Replies

I've certainly taken some of crap for this from various FReepers on other threads, and a couple of FReepmails from really outraged people who think The New Yorker somehow "gets it."

As if.

One commentator told me this is the Left's revenge for the Iraq pull-out and FISA. Bzzzzt. Completely ridiculous. A cover decision isn't made in the week before a magazine goes to press. The conventional thinking seems to be it's Hillary's camp. NO. Hillary's career as a politician is on life support with her base. She wants either a lifetime appointment (probably to replace Stevens or Ginzberg) so she can retire with grace and still make trouble, or she wants one more shot, and the only way she can rehab herself is to play nice and make sure Barack loses. Her fingerprints (or her supporters) cannot be anywhere near this.

The cartoonist himself has made it clear this is intended to parody the image Republicans have (or will) paint of Obama. This is inoculation. The strategy is to have this all put away before the convention, and then when Ayers, or Wright, or whatever -- even if it's new material -- comes up they're going to say, "This has all been dealt with. Barack and Michell are Harvard educated lawyers, with two nice kids just livin' the American dream. They aren't going to be burning the American flag in the Oval Office." Then everybody on the talk shows, and the soft news shows, and the Sunday roundtables will laugh and this kind of news will be relegated to talk radio. Wait until Leno, Letterman, Stewart and Colbert start mocking this cover and doing soft interviews about it with the Obamatrons: "why yes David, this is exactly the kind of thing we were so afraid of, but from McCain, from the Eeeeevillll Republicans, not from the folks at The New Yorker."

That's the plan.

I think it could backfire. If we're smart. Will we be?

IMO it is a bad, very bad idea to re enforce a negative. That is exactly what this magazine cover does and in a national forum to boot. We are at a place in this race where many Americans are barely if at all paying much attention and to even put the thought into their head that this candidate with the funny name has the slightest connection to our enemy is not a good idea.

Breaking News:
President Bush to Lift Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling
Fox News | July 14, 2008
Posted on 07/14/2008 7:18:47 AM PDT by Fox_Mulder77
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045179/posts

Congressional Off-Shore Drilling Ban
Expires Sept. 30, 2008 — Unless Congress Renews
Monday, July 14, 2008 | Kristinn
Posted on 07/14/2008 9:17:01 AM PDT by kristinn
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045230/posts

-WOT-

U.S. Considers Increasing Pace of Iraq Pullout
NY Times | July 13, 2008
Posted on 07/12/2008 4:45:46 PM PDT by flyfree
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2044593/posts

US Suffers Heavy Afghan Losses
(Reports of 8 or 9 killed in Kunar Province Attack)
BBC | Sunday, July 13, 2008
Posted on 07/13/2008 10:16:53 AM PDT by kristinn
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044838/posts

9 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Attack in Afghanistan
NY Times | July 14, 2008 | CARLOTTA GALL
Posted on 07/13/2008 2:38:51 PM PDT by neverdem
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044912/posts

-the economy-

Feds cite Schumer in collapse of IndyMac
LATimes.com | July 11, 2008 | Peter Viles
Posted on 07/12/2008 10:34:14 AM PDT by kennedy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044490/posts

-reparations alert-

Congressional Leaders, Scholars Gather
to Strategize on Black Male Issues
Diverse | June 14, 2008 | Jamal Watson
Posted on 07/14/2008 5:37:30 AM PDT by Lumbertonman
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045126/posts