In this cover, published in 2008 by “The New Yorker”, we can see Obama and his wife displayed in an extremely offensive manner. This cover was published while Obama was fighting to be the first black president: clearly something many people in America were not happy about. At first glance we can see the cartoonist exaggerating qualities in Barack and Michelle Obama that are quite offensive: such as the “Afro” hair and the president’s ears. In addition to their physical features, Obama is scene dressed as Osama Bin Laden with a picture right next to him. Lastly, there is an American flag burning in the fireplace. One of the rhetorical strategies that is being used in this cover is pathos. Because of the burning of the American flag, as well as the picture of Osama Bin Laden in the background, the viewer would see this and be angered. This is because there has never been a black president before, so some far-right groups would see Obama as un-American; then with the burning of the flag they would become even more angered. On top of this, there were many outrageous speculations of Obama being born in Kenya or of him being Muslim so the outfit and the flag would make some people view him as even more un-American. The use of Pathos is very strong in this cartoon, for if someone was not a fan of Obama and saw this: they would probably become very angered and despise him even more.
Another rhetorical device used is Kairos: which focuses on the importance of timing when showing something. In this case, as mentioned before, Obama was running for office when this was published, so the illustration was most likely released before the election to persuade people to vote for the white, republican nominee instead of the black, democrat nominee. Luckily, “The New Yorker” is known as a satirical magazine so it does not come with much credibility, however, at a sensitive time in American history anything can sway people’s opinions.
After looking at this illustration very deeply there is no way that I would have ever published it; no matter the changes made to this it would still be extremely offensive. Obama made history by becoming the first African American president, and by publishing something like this, it is demeaning to him and the black community. The artist however did eventually come out and say he depicted Obama like this as a joke because of the way the news portrayed him. While this is understandable because it makes fun of the uneducated people who actually think Obama is Muslim or born in Kenya; it is not okay to publish this without an explanation. There is no way I would ever stoop so low to post a picture anywhere close to as racist and demoralizing as this, for the impact would be way too great.
When the first African American in US history has a chance at winning the election, the country is clearly at a critical moment. People who are anti-minorities are more active and more vocal because of this; the cover being published only gave fuel to the hatred those who despise Obama had: not for his policies but simply because of his race. Overall, “The New Yorker” never should have made this illustration public for it only caused more hatred toward Obama because of his ethnicity and therefore only added on to the hostility that was and is present in The United States.
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