Sussman: Obama "running for Antichrist" and not Christian

A guest host on KSFO radio, Brian Sussman, asserted that Obama is not really a Christian: "If Barack Obama were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence for a jury of his peers to pronounce him guilty? I doubt it. I think Obama would walk." Sussman had previously rhetorically asked if Obama was "running for Antichrist."

Lieberman: Obama is "A Good Young Man"

Recovering Democrat Joseph Lieberman twice referred to Obama - who is forty-seven years old - as "a good young man" in a recent interview. While at first glance this may appear to be a compliment, it is nothing short of racist code. In the South, adult blacks were referred to as children, particularly as "boy," as a means to demean.

Shirt: "“Obama is my slave"

In a case of what seems to be a concoction of irony, ignorance, and racism, a hip boutique in Manhattan is selling a t-shirt saying, "Obama is my slave." The designer, whose other shirts include “Jews Against Obama,” “Obama = Hitler” and “Who Killed Obama?”, dislikes Obama, but not because of his race. Instead, he says that Obama "reminds me of Adolf Hitler,” and that “he is a Muslim.”

Liddy: "The New Yorker finally got it right"

Conservative pundit and convicted felon G. Gordon Liddy is precisely the type of person whose negative views of Obama were reinforced by The New Yorker cover. On his radio show, he stated that

It's got Obama in his Muslim dress with a turban, and he's there with his wife. His wife has a 'mad at the world' afro, circa 1968, she -- she's got bandoliers and an assault weapon, and there in their fireplace is burning the American flag. The New Yorker finally got it right.

New Yorker: Stereotypes or satire?

The publication that perhaps best epitomizes the limousine liberal, The New Yorker, published an issue whose cover was a cartoon drawing of Obama in traditional middle eastern wear, Michelle Obama as black power radical, in the Oval Office with a portrait of Osama bin Laden and an American flag burning in the fireplace. As satire, this is excellent, capturing all the caricatures that this blog chronicles. However, as we've noted before, satire needs some context. Most viewers of the cover will merely see the stereotypes themselves, not the ridicule of them.

NJ GOP: "Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole"

The website of the Pemberton and Burlington County (New Jersey) GOP displayed a banner stating that "Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole." Although the chief of that Republican club later denounced it, the banner remained for at least two weeks.

Morris: "Is he pro-American?"

Recovering Democrat Dick Morris utilized the platform of FoxNews to ask, "[T]he question that plagues [Sen. Barack] Obama is ... Is he pro-American?" In May, Morris suggested that Obama was a Manchurian candidate, a hidden agent of terrorists, by asserting that the election hinges on whether Obama can disprove that he is "sort of a sleeper agent who really doesn't believe in our system."

Matthews: Obama not regular

In June and July, MSNBC's Chris Matthews once again regularly asserted that Obama was somehow fundamentally difference from regular guys such as himself.

• He said that Obama was not middle class, and did not "have that experience that ... most Americans have."
• Using Chicago references, he asked whether Obama was too lower-class or too upper class: "is he too University of Chicago or too South Side Chicago for those people? Which way is he going too far?"
• He wondered aloud if Obama "Can Obama now win over the regular folks, white folks," implying that blacks are somehow not regular.
  

Die Tageszeitung: Uncle Barack's Cabin

In June, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung ran a cover of the White House with the large caption, in German, "Uncle Barack's Cabin," a reference to the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. The left-leaning outlet defended the cover as satirical. While properly contextualized satire can be a useful communication medium, a newspaper cover is tricky. Most viewers get only a glance as they pass by in a store or newsstand. For them, the take-home message is likely not one of satire.