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[Karma Kramer]

Watergate was an exciting story bound to move papers and get ratings.

But it wasn't driven by ratings or profit, but by a moral responsibility. They risked their jobs basically investigating that story... hell their lives even.

I don't know of many mainstream journalist today who would do the same.

Bush got away with everything and the media sat on its hands... as well as the American people.

 

[Mandark]

The media hasn't reported anything in an unbiased way? At all? The whole media?

Someone should bring that up when the media has their next meeting.

 

[polyh3dron]

In the primaries, Obama would have addressed this New Yorker cover and would have called it what it is, an obvious satirical joke of the ridiculous smears that have been spread about him and it's pretty funny how they managed to get every single one into that picture. He would have given it a good laugh.

But now in the general he's become all uptight, and this new attitude is not going to work in his favor. Barack needs to really think about the qualities he displayed in the primaries that made people like him.

 

[User 10639]

I guess this is an appropriate time to bring up that the very first presidential smear campaign, as far as I can remember, was in 1800, when Thomas Jefferson was (probably correctly) accused of - wait for it - fathering an illegitimate black child with one of his slaves.

We have a long, long history of silly, sleazy shit capturing the public imagination when important things are afoot.

 

[Xenon]

This cover is absolutely the wrong idea. I understand the satire, but its just bullshit. Its fucking bullshit that a guy like Barack Obama has to deal with shit like this. Its really disgusting and the New Yorker should be ashamed of themselves for putting Barack in this situation.

:lol oh come on now. This is hardly anything to deal with. Obama denounced it which is all he needed to do. I love the whole "a guy like Barack Obama" line. He's a politician and this comes with the job with free speech and all.

Its going to be an interesting 4 years if the man wins. Lots of eggshells to walk on.

 

[masud]

Oh dear lord, I understand fucking satire and parody.

To derail the issue into whether or not I think the New Yorker is trying to disrespect Obama is ridiculous.

I'm talking about bad press, media narrative, and how people associate various forms of media with ideas.

Are you guys saying that a story of this on CNN would be a good thing for Obama right now? If not, then what exactly is the problem?

Edit : Excuse me for venting on the media a bit. If I had known that the MSM-DF was to arrive so soon, I wouldn't have said anything.

How could it be bad? Please explain. Do you really think there is someone out there that's gonna be swayed by this drawing? Lets examine your hypothetical moron shall we. Not only is is this person too dumb to not recognize parody or to realize that the New Yorker is one of the most left wing publications in America, but they somehow remained unconvinced of all the negative Obama stories until they saw them in illustrated form. Really dude? Really?

I am completely with Liara T'Soni on this one. Frankly after what the Bush administration has done to this country, I am fucking appalled at the lack of outrage and protest that is going around.

There is more than one way to protest something. You could bitch about it on a message board or you could draw a funny magazine cover...

 

[masud]

In the primaries, Obama would have addressed this New Yorker cover and would have called it what it is, an obvious satirical joke of the ridiculous smears that have been spread about him and it's pretty funny how they managed to get every single one into that picture. He would have given it a good laugh.

But now in the general he's become all uptight, and this new attitude is not going to work in his favor. Barack needs to really think about the qualities he displayed in the primaries that made people like him.

Agreed

 

[Karma Kramer]

There is more than one way to protest something. You could bitch about it on a message board or you could draw a funny magazine cover...

Does internet protest really do anything though? Has signing a petition ever had any real effect?

 

[Kitschkraft]

How could it be bad? Please explain. Do you really think there is someone out there that's gonna be swayed by this drawing? Lets examine your hypothetical moron shall we. Not only is is this person to dumb to not recognize parody or to realize that the New Yorker is one of the most left wing publications in America, but they somehow remained unconvinced of all the negative Obama stories until they saw them in illustrated form. Really dude? Really?

I tend to feel that every story, no matter how big or small, either helps or hurts a candidate. I am not a journalist, all I can say is that I've followed this campaign closer then any other one in my lifetime, and I notice that although talking heads may sit around talking about issues (Issues as in controversy that arises, not actual positions) and ways in which candidates can and cannot use them to their favor, at the end of the day, the stories are either going to help or hurt them. I don't see many issues that are simply "neutral", they are either going to work for or against.

It is what it is. Maybe I'm looking too much into the intangibles of public perception, but I just don't see how the association between this image, and the people being represented in it, could NOT be bad.

Focusing on some individual case of someone sitting their like "Oh damn, maybe he is a Muslim, look at this cover!" isn't really the point. I doubt that there is many people that would happen to. However, like I said earlier, this recalls on things. When was the last time Obama being a muslim was really brought up in a wide scale? Michelle has co-hosted the view, yet now, we are being brought back to her as some sort of militant....I just think it's bad press.

Obama did denounce the image, am I correct? Someone in his campaign must have felt it was worth denouncing, so it's not like I'm alone on this.

I guess that's all I can say on this issue, I wasn't trying to make some big thing over it, but my feelings about this election are sinking and I'm just getting a little tired of the bullshit.

 

[Odrion]

Since we're talking about the media, should we discuss Pelosi's "fairness" doctrine again?

 

[Karma Kramer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

 

[Tyrone Slothrop]

re: the watergate thing... there's still that calibre of investigative journalism today. read anything by woodward or isikoff and corn's Hubris.

 

[Tamanon]

I'd also say that you'll find real investigative journalism pretty much confined to independent journos or really experienced ones. The news environment we run in currently doesn't seem to have time for investigations that could take months or years. They need something that can be found out within a day or can have daily updates.

 

[thekad]

The media hasn't reported anything in an unbiased way? At all? The whole media?

Someone should bring that up when the media has their next meeting.

Come on Mandark, I know Liara is annoying, but you don't have to defend the media. The mainstream media conjures up narratives and prods them along for as long as they can. They deserve our ire.

 

[Farmboy]

I found this pretty hilarious (McCain going off the rails):

REPORTER: In Senator Obama's response, his campaign has noted that previously you've said that part of the recession is psychological and some of your energy plan will have quote psychological benefits.

JOHN MCCAIN: Well, first of all, if we will drill offshore, which Senator Obama is opposed to, as he's opposed to everything, whether it be offshore drilling, whether it be nuclear power, whether it be any of the efforts we need to make. You're talking about Dr. Phil, he's Dr. No. He's Dr. No on energy. He's against nuclear power. He's against the storing of spent nuclear fuel and he's against reprocessing. He's against offshore drilling. He's against offering a reward for the development of an electric car. He's against everything we need to do in order to make this nation energy independent. So, I believe that he doesn't understand our energy needs nor does he understand our national security needs and that is why he just wants to pursue more diplomacy as far as this latest Iranian missile test is concerned. I want meaningful, important, impactful sanctions, and I want a clear declaration that the United States of America will never allow a second Holocaust. So, my response is I speak for me. I've been speaking to the American people and I've been leading us forward with plans of action to address our economy and our need for energy independence. He's Dr. No.

 

[Diablos]

Obama op-ed piece about his Iraq strategy

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/opinion/14obama.html

b-b-b-but he's a flip-flopper.

 

[Tamanon]

I found this pretty hilarious (McCain going off the rails):

Yeah when he answered that question I actually had no clue where he was going with the next word, he was just all over the map, but apparently the map led nowhere near the actual question.:lol

 

[Keylime]

I found this pretty hilarious (McCain going off the rails):

This picture made me lawls at work. Not cool dude... :lol

 

[tanod]

offs
Give people a little more credit than that. I know, I know people are dumb but saying that any sizable amount of people are gonna be swayed in either direction because of an illustration implies far more than stupidity.

I don't need to give people that benefit of the doubt. The 2004 presidential election was a census of how many dumb and/or gullible people there are in America.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Since we're talking about the media, should we discuss Pelosi's "fairness" doctrine again?

I hear Congress's approval rating is at under 10%. :lol

 

[tanod]

There's another war that will hopefully be brought to a close in this election that has bigger implications than the Iraq war. The culture war stoked by Vietnam and Nixon in the 60/70's.

Change + Hope

 

[GhaleonEB]

Obama's campaign is saying he's going to give a "major" policy speech on Iraq today, to follow-up the NYT column.

 

[maximum360]

The longer this goes on the more I'm pessimistic about Obama's chances. You can't fight McCain, the media, and American ignorance/prejudices and expect to win. Obama keeps on saying that he has a lot of faith in Americans to make the right choice. I applaud him for his optimism but IMO, the country is full of idiots.

 

[Door2Dawn]

The longer this goes on the more I'm pessimistic about Obama's chances. You can't fight McCain, the media, and American ignorance/prejudices and expect to win. Obama keeps on saying that he has a lot of faith in Americans to make the right choice. I applaud him for his optimism but IMO, the country is full of idiots.

Maybe you should tune out of this race for a while.

Spoiler

Liara T'Soni too. <3

 

[Tamanon]

Obama's campaign is saying he's going to give a "major" policy speech on Iraq today, to follow-up the NYT column.

Actually it looks like the speech is going to be tomorrow.

 

[Farmboy]

The longer this goes on the more I'm pessimistic about Obama's chances. You can't fight McCain, the media, and American ignorance/prejudices and expect to win. Obama keeps on saying that he has a lot of faith in Americans to make the right choice. I applaud him for his optimism but IMO, the country is full of idiots.

The Obama camp has made a few missteps of its own, chief among them not pouncing hard enough on McCain gaffes or hitting back at the flip-flop allegations (though they appear to be about to do that with Iraq now). I'm kinda thinking this wait-and-see approach is deliberate, though. Obama can afford to have a bad July, in fact it might even be beneficial in terms of a "bouncing back" narrative later on. They could well be saving their ammo for the post-convention stretch. That would be tactically sound, although it'll still be frustrating for us pro-Obama junkies who follow the ups and downs daily.

Also note that state-by-state polling remains extremely favorable to Obama, to the point where McCain will need a game-changer to overcome his deficit.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Mandark, I thought I saw John Edwards on TV. There's going to be a special announcement

Spoiler

that should get him out of here for a few hours.

 

[maximum360]

The Obama camp has made a few missteps of its own, chief among them not pouncing hard enough on McCain gaffes or hitting back at the flip-flop allegations (though they appear to be about to do that with Iraq now). I'm kinda thinking this wait-and-see approach is deliberate, though. Obama can afford to have a bad July, in fact it might even be beneficial in terms of a "bouncing back" narrative later on. They could well be saving their ammo for the post-convention stretch. That would be tactically sound, although it'll still be frustrating for us pro-Obama junkies who follow the ups and downs daily.

Also note that state-by-state polling remains extremely favorable to Obama, to the point where McCain will need a game-changer to overcome his deficit.

I've said this before a few times as well. Where McCain wins is in the surrogate battle. They come out and pound republican talking points and spread false information with glee because the media won't challenge them on it. Obama needs to use his surrogates as attack dogs consistently to hammer the GOP when they make missteps.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Actually it looks like the speech is going to be tomorrow.

Yup. Early morning reading comprehension FTL.

 

[ViperVisor]

New Yorker is a topic on The View .

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

In the primaries, Obama would have addressed this New Yorker cover and would have called it what it is, an obvious satirical joke of the ridiculous smears that have been spread about him and it's pretty funny how they managed to get every single one into that picture. He would have given it a good laugh.

But now in the general he's become all uptight, and this new attitude is not going to work in his favor. Barack needs to really think about the qualities he displayed in the primaries that made people like him.

Considering his wife is on the cover as well, I'd bet that your assumption is wrong. His stance has always been that fair is fair when it comes to taking shots at him, but she should be left out of it.

 

[Incognito]

Damn. Gonna have to frame that cover when it arrives. :lol

 

[Tamanon]

BTW, Carly Fiorina is quickly becoming a pretty bad surrogate for McCain. She just said in an interview that McCain is open to raising taxes on the rich.

 

[Incognito]

BTW, Carly Fiorina is quickly becoming a pretty bad surrogate for McCain. She just said in an interview that McCain is open to raising taxes on the rich.

That's alright. She's also said people don't take surrogates seriously.

...

 

[Farmboy]

Nice post on the New Yorker cover. You know, satirical!

 

[scorcho]

Considering his wife is on the cover as well, I'd bet that your assumption is wrong. His stance has always been that fair is fair when it comes to taking shots at him, but she should be left out of it.

this is SATIRE, not an attack.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Todd says Obama might pick his VP shortly after he gets back from Iraq...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25673453#25673906

 

[Clevinger]

The Washington Post tears apart McCain's budget plan.

 

[soul creator]

Nice post on the New Yorker cover. You know, satirical!

"slave ships and chains" have nothing to do with the Obama campaign and how it's been perceived over the past year though, so "satirizing" that would make zero sense.

But the cartoon depicts the ideas that *have* been targeted at this campaign, and combines it all into one absurd, over-the-top piece of imagery, which is why it's much easier to realize it's satire that directly relates to the campaign.

Barack in muslim attire with a picture of Bin Laden - "omg he's a secret muslim terrorist"
Michelle with an afro and a gun - "omg she hates america and is an angry black woman"
American flag in the fireplace - "omg he doesn't wear a flag pin and he hates America"
dap - "omg terrorist fist jab!"

Those are specific charges leveled at his candidacy by right-wing fearmongers, so I think it's fair game for satire. Talking about slave ships and chains doesn't have anything to do his campaign, therefore using those couldn't really be seen as political satire.

 

[masud]

I found this pretty hilarious (McCain going off the rails):

A second holocaust!? smh

 

[Mandark]

Nice post on the New Yorker cover. You know, satirical!

Never before have so many been so eager to show such little understanding of art.

 

[masud]

Nice post on the New Yorker cover. You know, satirical!

Fucking retarded. Sometimes I hate liberals, why do I have to agree with them on most issues?

 

[mckmas8808]

Never before have so many been so eager to show such little understanding of art.

Most of us understand the art. We also know how assholish the MSM has been toward Obama compared to McCain. That's why some of us are pissed.

How do you think the MSM will cover this cover?

 

[Mandark]

Read the link Farmboy posted. One person after another utterly failing to grasp how satire works.

 

[ralexand]

Read the link Farmboy posted. One person after another utterly failing to grasp how satire works.

Would dressing Obama as a slave serve as satire?

 

[Mandark]

*bangs head on desk*

 

[Hitokage]

Newspapers, News Magazines, Wire Services, Local Broadcast News, National Broadcast News, Cable News (including the Fox News subset cut out in a larger venn diagram of right-wing media)...

All have their own issues. Treating them all like one monolithic entity only reveals your own narrative.

 

[The Lamonster]

hate new york times cover

hate mccain saying he's the underdog

hate mccain and rnc's money

hate obama's donation slowdown

hate this week so far

 

[reilo]

Dudes.

Hold on.

New poll for Missouri has OBAMA TIED?!

http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/Pres/Graphs/missouri.html

NIIIIICE

 

[mckmas8808]

*bangs head on desk*

I can't wait to see the McCain in a diaper pissing and shitting on himself while holding the red phone with his drugged up blonde wife pictured with 38 triple D tits with pills falling out of her month and a crack pipe laying on the floor, with a thought bubble over her head that says "2+2=7"

Along with that lady that the New York Times mentioned under the desk looking as if shes giving John McCain some head.

When can I get that cartoon drawing?