On the July 14 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, G. Gordon Liddy said of the image of Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, on the July 21 cover of The New Yorker: “It's got Obama in his Muslim dress with a turban, and he's there with his wife. His wife has a 'mad at the world' afro, circa 1968, she -- she's got bandoliers and an assault weapon, and there in their fireplace is burning the American flag. The New Yorker finally got it right.”
The New Yorker said in a press release that its cover “satirizes the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the Presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign.”
From the July 14 broadcast of Radio America's The G. Gordon Liddy Show:
CALLER: Well, Mr. Liddy, if you watched the congressional hearings with the oil companies, Congress and the Senate didn't even understand supply and demand and how prices are affected by supply and demand. So, can we expect them to understand the simple stuff?
LIDDY: No, you -- you really can't. I mean, they -- the -- what I think was the height of irony was when they were yelling at the oil company guys because they made eight cents on the dollar, and when you pay a dollar at the pump, the taxes are like 48 cents. And they're the ones that are getting most of the money -- it's the government. They get far, vastly more than the oil companies --
CALLER: Mr. Liddy, I think America's going to have a problem with Mr. Obama, who wants to tell us to quit driving my diesel so that he can fly jets and have a limo. I really resent someone doing that. I want to drive my diesel, but I don't want to pay $5 a gallon.
LIDDY: Yeah, I don't suppose you've, by any chance, have seen the cover of the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine, which is, you know, a huge thing. It's got Obama in his Muslim dress with a turban, and he's there with his wife. His wife has a “mad at the world” afro, circa 1968, she -- she's got bandoliers and an assault weapon, and there in their fireplace is burning the American flag. The New Yorker finally got it right.
CALLER: But just remember -- just remember he has announced now that he is pro-gun. I'm waiting for him to announce he's pro-life.
LIDDY: Oh, I don't know that he'll ever do that. Oh my, now, but you never know. He's changed his mind on virtually everything else in the world. But I still think that, you know, at heart, he just wants to take away -- he's Robin Hood. He wants to take away from the rich and give to the poor. The problem is he thinks anybody, you know, who makes the equivalent of the pay of a good plumber or electrician is rich. I got news for him. Thank you very much, Charles. We appreciate your listening and calling.
Jordan Kujala is an intern at Media Matters for America.