The New Yorker magazine cover cartoon of Obama ,with illustration titled " The Politics of Fear " and drawn by Barry Blitt , depicts Obama wearing muslim clothing - sandals , a robe and turban - while his wife , Michelle, has an assault riffle slung over one shoulder and is dressed in camouflage and combat boot with her hair in an Afro .
The cartoonist's cover of Obama as muslim depicts Barack Obama and hie wife as flag burning , fist - bumping radicals drew outrage from democratic presidential candidate's campaign as it appeared on newstand monday .
In a statement , the magazine said the cover combine " fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are " .
" The burning flag , the nationalist-radical and islamic outfit , the fistbump ? All of them echo one attack or another , " it said .
The magazine said satire is part of what it does " to hold up a mirror to prejudice , the hateful and the absurd . That's the spirit of this cover ."
The New Yoker editor David Ramnick said that the cover was chosen because it had something to say . " I can't speak for anyone else's interpretations , all I can say is that it combines a number of images that have been propagated , not by everyone on the right but by some ,about Obma's supposed ' lack of patriotism ' or his beeing ' soft on terrorism ' or ideotic notion that somehow Michelle Obama is the second coming of the weathermen or most violent Black Panthers . That somehow all this is going to come to the Oval Office , " Remnick said .
When asked about the cover, Obama said, " I have no response to that ."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg , an independent who has supported Obama's fight to debunk the rumors , said even humorists need to be careful . " We all have to watch very carefully what we say - our attempts at humor , our attempts at informing people - because some of what we say can be misinterpreted and do real damage ," he said .