The New Yorker Gives Americans Too Much Credit

Recently, The New Yorker printed a story about the use of fear in American politics. The cover of the magazine ties into that story, depicting Barack Obama in the Oval Office wearing traditional Muslim garb, sharing a fist bump with his wife Michelle, who is dressed as a terrorist revolutionary. They are standing in front of a fireplace where an American flag is burning. Above the fireplace is a portrait of Osama bin Laden. You know what, I'll just show it to you:
This image has caused a bit of a to-do with the Obama campaign, for obvious reasons. Even John McCain said the image was tasteless and offensive. The New Yorker defended the image, insisting that it was meant to show the ridiculousness of these attacks on Obama. What the magazine failed to realize is that the people who believe any of these erroneous attacks on the Obamas in the first place will take this magazine cover as gospel truth. People who are weak-minded enough to believe that Obama is a sleeper radical Muslim agent are not likely to be able to detect irony of this sort. People who understand the intent behind the cover image didn't believe any of the Obama rumors in the first place. Those who DO believe those rumors aren't smart enough to understand the cover anyway. So what is the purpose? Is a blue collar, NASCAR-loving, Muslim-hating racist good ol' boy in Alabama going to pick up a copy of The New Yorker and think "Good heavens, the satirical irony conveyed in this image has forced me to re-evaluate my appraisal of the Obamas."? Not bloody likely. Nice try, The New Yorker, but you've given the American populace too much credit. If we were all smart enough to understand that cover image, the rumors about Obama never would have spread in the first place.

Puny human magazine editors.