by Katie Fretland
Democrats were highly critical of the satirical New Yorker cartoon of Sen. Barack Obama, while Republicans were far less offended, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
The cartoon depicted Obama and his wife, Michelle, standing in the Oval Office with a flag burning in the fireplace and a painting of Osama bin Laden hanging on the wall. Obama's caricature wore a robe and turban, while his wife's sported military fatigues, an Afro hairstyle and carried an assault rifle.
The cartoon was offensive to 70 percent of Democrats, 41 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of independents, Pew reports. Fifty-three percent of Democrats say the cartoon was racist, compared to 19 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents.
A greater percentage of Democrats (65 percent) say it was not OK for the magazine to publish the cartoon than Republicans (31 percent) or independents (36 percent). Overall, only 36 percent of people reported that the cover was clever and 27 percent report it was funny.
The cover drew condemnation from the Council on American Islamic Relations and the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain joined the Obama campaign in calling the cartoon offensive. Later, Obama said he had "seen and heard worse."
The New Yorker maintained that the cover entitled "The Politics of Fear" meant to satirize scare tactics and misinformation in the presidential election.
Read the full study at the Pew center's website.
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Comments
I have never seen a more dour, humorless bunch of sticks-in-the-mud as Obama's drones. I guess a lack of humor is a symptom of nonthinking.
Posted by: MJ | July 25, 2008 3:48 PM
If only it was McCains cartoon that came out first... wonder how you would have reacted MJ.
Posted by: Scot S. Blakeley | July 25, 2008 3:59 PM
I would not be offended, Scott.
The amazing thing is how many people just don't "get it". Whether one thinks the cartoon is funny or not, anybody who is at least as smart as a turnip "got it". That is, they understood that it was not a jab at Obama but at irrational fear mongers.
Like I said: nonthinkers can't understand humor.
Posted by: MJ | July 25, 2008 4:13 PM
Posted by: Scot S. Blakeley | July 25, 2008 3:59 PM
Scott,
Mindless McCain drones like MJ depend on people believing stuff like this Obama New Yorker cover as being true in order to sway attention away from the shortcomings of Grampy McBush, who is so out of touch that he doesn't even know what the price of a gallon of milk is today without using cue cards to help him out:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16bdiY7L17M&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/25/155047/450/347/556979
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Posted by: John E | July 25, 2008 4:49 PM
66 year old democrat here. I thought the cartoon was hilarious. The demos as well as the repubs have a large portion of dim witted uneducated voters (aka low information voters) and I would not expect them to get the satire.
Posted by: camper | July 25, 2008 5:01 PM
The cartoon is a masterpiece-
Posted by: George | July 25, 2008 5:05 PM
Since Ms. Fretland reports a poll on public attitudes towards the media, perhaps Ms. Fretland and the Swamp will report on another such poll:
The latest Fox/Opinion Dynamics Poll which confirms the latest Rasmussen Poll about media bias:
"Nearly 7 in 10 Americans (67 percent) say they believe most in the media want Obama to win the November election-while a scant 11 percent think the media are pulling for John McCain. Moreover, only about 1 in 10 (11 percent) volunteers the belief that the media is neutral on the race to become the 44th President of the United States.
When asked to rate the objectivity of media coverage of the campaigns, Americans feel Obama gets more of a positive spin by a better than 7-to-1 margin (46 percent more positive toward Obama; 6 percent more positive toward McCain). Just under 4 Americans in 10 (36 percent) says both campaigns are being covered objectively." See
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/07/24/fox-news-poll-does-obama-get-better-treatment-by-the-press/
It's easy to see why Obama supporters in the media wouldn't want these facts known.
Posted by: Bruce | July 25, 2008 5:08 PM
It's easy to see why Obama supporters in the media wouldn't want these facts known.
Posted by: Bruce | July 25, 2008 5:08 PM
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows a bounce for Barack Obama. The presumptive Democratic nominee attracts 46% of the vote while John McCain earns 41%. When "leaners" are included, it’s Obama 49% and McCain 44%. Just three days ago, the candidates were tied at 46% (with leaners).
This is the first time that Obama has enjoyed a five point advantage since July 8. It’s also the first time he has reached the 49% level of support since that date. In June, Obama’s support stayed within a point of the 49% level virtually every day and the Democrat typically led by about five percentage points. The race has been closer over the past couple of weeks (see recent daily results).
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
Posted by: Nope | July 25, 2008 5:41 PM
Polls are for fools. And the cartoon was FUNNY. It made fund of the media portrayal of Obamas and that's what satire does.
Posted by: No failed satire just a failed sense of HUMOR | July 25, 2008 5:50 PM
One: I like how the first few comments were people talking about how mindless the other side was without coming up with any new arguments.
Two: there was a cartoon criticizing a Democrat and more Democrats were offended than any other political group. Who finds this surprising?
Posted by: Green | July 26, 2008 2:07 AM
Oh my gosh, the left are eating their own people, I knew it would come down to this. Don't be to hard on them, it's kinda hard to keep up with all the wacky rules they make....the Do's and Don'ts, on their first amendment rights can sneak up on them if they aren't watching carefully.
Posted by: Teresa | July 26, 2008 6:54 AM
All those responsible for this "satire" might well be petitioning Bush Jr. for pardons. When OHB is sworn in as President and Axelrod is chief of all intelligence and security and Plouffe is FBI director, those responsible will be indicted, convicted and after a fair trial be sent to Lewisburg for the next 8 years. Ha, ha, ha and mountains of Hillary-like-hillarity for them. OHB's team won't get mad, it will get even. The cartoonists would have to be grateful because if the way they depicted OHB had been real, public beheading would be the consequence. Ha, ha, ha!!
Posted by: Irrational fear monger | July 26, 2008 7:35 AM
It is hardly surprising that some Democrats might have found the New Yorker cover "offensive." After all, with the help of the media, they are building a personality cult around Obambi. Personality cults do not allow for ridicule because they detract from the heroic portrayal of the fearless leader.
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However, the really scary part is that 65% of the Democrats polled said it was not okay for the New Yorker to run the cover. I'm sorry. Unless speech is not protected by the First Amendment, it is ALWAYS okay to print it. The answer is not to shut it up, but to criticize it. In the marketplace of ideas in a free society, what one might consider "bad speech" is permitted because one can always answer it with good speech in the form of correction or criticism. The answer to speech is always more speech. The alternative of censorship is an evil to be avoided because it creates a substantial risk that important ideas will be excluded from public debate on important issues. Thus, the 65% of the Democrats who believed that it was not okay for the New Yorker to have run the cover is evidence of a society that no longer respects or appreciates freedom.
Posted by: John W. | July 26, 2008 4:25 PM