TDB | Reply to 'Cover Art'

I have to disagree with my friend. For a few reasons. I think a) that the New Yorker cover art was both damaging to Obama and fairly tasteless; and b) that McCain has a very good chance of winning the election. Before I give my reasons, let me say that I support Obama - but I come from a long line of Republicans and, having been a Republican most of my life (I still consider myself a conservative) I know how a lot of them think.

In the latest Newsweek poll, the most recent iteration of the same poll that gave Obama a huge lead over McCain, his lead is back within the margin of error. More importantly, 12% think Obama is currently a Muslim, 12% think he was sworn in on a Koran, 26% believe he was raised a Muslim, and a whopping 39% think he attended an Islamic school as a child. This country may finally be ready to elect a black man president; but it is not ready to elect a Muslim (or a man with an Islamic background). Obama is not a Muslim; it might be unfair to call his background Islamic; but he is the only major party candidate in American history to have Islam in his background. Obama's father was a Muslim - whether lapsed or not - and that is simply too much for most Americans. This fact will not go away before November. It will eat away at the confidence of a great many Obama supporters. And the New Yorker cover will ultimately prove an aid in this deterioration of confidence. People will see it and - whether they think of it ironically, as it was intended - it will reinforce any subtle concerns they've had about Obama, his religion, his patriotism - whatever.

Sure, there are plenty of people who will understand the irony of the picture - but sadly the great majority of Americans don't understand irony. If the New Yorker supports Obama and wants to see him elected - and it's fairly clear they do - they have done a disservice to the cause. The Obama campaign, I think, understands this - and they are upset, as they should be.

I'm a huge fan of David Remnick and the New Yorker, but from an editorial point of view, running this cover was one of the dumbest things i can remember - surely Obama will keep the magazine at a greater distance when he is president than he would have 0therwise. Moreover, Remnick did a terrible job defending his decision on NPR, proving in the process just how cut off the editors of the New Yorker can be from America at large. I find it hard to believe that someone as intelligent as David Remnick could claim he simply didn't accept the argument that most people don't understand satire (without instructions); it's a sad fact that most Americans probably don't even know what satire is.

The lingering questions that many Americans have about Obama's religion exemplify the lingering questions that many have about an Obama presidency - especially in the Midwest swing states, which will determine the race. This will keep the race close, no matter how far Obama pulls ahead in the polls. Moreover, McCain is actually winning the contest for independent voters 41% to 34%, as the Newsweek poll shows. This is a significant lead by McCain - and it's among the very people who will decide this election. If McCain continues to lead by a significant margin among Independents and white males, the race will stay very close no matter what the main poll says.