The very real potential damage is not for people who will actually read the New Yorker, scan the cover carefully, or pay close attention to serious news coverage of the story and what it's meant to be. It's from people who will catch a glimpse of the image of Barack in Muslim garb and Michelle in terrorist attire as they pass newsstands or see a fleeting snippet on a TV show.   A picture is worth 1000 words, and images can trigger emotional responses that run counter to what the rational brain tells us.

Think about it. If there were rumors about you -- that you were a drunk, a meth addict, a child molester, an animal abuser, whatever -- and some local publication ran cartoon images of you engaging in flagrant examples of such behavior.   What do you think that would do for your public image and reputation in the community?

I think it would have been better if the "news" media had not made such a big "story" out of this. (Better still if the New Yorker had kept that cartoon on the inside pages and not put it on the cover.)   But since the "news" media have all seemed to glom onto the story, maybe the best way to salvage the situation is for Obama and other Democrats, as well as fair-minded media people, to use this spotlight to point out the absurdity and viciousness of the kinds of gossip and rumors about Obama that this cover references.