New Yorker Fist Bumps & Flag Burns

Barack and Michelle Obama share a fist bump in front of a burning American flag on the cover of The New Yorker.

Sen. Obama is portrayed as a Muslim caricature and his wife is dressed in combat attire holding a gun. A photo of Osama Bin Laden hangs behind the two, who stand in the Oval Office.

The New Yorker stood behind cartoonist Barry Blitt’s cover, which the magazine said is political satire in a statement. “Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful and the absurd.”

The Obama campaign isn’t amused, and spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement. “Most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree,” Burton said.

Sen. John McCain expressed the same sentiment towards the magazine’s cover. “I think it’s totally inappropriate, and frankly I understand if Senator Obama and his supporters would find it offensive,” McCain said.