also, many people who would never pick up a New Yorker, do watch t.v.- and the opportunity of having this message - and the truth re-told again and again during these conversations, is pretty powerful.

[ima_sinnic]

11. NBC News did a thing about it--& I think it helped Obama

because they tied it in with statistics of how many people STILL believe Obama is a Muslim (~12%), went to a Muslim school (20-some percent), and some other thing, can't remember, but it was something like 36% still believe the third Muslim-related thing about him. It was good that the idiots are being confronted with themselves as fringers. I was disappointed NBC didn't point out that whether or not he is "Muslim" should be irrelevant, but I guess that's asking a bit much.

[KaryninMiami]

16. Exactly-- some of those people will be watching this unfold on t.v.-

and will be force fed the truth- right there on their television sets! May not be the way we would have done it- but t.v. is certainly as effective as viral internet marketing, right? Maybe those horrible lie filled emails will finally start to die down?

I agree with you about the "Musilm" being irrelevant- I wish he could stand up and say just that and get it out into the open. "I happen not to be a Muslim - in fact, in case you missed the memo, I attend a Christian Church. But it should not matter what church or mosque I attend.", etc. But you are correct-- that's asking too much.

[Motown_Johnny]

15. I agree. posted something similar yesterday.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6496383&mesg_id=6496409



I disagree... we now have one thing to point at and say "Look, All of this is wrong, ALL OF IT"
will it help a lot, no


might it help a little? I think so.







I am also waiting to do what Colbert, Stewart, Leno and Letterman do with this. They speak to many more Americans than the magazine itself.

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Posted something to this effect today and got blasted for it.

The more I read, the controversy (here anyway) stems from some on our side who see it as cover for bashing anyone whom they consider to be a redneck, a jethro, etc.

This is the FIRST time the GE hasn't been a contest between two old white guys. Positive for Obama.

[woolldog]

17. I hope so. n/t

[KaryninMiami]

19. kicked

[John Q. Citizen]

21. I think it's a brillant front cover. I'd love to have one autographed by Obama

after he becomes president.

[ElboRuum]

23. Exactamundo...

I'm just stunned how many people here are just not getting this.

[Laelth]

24. I certainly hope Obama can turn this lemon into lemonade.

He has a gift for doing so. Nevertheless, I don't want people to dismiss the seriousness of the picture. In it the Obamas are accused of treason, the most serious crime in American jurisprudence and the only crime defined by the Constitution. It would be foolish to pretend that the picture is "no big deal." I hope Obama responds to it directly and personally.

-Laelth


Edit:Laelth--sloppy editing.

[pnorman]

25. What put it "over the top" in my opinion,

was the prominent inclusion of the candidate's WIFE in that cover illustration. Earlier, I had got over my initial indignation, when it was shown that The New Yorker had skewered the Republicans with equal glee: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6496158

But those were relatively venomless, AND the wife was NOT depicted!

pnorman

[Laelth]

26. Have they accused any Republicans of treason?

Honestly, I don't know, but it seems to me that this attack on the Obamas is much more serious than many seem to realize. This cover accuses the Obamas of a very serious crime. It's not just a run-of-the-mill lampoon of a political figure.

-Laelth

[tigereye]

41. it's satire.

It's not an accusation of treason.


:banghead:

There are plenty of cartoons making fun of McCain's age. This one is a little more complex. That's what NY covers are known for.

[Laelth]

46. Hmm ...

I take it you feel like you're not being heard. Trust me, I feel the same way.

Is there not a big difference between making fun of a candidate's age and "making fun" of the fact that Obama has been accused by right-wingers of aiding and abetting the enemies of the United States? To me, those two are not in the same league.

I admire The New Yorker. I also believe they made a serious error of judgment in publishing that picture.

-Laelth

[tigereye]

47. it's partially a tempest in a teapot

and partially an over-reaction of the media (imagine that! ) Sorry for the head-banging, but....


I think it's that I've been reading the NY since my mom used to get it in the 60s when very few people did, and I think their covers are some of the most complex, funny, biting pieces of art, more than most magazines.

And I think this is a very clever way to poke fun at the right, and poke a little fun at Obama as well (which apparently no (white) comedian, etc has been able to do so far, from what I have read.

I think it is so absurd a satire, that it will have the opposite effect of the one that you are talking about. JMO

so we will have to leave it at that!


:hi:

also, here's a cool article from one of our liberal Af-Am columnists here....

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08197/897077-153.stm

[AZBlue]

27. AK, I hope you are right!

Knowing Obama I feel he will handle this masterfully, just as he's done the other "incidents" he's faced previously. I have a feeling that's why he hasn't responded yet - he's crafting a verbal backhanded-slap to TNY and hopefully the rumors that started all of this.

But in the meantime, personally, I'm pissed, LOL!

:hi:

[AtomicKitten]

29. Oh, it was most definitely a punch in the face.

But it's done, it's out there. My outrage meter has been on full-tilt for so long that I don't have any to spare over things I can't control. Plus Obama has this knack of turning these brushfires to his advantage. While the talking heads are cackling over national polling that seems to have no set standard, he's crushing McBush electorally.

:hi:

[Eyes_wide_ open]

30. I have to agree

However one feels about the offensiveness of the cover aside, I think that is will serve the very purpose that it was designed to serve. We all know that the emails containing these lies have been circulating for months. It's obvious from the poll percentages of Americans that believe Obama is a Muslim that the emails have had an effect and the MSM has aided and abetted that image as well as the other rumors.

Until now there really hasn't been an effective way to address those rumors. Well sure, there's the website to debunk the smears, but the people that actually give credence to this crap aren't going to believe that a Barack Obama website is telling them the truth. The only way to really have a chance to reach these people is through the MSM and they haven't been all that cooperative have they?

Now there's all this stink over the NYer cover and the MSM has to address that, because let's face it, scandal and offended outrage is what they do best. And they are being forced to say, over and over again, these rumors are false, ridiculous, in fact SO ridiculous that the big city folk are making fun of the "low informed voters" (and believe me Joe Sixpack 'hears' that as "dumb country bumpkin") for believing them. And for the first time realizes that maybe he's been scammed because the news is telling him the emails are a lie.

And even better, Obama now has a platform to address these rumors without playing the victim role, which would have made him look weak and whiny. Watch and see how he use this opportunity to come on strong in defense of his wife and himself, confront the ugliness of such rumors, and manage to tie it all in with his message of change and unity.

I could be wrong of course, but I'd be willing to bet on it.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

31. Confronting prejudices, slanders, slurs head-on

in a ridiculing manner in order to open up the public discourse - I personally believe that was completely the intent of the artist and the New Yorker. And, that goal will be accomplished if our media is forced to discuss the cover and what about the cover is so controversial and what has igniting all the passion and discussion.

Now, having said all that, even though I initially thought that the outrage over the cover was "incomprehensible" (my own words) I have come through the discussions in these forums to see that to some people, the cover could re-enforce existing prejudices. To me personally, it does the opposite as it holds that viewpoint up to ridicule, but that will not be true for all.

This crystallized for me when the person posted the fake McCain cover, with McCain drooling and Cindy clutching her pills and the Constitution burning in the fireplace. I realized that I thought it was a humorous depiction OF HOW I ACTUALLY SEE THEM. So, it was funny, but NOT satirical, because to me, it was based on REALITY. It was re-enforcing my already held viewpoint.

Epiphany. So, yes, folks, I now understand that everyone "gets it" in their own particular way based on what their existing viewpoint already is. If I think McCain is a drooling idiot a humorous depiction of him in that mode just cements that image further for me - it doesn't make me think "oh, how silly that people could see him that way". If I apply this principle that I just learned to the Obama cover, I now can see it in a different light and understand more fully why many objected instead of just dismissing them as humor challenged.

So everyone, thanks as always for shedding light on difficult topics.

[Stevepol]

33. Obama should confront it head on and laugh along. USE IT.

It's a great opportunity to show the idiocy of the other side. A good speech writer could really make hay with this:

The recent cover of the New Yorker has me dressed as a Muslim and Michelle as an AK-47 toting terrorist, the flag burning in the fireplace, Bin Laden in a picture on the wall. You've got to laugh. I know what the magazine is satire and it is funny. But I mean this shows the level our political discourse has degenerated to because of a media that allows misinformation and lies to remain out there and fester instead of meeting them directly. I have to repeat what I've said every time I've talked about the pull out of Iraq. I've always said the pace would be adjusted from consultation with those on the ground. Why do I have to repeat this every time? The media lets itself be pulled one direction by those who refuse to face facts. Michelle and I might see if we can get a copy of this magazine cover for our rec room. It's good for a lot of laughs and reminds us of a certain percentage of people who believe for example that we never got to the moon. It was just staged by Hollywood. This is a group that is not going to look at the facts regardless of how many times they hear those facts stated. I have nothing against the Muslim religion. I have friends who are Muslim, but I'm not now and I never have been Muslim. And I want it known that Michelle does not have an AK-47. She uses an M-1 for all her terrorist activities.

etc. etc. etc. etc.

There are a hundred ways to use this cover as energy to get your message out there and show the Neanderthals among the electorate for what they are. Laugh and shrug it off, yes, but use it too, meet it head on with laughter.

[EstimatedProphet]

34. Isn't it so sad when you have to explain things like this?

That's it, exactly. The NY took their whisper campaign away. Now, anytime anyone tries to accuse Obama of being a Muslim, we can laugh at them, and ridicule s a far more effective deterrent than argument.

[dsomuah]

37. It rallies the Repub base, something McCain hasn't been able to do so far

It rallies the racist right. You know who I am talking about. The ones who put a stress on Obama's middle name Hussein when talking about Obama. The ones whose biggest talking point is that Obama has at times not worn a flag pin. The ones who think that the fact that Obama grew up in Indonesia should be an election issue. Many of those people are not too happy with McCain because of his stance on illegal immigration and would have normally been inclined to stay home. McCain has had a very difficult task getting those people excited about the election, but now his task may be easier, because if there is anything that will drive republican voters to the polls, it is fear, and racist right voters who may not have been inclined to vote McCain might be inclined to go to the polls to vote AGAINST Obama.

[EstimatedProphet]

38. No it doesn't

[dsomuah]

45. Yes it does.

Was that a response?

[aikoaiko]

42. Obviously. eom

[La Lioness Priyanka]

43. that was their point. nt