A few last words about that cover
Republican Mike Huckabee weighs in on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes”:
“A whole lot of people who don’t bother to do anything other than just look at the image. Believe me, I’ve been a candidate, I’m telling you that there are a whole lot of people that don’t get beyond the surface.”
I agree. As if to confirm my misgivings, this letter came in the e-mail today:
"To me it does not matter what color the skin is of our new president. But do we want a President that takes his oath on the Islamic 'Koran,' instead of God's words 'The Bible'? When Obama became US Senator he would not take the oath on our Bible, he had to have his Koran. Do we want a President who will not pledge allegiance to the US Flag, when it is said?"
Obviously, the writer is mininformed. The Koran myth keeps getting repeated anyway. The Internet is rife with this stuff. And polls still indicate that a sizeable number of people think Obama is a Muslim.
My problem is not merely some people's inability to "get" satire. It's their inability to get -- and understand --the facts.
As Huckabee notes, many people who will never, ever turn a page of The New Yorker will see that cover.
Jefff Danziger (above) and a few other cartoonists have mused on how a McCain cover would look, but I think it's too tame.
The most insidious (false) rumor put out about McCain was that he had fathered a black child, a dirty untruth insinuated into the 2000 race by the Bush campaign.
Would that be fair game for satire?
Comments (5)
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Whats your point?
We should stifle creativity for the sake of
the nit wits?
I think not.
Posted on July 17, 2008 12:32 PM
Much like Jesse Jackson use of the N word , you never know if you wait on the liberal press. Was it not you Allen that wrote a story a while back blasting the use of the word. Does not seem to be a problem not. How much coverage would this got if a republican said this? I remember the hell Ann Coulter got from Doug Clark over a nothing remark about John Edwards. Could there be a double standard?
Posted on July 17, 2008 4:05 PM
My point is that if a myth is repeated often enough, it takes on a life of its own.
Posted on July 17, 2008 6:28 PM
You're right. Jesse of all people should practice what he preaches.
He was one of the black leaders who came out in favor of banishing the N-word from use.
For shame.
Posted on July 17, 2008 6:34 PM
As for Mr. Jackson's use of the N-word: It is more proof that time has a tendency to dull a person's memory banks!
Apparently he did not keep a written log of what he had said back when he was opposed to using this ugly word, which still has no place in the vocabularies of leaders who are committed to fighting for the human good!
I wish that our society and culture had never known the N-word, which has done lots of harm to an intelligent and creative people, and is being thrown out as overkill by the profit-hungry artists, performers, and musicians, who are focusing more on their successes and less on human respect and dignity. Enough already, please!
Posted on August 17, 2008 11:52 PM