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Artist's rendering

Zachary R. Dowdy
July 15, 2008

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Newsday editorial cartoonist Walt Handelsman said he found The New Yorker's cover image of Barack and Michelle Obama "shocking" and "edgy," and likely to stir controversy among people who don't understand the illustration.

"I was shocked when I saw it. As a cartoonist, I like to be shocked by images. As a cartoonist that works for a daily newspaper, I think there's always the question of whether people will understand what you're saying in a cartoon ... People are calling it tasteless and offensive. I think there's no cartoonist that hasn't had that thrown at them at some time ... Ultimately, cartoonists draw all kinds of things and it's up to the editors to determine whether this is to be published. It's very, very important to keep the ideas simple and easily understood so people will know what you're trying to say ... I certainly get [the cartoon] but at the same time I thought, 'Wow.' ... The thing that surprised me is that this is The New Yorker, not The Onion, which is always satirical ... Clearly, they knew this cover would get quite a strong reaction, and it has. Some people get it and think it's very edgy, and other people are probably baffled by it and are wondering why the Obamas are being depicted this way ... This is American politics, and there's a long history of being very brutal in cartoons - and I guess they're following that tradition."

Related topic galleries: Cartoons

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