The Politics of Fear

Here we go again. This time it's The New Yorker magazine that's being criticized for printing this cartoon, The Politics of Fear by Barry Blitt, on the cover of its 21 July issue. The magazine asserts that the cartoon lampoons false allegations made against Barack Obama and his wife during the recent election road show - hence its title -, but critics on both sides of the political divide regard it as "tasteless and offensive". I must say it's a good likeness of Barack, and you can tell the cartoonist fancies Michelle, because he has portrayed her as feminine and cute. The problem is it doesn't make its political point clear. Why worry? Neither cartoonist nor editor face beheading.