Everyone’s all up in arms about the New Yorker’s cover this week.

It’s a cartoon drawing of Barack Obama, dressed in traditional Muslim garb complete with a turban, standing with his wife, Michelle, who’s shown with a huge Afro and an Uzi on her back. The two are standing in the Oval Office, which has been redecorated to include a portrait of Osama bin Laden above the fireplace—in which is burning an American flag.

Oh, I almost forgot: They’re fist-bumping.

I saw it, and I laughed out loud. I thought it was a funny, clever depiction of all the rumors that have been going around about the Obamas.

Have I mentioned here before that I love sarcasm?

I’m a similar fan of satire. (Really.)

So maybe that’s why I found the cover funny.

But other people—the candidate himself, among them, as it turns out—weren’t amused at all. From CBS News:

The Obama campaign quickly condemned the rendering. Spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement: “The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.”

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds quickly e-mailed: “We completely agree with the Obama campaign, it’s tasteless and offensive.”

I can just see ol’ Bill and Tucker, sniffing condescendingly in response.

Hey, guys: RELAX!!

Or do I have it all wrong? Is this some sort of dark indictment of race in this country? Of what “everyone” thinks about the Obamas but are too politically correct to say out loud? Should we be concerned, as some folks have said, about the cover and what it says about us as a society?

CNN’s resident curmudgeon, Jack Cafferty (who’s no stranger to offending people, himself), tackled this issue in the CAFFERTY FILE (oh, that’s so official-sounding) last hour. Check out some of the responses here.

What do you think?

The news on Troy King is that there’s no news on Troy King.

RE: this ongoing rumor mill, who knows? First, there was a vicious rumor – or a series of vicious rumors that played on the same theme.

The Montgomery Advertiser was going to have something on it.

They didn’t.

Then, the Tuscaloosa News was going to have something on it.

They didn’t.

Then, WSFA was supposed to have something.

They didn’t.

Then, the Birmingham News was supposed to have something yesterday, and King was supposed to have had a “full confrontational” news conference today, in which he would presumably deny what was to have appeared in the News.

They didn’t. So he didn’t.

Some say the News still has a story and is just waiting for the right time, more info, better sourcing, etc. Others say that because the story hasn’t been able to move beyond the blogosphere, its credibility is continuing to crack. Mainstream media outlets have lawyers. Lots of lawyers. And lawyers don’t like rumors. So although newspapers use “anonymous sources” (and don’t get me started on that), they still have to know who those sources are—so the lawyers can talk to them, you know, in case of a suit. That the newspapers can’t find sources—a week to several months after the fact, depending on the version you’re hearing—who are willing to go on record, even privately, about these rumors is the biggest reason for skepticism, in my view. Unless and until newspapers can source this to the satisfaction of their lawyers, these rumors will remain just that: Rumors.

And to that point, as for King himself, the most interesting theory I heard for his continued silence on the matter is that he doesn’t want to give the mainstream media the news hook they need to drag something that had previously existed only on blogs out into the open. If they can’t get across the river on their own, he supposedly figures, he’s not going to build the bridge for them.

All in all, I have to say I agree completely with Danny over at the Parlor on this. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Everyone knows something, or knows someone who knows something, or heard from someone who knows something or ran into someone who went to school once with someone who knows something. People will say matter-of-factly that they just KNOW it to be so. Others will tell you, just as matter-of-factly, that they know it CAN’T be true. Both camps will look at your like you’re stupid if you have an opinion opposite of theirs – or if you haven’t yet formed one at all.

I’ll just say this: Troy King hasn’t exactly been the Bradley Byrne of the newspapers and their editorial boards. Where they admire Byrne and his leadership of the once-beleaguered two-year system, they decry King and his unabashed, unapologetic conservatism.

In other words, if the papers have something on Troy King, they’re not sitting on it because they’re his friends. 

And speaking of friends, does King’s supposed strategy of not dignifying the rumor with a response also explain the GOP’s deafening silence on the issue? More than a few folks have suggested that this began in GOP circles, whether to get rid of King in the AG’s office or simply to damage him beyond repair so he’ll be out of the way in 2010. (Interestingly enough, there’s been no denial from top-level GOP leaders on this, either.)

And that begs one final question: If it did begin in GOP circles for 2010 purposes, when did supporters of other potential GOP gubernatorial candidates start seeing Troy King as such a threat?

See these posts on this issue over at the Parlor. Check out the comments, in particular:

In other local news, three more Opelikans have thrown their hats into the ring for the City Council election on Aug. 26, according to Beverly Harvey’s story Saturday.

Opelika native Greg Jones, 50, a self-employed home builder, will run in Ward 1 against incumbent Patsy Jones (no relation). He says he’s following his heart into public service and that improving job growth will be his top concern.

Oscar Penn will run in Ward 2 against incumbent Clarence Harris Jr. Penn was not available for comment for Harvey’s story.

Rick Gaught, 57, will run in Ward 5 against incumbent Dr. William Lazenby. Gaught is a retired Opelika police officer who is concerned about the city’s public safety and infrastructure needs and job and industry growth. In addition, he says he wants to explore the possibility of contracting with a non-city civil service program to manage the city’s employees.

Previously qualified candidates include Mayor Gary Fuller and his challenger, Rainer Meadows; Patsy Jones; Harris; Ward 3 candidates Lucinda Samford Cannon, Joey Motley and Loren Sutton, who hope to replace incumbent Jerry Teel, who is not seeking re-election; Ward 4 incumbent Eddie Smith; and Lazenby.

Smith remains the lone city official unopposed for re-election – so far. Qualifying continues until 5 p.m. tomorrow. 

Regarding the Opelika mayoral race, I was glad to see that the Opelika-Auburn News tackled the financial reports from the two candidates and broke them down for readers. The bottom line: Mayor Gary Fuller has outraised challenger Rainer Meadows nearly four to one over the past 45 days. You can read Beverly Harvey’s article here and see the raw data of contributions and expenditures for yourself here.

There’s more to these reports than that four-to-one ratio. I’ll have more analysis of these numbers over the next couple of days. 

First of all, the weekend brought sad news:

Vice President Dick Cheney, members of the White House press corps and FOX News contributors remembered Tony Snow Sunday as a happy warrior who woke up each day excited about life, enjoyed engaging the media and most of all loved his family.

The former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News television and radio host, died Saturday after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.

Tony Snow was one of those remarkable people who prove that it is possible to strongly defend one’s opinions without being obnoxious. And it wasn’t a coincidence, one friend said:

“Tony did his job with more flair than almost any press secretary before him,” said William McGurn, Bush’s former chief speechwriter. “He loved the give-and-take. But that was possible only because Tony was a man of substance who had real beliefs and principles that he was more than able to defend.”

Substance. Tony had it. So many in D.C. don’t.

His family, though grieving, has been left with a lasting legacy and the unflinching pride that is the reward of a life well lived.

Rest in peace, Tony Snow. 

Back in the saddle after a quick and busy weekend.