For The Love of Politics

The only problem with the picture you have of Obama is that he is not walking on top of the water.

I love that horse behind him.

Great covert WW, you guys are awesome. Really. Keep pushin'. Way to stay classy.

Silly me, I thought Obama was running for President. I'm so glad that the good folks at WW corrected my impression. Obama is running for Romance novel cover boy. Good work WW, you've reduced a black man to a stud!

Reduced?!?

I thought that was special prosecutor Ken Starr's job *after* the election.

It's supposed to be a romance novel cover. You know, because we love him. And it's all for the love of politics.

Sure the cover's meant affectionately and in good humor. That's nice. But it made me as a white guy go, "Huh? That's kinda fucked up in a clueless, well-intentioned way." It made some black friends (who don't represent all black folks, of course) say, "I am so sick of this sh*t." There are probably more important things to rant about, but it'd be great if my fellow white folks in the media would suss out why white liberal off-color irony can be so alienating. Right?

Okay, point taken. But what if Edwards were our nominee, and the dreamy politician were a white dude? Would anyone be offended then? I doubt it.

oh come on Ben. Please put the cards away. It's offensive because of the glorification thing.

Every week, WW gives us all much greater insight into the workings of white, liberal, self-consciously ironic culture. As a white Gen X guy, I suppose I get the joke. South Park. Ha ha. Funny in 1998, less funny after Bush/Rove/Cheney set human and civil rights back 50 years, on the alternative press' watch, no less!

"vision" is the word that has been verbed. "visioning" becomes a gerund and, therefore, a noun.

There, got my hit of irony for the day.

Wonder what the cover would have been like if WW endorsed Hillary?

Sure. The cover is goofy. That's the point. But ironic? How so? Though calling it "off-color irony" (assuming the pun) is a bit ironic. If the 1st thing to hit you is the race of the subject you have bigger hang-ups than the white liberals you're railing on.

love it, love it, love it. Way to tell it like it is.

wow, i was sorta shocked by these comments (seemed like your average merc cover to me, except the whole making sense thing--by the way, did you see how boring their cover was? it was totally bizarro).

i feel like i should at least offer up my own thought process from when the idea was brought up at a staff meeting (though i'm really not a factor in these decisions, i think i probably speak for a few of us, anyway).

i gave a thumbs up to this cover idea because i thought it simultaneously poked mild fun at the obama-frenzy that's sweeping america (if you read ww's endorsement, it's not exactly a jumping up and down type thing) and stated the obvious: barack is the perfect man. he's smart, young, handsome, athletic (his brother in law, a college coach, says he can ball anyway), successful and empathetic. and every woman AND man i've ever asked has agreed that he is the hottest presidential candidate in recent memory (my personal opinion is EVER, but then i'm straight and we can't always appreciate the rugged beauty of a chester a. arthur). so why wouldn't he be on the cover of a book intended for depressed divorcees and housewives? you saw him with oprah, he was great!

are we (not just WW, but the nation) supposed to not discuss or portray the man's handsomeness because he's black? heck, are we supposed to not poke fun at him? we've poked fun of every other major political figure in our country's history, black or white. it's why satire is protected by American laws. edwards absolutely would have gotten the same treatment and he has more hair (it could have been blowing in the wind, the one thing this romance cover is missing).

in any case, i thought that putting barack in a spot where a dipshit like fabio would normally be was kind of rad (the only time race even came up that day was when i joked that the paper had probably never had black people on the cover two weeks in a row before (i don't think anyone got it)), and i'd be so bold as to suggest that this image would probably make obama himself--and his amazing wife, michelle, who i would also vote for--laugh out loud. maybe when they come back to campaign here again someone can ask them, though all the race questions are probably getting pretty tired about now, because everyone in this country is hung-up. obama's grace in dealing with the issue has been really amazing: i think we should start pressing white candidates relentlessly about their racial makeup--day in, day out--and see how they handle it. "do you think the country is ready for a white president?" "you're performing well among white voters, is it because you're white?"

anyway, if having a black president means we're not allowed to talk about or satirize his body and appearance (which is pretty much all we had to go on with bill clinton for a couple of years there), political cartoons are gonna get really boring under the obama white house. and there will be an obama white house.

go barack!

-casey (i write about music in ww)

p.s. i agreed to volunteer for mr. o's campaign this weekend. i can only pull off making calls for a couple hours, but i'm stoked to do it. i've never been moved to volunteer for a political campaign before. but then i've never felt like my generation was really paying attention before, and barack is getting them involved. that's a huge part of why i'm voting for him in this primary. in case you were wondering after that whole ridiculous comment.

Change, that is the only money we will have after being taxed to death by this socialist.

Concerns over who's the bigger socialist notwithstanding, seems you're all having way more fun obsessing over the cover, with references to the likes of "South Park" (a TV show right?) - I was thinking "Mandingo," — whatever...typically fatuous.

When Shillary and Obomber again drop in on Party-Down P-Town, does anyone suspect that there might be even the slightest chance that Mr. Zussman could muster the presence of mind to ask them about how they intend to deal with the influence of Bilderberg, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the IMF, World Bank, et al — the ultimate global power brokerages, and their clear intention to bring all of humanity under the sway of a New World Oligarchy?

Sorry to get serious...OK, but your really think "South Park?" What about "I-Spy?" Look into Obomber's Brzizinski connection.

I love how Willamette Week says they aren't falling for the "messiah" message then shows Obama walking out of the Willamette river in all white, like he was just baptized the new savior of politics. Could you send a more contradictory message. Not that it's a surprise you endorsed the more liberal candidate, but if you're going to do so, can you do so with some facts, rather than some nonsense about how this election is about "change" and "hope" instead of experience? This just shows that you've bought into his stump speech and aren't objective. Can't change be made because of the amount of experience one has to do that with? My vote goes to Clinton. Nice try Willamette.

What experience are you referring to? Hilary is well versed in art of campaign finance fraud, telling outlandish lies with a straight face and blowing tax payer money on self serving earmarks ($2 billion plus over her years in the senate millions of which directly benefited the corporations that kept her in office).

It's just not the kind of experience I'm looking for in a candidate. My vote goes to Jackie Chan. Nice try Marsha.

Perfect Obama cover - white on the outside, messianic on the inside.

Libs, libs, libs. Ah, how sweet that you're being hoist by your own petards! You who perfected the art of using "sensitivity" as a weapon have those same darts trained at you.

How could you NOT look at that cover and see a runaway slave, having just crossed the Ohio to freedom, with an implied "where de white women at?" leaping off the page??

You who leap up in resentment at anyone daring to mention whether a professional/political female is hot or overweight—you can't resist obsessing over Obama's looks!

So as for proving your art director is racially tone-deaf: congratulations!

As for the supposed romance novel effect: D-.

Romance novels generally have the Fabio kissing a woman. It's the pulp novels that could have a single female on the cover, all ecstatic. But the pulp novels wouldn't have the other floofy graphic elements.

Your art director has failed you.

Oh, and Edgar? I will guaran-damn-tee that neither you nor any of the other O-Boys raised a peep during the Clinton years (or pre-Obama) about Hilary's fraud and lies.

Now that I'm a Democrat, it's great fun getting oversensitive with y'all. I may not even switch back to the elephant after I (and my many silent turncoat buddies in Oregon) get done throwing a big old monkeywrench in your nomination process by voting Hilary!

"How could you NOT look at that cover and see a runaway slave, having just crossed the Ohio to freedom, with an implied "where de white women at?" leaping off the page??"

Because it's obviously the Willamette?

Jimmy? Your guaran-damn-tee isn't worth 2 shits in a whorehouse!?! (as long as we're abusing punctuation while desperately attempting wit)! I never approved of and never voted for Willy!!!? Try Joe Walsh...

It'll rack your simple mind even more to learn I'm by no means a Democrat, a lib, or an Obama supporter. Being a detractor of candidate A doesn't make for a supporter of B. It's the "Hilary has experience" garbage that really makes me cringe...Sorry, I mean cringe!!!

I also like to make fun of fat chicks!!DaaHar!?

BUT.. Clinton has withstood the right wing smear campaigns for years and has survived. She is the One(Oprah's term) who can defeat McCain. McCain and the Republicans will eat Obama alive!

obama wont lose in november....America wants a democrat....Hillary supporters need to forge ahead a little by accepting the fact that Hillary might not be the nominee, but to support Obama to go against McCain....

Likewise if for some reason Obama drops out (dont know of a reason why) but they should get behind the dominee..

you can have your favorite player, but you still want the team to win

If Hillari loses the nomination, I am going to vote Mccain along with my friends. Its going to be a mass Mccain vote in November. I know there are a lot of people thinking along those lines here in California. The reason is most of us are independents and we go by what a candidate promises and look at his/ her capabilities.

But McCain and Hillary are far apart on most issues, and Obama and Hillary are so close. What is it that McCain and Hillary have in common that make you refuse to vote for her ideological cohort? (A: Her supporters are racist.)

That illustration is one of the many reasons why I'm writing in Hillary's name in November if she's not the nominee.

Because no matter what Obama is promising, hope ain't gonna buy you a pony.

Wow! These Hillary folks are really bitter. They sure seem to be clinging to contempt for people not like them.

Keep your heads buried in the sand. There is nothing there but an empty suit. All talk. What has he done for America or it's people to become the "one"? Not one piece of legislation passed in his name. He is Chair of the Afghanistan Oversight Committee and has not held one single meeting since he took the chairmanship. His excuse: Too busy campaigning for "president". If he can't handle his responsibilities as a Sentor, What will he do as president. Another "dubya' in the making. Oh and there are 57 states.

Wow. Way to disprove that us Obama supporters are not part of a cult.

*headwall*

Kind of a creepy picture.

They should have painted Obama walking on one of your "GREAT LAKES". lol

I'm not an Obama supporter (I think he just guarantees the White House to McCain)...but I REALLY think that those of you who do support him need to put a better face forward. A good chunk of the country thinks you're a little out-there already, don't give them anymore ammunition like this painting. I mean...is that a UNICORN in the background?

So Obama is illustrated as a zombie rising in a field of roses with some sort of metal box attached to his neck and a tricorder in his right hand and you're good with that? Zombie cyborg for President!

This is REALLY creepy is it going to be hung in Rev Wright's church? Obama with his shirt unbuttoned - what walking on water? He can save us - not with any concrete ideas, but with the mesmerizing concepts of Change, Hope and apparently the promise of our being able to walk in the clouds. Where do I sign up???

Obama seems to be a "done deal" as the nominee, but I still have a bad feeling about his election chances. The main difference, as far as I can see, between those who support him and those who don't is that words just aren't enough for those of us with doubts. The rhetoric is great, as far as it goes, but what has he actually DONE? He has no grand achievements OR failures in his past because he's never really attempted anything bold OTHER than asserting he's ready to lead the country without even a single term of national level office.

For that reason, the romance-inspired picture of Obama is perfect because, like Fabio and his ilk, he is a blank slate upon which his admirers can project qualities and motives he does not actually possess. Coincidently, this is the same tactic Republicans have used for some of their Supreme Court nominations- no written opinions= nothing substantive to oppose. Like those nominees, the problems come when the object actually open their mouth and give an opinion or suggest an actual policy. Inevitably disagreement and disappointment follow. Until then, Obama's supporters are free to project mythic qualities upon him, just as his opponents can portray him anyway they like as well, including "Muslim" and "anti-American." In absence of substance, his image is FAR too malleable to the spin of either side. I'm afraid that the general American public, not given to flights of fancy, are more likely to believe the negative qualities are the correct ones and, once again, the Democrats will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.