The Joke's On The New Yorker

Satire is defined in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as "a literary work, holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn", and "trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly".

That's what The New Yorker tried to do on the cover of its latest issue, with a cartoon mocking the stereotypes and perceptions some people have of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle. Obviously, they didn't do a very good job.

If you've seen the cartoon (and who hasn't by now?), you know what we're talking about. If you haven't, then let me be the millionth person to describe it to you: There's Obama wearing a traditional Muslim wardrobe. Michelle is wearing a 1970's era Afro with bullets draped over her shoulder, holding a machine gun, ready to perform a fist bump. The American flag is burning in the fireplace, with a portrait of Osama bin Laden on the mantle.

Laughing yet? Obama, his Republican opponent Senator John McCain and most media pundits have attacked the cartoon as offensive. An editor for The New Yorker made the rounds on TV, trying to explain what was meant by the cartoon. But that's like trying to explain a joke that wasn't funny to begin with.

At least nobody's getting killed over this. Remember the controversy over cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that were published in Dutch newspapers? Editors and cartoonists feared for their lives as angry Muslims took to the streets.

We live in a hypersensitive culture, where everyone is afraid to laugh at the foibles of some individual or group (which helps explain why there are so few sitcoms on TV). Part of the problem lies with Obama himself. With his biracial background and career dedication to "making a difference", it's hard to mock him without being offensive about it. (It's probably better to let the Chris Rocks of the world handle that one) Also, with Obama's thin resume, we don't yet know him all that well. Compared to all that, John McCain is a barrel of laughs.

One of Obama's recent attempts at lightening up was when he allowed his two daughters to appear on the TV show "Access Hollywood" with him and his wife. As it turned out, the Senator wouldn't have done it had he known that the show is syndicated by NBC Universal, which then played highlights of the interview on "Today", "NBC Nightly News", and MSNBC.

The New Yorker is an upscale magazine that has been publishing for over 80 years, and is best known for its literate articles, and for its cartoons. Many great writers and artists have passed through here, including James Thurber and Charles Addams. In this political year of a less sophisticated era, the satire they put across may have hit a little too close to home.