As George S. Kaufman once said, "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." Reason? Most people don't get or enjoy satire.

I imagine the elitists in the New Yorker's editorial department were chuckling heartily over the "clever" depiction of the Obamas as Islamic terrorists they planned to feature on the cover of this week's magazine.

If the New Yorker will print a similarly hateful illustration of the McCains -- she a drug-addicted wraith, he a cancer-ridden, senile old man with Alzheimers, then perhaps it will seem clearer that the magazine was not singling out the Obamas for smear treatment.

Oh, yes, I get the "joke." Too bad all the people passing the newsstands and merely looking at the cover will not, because they won't see the "explanation" inside. They'll say, "See? Just what I told you about them."

The editor, when interviewed, was still chuckling, which he well might afford to do, because he doesn't know how deep and abiding the mistrust of the Obamas is outside the confines of his office. This stunt only lent fuel to the right-wingers' fire. Shamefully irresponsible, I call it. Shame.