Newsweek might as well have said, “We’re a bunch of liberals, vote Obama” with their latest magazine cover.
Let’s start with a cover for Obama. The one on the left was what was supposed to run, but the one on the right is what they went with. Notice the stark difference between the two. The original appears largely untouched as you can see all the typical facial flaws.
However, look at the picture that actually ran. Not only is he retouched from the top of his head to his chinny-chin-chin, they added a damn halo to him!
Please also take note of the words on the cover. There’s nothing negative there.
Now let’s look at the latest cover with Governor Palin.
It’s such a super close up that’s gone untouched it could cause Heidi Klum to have a heart attack if it were her.
And look at the title, She’s One of The Folk’s (And that’s the problem.) Not quite the as flattering as Obama’s cover.
Mark my words, if Obama is elected, the press is going to change their tune about the economy and the war. There’s no question where their loyalties lie and we’re all going to suffer from this.
Ken's Garbage Can 
The Obama cover that Newsweek ran is artistically more interesting than the one they didn’t run. The Palin cover is awful, but I have always hated the closeup photo on any magazine cover. The NY Times Sunday magazine does closeup covers all the time and there hasn’t been a flattering one in twenty years. They’ve shown conservatives, liberals, blacks, whites, everyone. No one looks good that close up.
Pingback: Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Did Newsweek try to make Palin look bad on its cover?
They all look terrible… unless they’ve been touched up.
Apparently I am too smitten by the beautiful + bright Gov. Palin … I think that photo looks just fine. Not that I don’t doubt they didn’t try to smear her … as they’re doing in every way they can, I just think it’s hard 😉
I haven’t actually looked at the cover closeup in a store, but from here Sarah Palin looks absolutely gorgeous and she’s natural too! I just got the most recent InStyle and Meg Ryan is on the cover. She’s about the same age as Palin but with so much hideous cosmetic surgery I barely recognized her with her fish lips, puffed up cheek bones and eyes pulled tight. And I’m sure they spent the better part of a week on retouching it. So the Governor has nothing to be embarrassed about.
On the other hand, Newsweek has plenty to be embarrassed about. The headline is ridiculously biased. But after the McCain folks are done with shaking all the radical skeletons in Obama’s closet (Ayers et al) — the “folks” will think Obama and his cast of left wing bombers and America haters are the REAL problem.
Odd crop. If I were going to do the half-face thing, I think I’d rotate the picture slightly so that the left margin ran along the midline of her face…
Also a really awkwardly worded title. She’s One of the Folks? Whose folks? What folks? Huh? Perhaps it’s just me, but their formulation makes it sound like someone is introducing one of their parents…
I’d say, more than anything, it looks like they wanted to emphasize the glasses and the earing, for some reason.
In the end, I’d say it makes an unintentional artistic statement about how the Press is treating the two candidates — retouching and photoshopped effects for Obama, while looking at Palin through a microscope…
I don’t see what you guys are talking about.. the photo may be retouched i may not be. the “HALO” that you are talking about looks an awful lot like the reflection from the sun. if you took the time to notice, it looks like the photographer might be kneeling down and looking up to take the pic.
I’m not sold on one party. I am having a hard time deciding. They both have good views for the people, but there is always something…. As the person who wrote this, he/she speaks clearly. If we are talking about the cover of a magazine, then come on people, there’s much more we can discuss then a magazine cover. We want to talk about who is best for our country, our people, our lives…. Not a cover. We view everyone, so we need to view the two candidates running for President as equal (to a point) until “they give us a reason not to.” Our lives lie in the hands that we vote for, not the way they look on a magazine cover. Think everyone and figure it out…
The subtle message here isn’t about any physical flaws. The message is that she’s a threat because she’s in your face. They’re trying to make her look like some witch who hides her evil intentions with a smile. It didn’t work though because she still looks great. If they wanted to scare us they should have put one of those hags on the View in full close-up.
Showing half her face is supposed to make her look two-faced, or hiding her real self. Having her in close-up also invites the idea that she’s in your face as prev. poster noted.
However, I don’t think either of them work. What I see is a gorgeous sparkling eye and smile and a person who can look at you directly and engage with you without coming across as a scary confrontobot. Compare with Obama who is looking away from the reader, almost as if he’s laughing at some inside joke ABOUT YOU. No engagement there whatsoever.
Verdict: Dismal failure of subtext on part of Newsweek. Worked against what they tried.
Well, it’s not surprising, Jill Greenberg’s are everywhere. Not even the AP is safe anymore. When will the American people stand up to this media bias, it is dangerous on so many levels.
However, Newsweek’s cover of Hillary Clinton showed her “wrinkles” as well (albeit not as close-up or with any jedi subliminal market tactics and Ken might I add actually has two Halos :D).
As a woman, I would hope that this is a positive and refreshing change ~ in that the wrinkles may be unedited to show experience. That women are not on magazine covers solely for looks, unless they produce them **coughOPRAHcough**. But I am most certain that that was not Newsweek’s intention as the headline provokes and their notorious liberal bias has been evident.
Also to Palin’s favor, obviously she did not instruct them or have reps oversee her cover appearance. (loving her more every minute) As I am sure Obama’s did, he has to keep the Obama Pepsi symbol makers, flag erasers and coin creators on payroll, no?
Interesting stuff on Obama and Palin, Apparently Palin is related to Princess Diana.
What is the fuss about? Palin is a beautiful woman and remains so close up. I think the right has totally lost it finding fault where none lies. I saw the cover a few days ago and thought “what a pretty woman.” I am a super liberal and would never vote for the fascist McCain/Palin ticket. But you right wing nuts have got to get a grip. Its the economy, not Palin’s pores.
The bias in the news is very apparent. It can’t be missed. They are in the can for Obama and will do anything to cover up any glitches he committs Or any questionable associations. Funny how that works!
Dave Barber
http://finepoetry.wordpress.com
Personally, I don’t think the Obama photo is flattering in the least. It looks like overblown back lighting.
As far as the caption goes on the Palin cover, I’d have to agree completely. George Bush was elected largely because he was just one of the guys. Someone we’d like to sit down and have a non-alcoholic beer with (since he gave up drinking, that would be the polite thing to do).
I, for one, absolutely do not want “one of the folks” to be anywhere near leading the free world. I want someone exceptional. Someone with a real grasp of the world we live in today, not the world that roared by us when we were not looking. I want someone with a true vision of what the future might be, not a pipe dream of the past.
Don’t you know that Obama is the Saviour? He deserves a halo, right? And all those sweet little kids singing his praises and those militant looking older boys are marching in his army.
All I have to say is BAA BAA BAA…like lambs to the slaughter they go.
I believe that Newsweek used Photoshop to make Sarah Palin look worse than she really is. They retouch everybody’s close up, why didn’t they retouch her photo?
Perhaps Newsweek is trying to picture Palin as something other than a former beauty queen–more like a serious person with something important to say. They would have needed more than a good picture to do that. Of the two “possible” shots for Obama: the one on the left makes him look more “legendary” or “thoughtful” — while the one on the right makes him look more “human.” By the way, that’s no halo. They shot at an upward angle with the sun too close to his head–it’s a wonder you can see his face at all. I think it’s like the old saw: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I’m a woman and do not like Palin’s policies on any issue. Consequently her looks are as unimportant to me as Obama’s looks are.
Party’s over, weirdos.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/
Tick, tick, tick…
Hey angrywhitedude, thanks for the link.
It reminds me of Obama’s ties to ACORN, the terrorist Bill Ayers and his Weather Underground.
When you say “tick, tick, tick”, I want to duck-and-cover.
Thanks for the reminder. Especially about Ayers.
Ken, do you know the difference between Heidi Klum and Sarah Palin? The latter runs for the potentially most powerful office on the planet.
It´s quite telling, however, that her supporters focus so much on her looks nonetheless. Perhaps this is where her (only) true strength lies?
Please switch on your brain for just this second: This is a womman of 44 who claims to represent the average American. However, there is an uproar when her natural ageing process is visible. Is this not something every Hockey Mum across the country can identify with?
Please consider the question whether the viewpoint that a female politician has to be exceedingly attractive couldn´t be seen as sexist.
Thank you.
Honestly, I think everyone is making a big deal out of nothing.
To start with Sarah Palin’s photo. I think it’s great. I think Newsweek did a great job in making not seem like a celebrity, a political figure, but just like “one of the folks.” She’s a hockey-mom that makes a healthy amount of money, but yet “she’s one of the folks.” Looking at the cover makes her seem more relatable and the fact that she had decided to take an no touch-up, close-up photos makes it all the more natural. I LOVE her smile and I’m sure alot of other Americans do, and I believe Newsweek just wanted to capitalize on that. Kudos to both for a job well done.
For Obama, no halo, just the sun. People, please stop reading so far into things, it will only make you go crazy.
Ha ha Ken,
You are my political arch-nemesis in the blog world. You are right about this post though, I will concede that. lol I have to admit the picture on the right has a very MLK-ish feature lol.
Oh nooooos!!!
At least we can disagree and still get a laugh out of it. I’d call that “good political discourse” as oppossed to the shrill activities of others. LMAO!
Hey – I stumbled on your oage by mistake. I was looking in Yahoo for Registry software that I had already purchased when I came upon your site, I have to say your website is really cool I just love the theme, its amazing!. I don’t have the time this minute to totally read your entire site but I have bookmarked it and also signed up for your RSS feed. I’ll back around in a day or two. Thanks again for a cool site.