I am big on respect regardless of who you are, what you believe (within reasonable limits) and social standing.  I hate to think that the suits at the New Yorkers never considered the possible long terms ramifications of this cover.  Do I think it will cost Senator Obama his realistic shot at the presidency, no, do I think that John McCain would have received the same treatment, no.  This cover was not a overnight thing.  There was planning, mock ups, edits, corrections meetings, more edits, additions, subtractions, etc before we ever saw this and thats whats bothers me.  There is no satire in portraying anyone as unpatriotic or a terrorist, especially someone who has dedicated their professional life to public service.  No matter what you think of his politics John McCain deserves to be respected for his military and public service and Barack Obama deserves respect for his time in office.  I always try to look at things with some sort of positive spin and I can honestly say that this may be a sign that he is about to shatter a institutional barrier.  I know  there are people who are terrified that if that happens White House dinners will consist of fried chicken, collard greens and watermelon and the music will be Public Enemy or Three 6 Mafia and I can honestly understand fear of change we all have it to some extent but damn, this is too much.  I cant figure out which portion of the picture is the worst, the machine gun, the Bin Laden picture or the burning flag.  The burning flag really bothers me because thats a very emotional, powerful image that only has one meaning satire or not.  My father and uncle served in Vietnam and my older bother in first Gulf War and I have a very emotional reaction to that image.  I love the USA because nowhere else on the planet would my life be possible.  I don't play with unpatriotic talk because once you put it out there it never goes away,  Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were branded communist because of overzealous government officials and people who were uncomfortable with the nature of their relationship.  The good news is they overcame the it and went on to become one of the most powerful couples in Hollywood (creating their own movie studio) and I know the Obamas will go on to comparable success.  This is a great lesson in being careful about what you say and what you put you in the world.  Theres a time and a place for satire, this was not it.