Barack Obama's Newsweek Editorial On Haiti

Jack Shafer has posted the following question on Slate:


Why the goddamn hell is Barack Obama writing the cover story for next week's Newsweek? He doesn't know anything about Haiti outside of what his aides may have told him. He won't even write it! If the piece is worth publishing, Newsweek should give the byline to its true author.

Mr. Shafer, this is an easy one. Newsweek gave Obama the space in the magazine because they were afraid they might say something Obama wouldn't like. The Teleprompter Jesus approval rating is approaching Bush-like lows, and he needs to be seen effectively taking charge of something.

Newsweeklies are under a huge financial strain. They've had massive drops in readership because of the internet, competition from magazines like Reason and Liberty, and readers tiring of propaganda pieces.

Allowing the White House to write the editorial won't allow anyone to claim they created or saved a job, but it has cut out some unnecessary middlemen.

Perhaps some of the president's advisors felt that allowing Newsweek to write their own magazine wouldn't properly acknowledge Obama's sheer, overwhelming awesomeness.

And since G.W. Bush is teaming up with Clinton on our team of Aid For Haiti Spokespresidents, there was a risk that an Obama opponent would be shown in a positive light.


That would never do.

There you have it, Mr. Shafer. Obama is writing this editorial for the same reason that Steve Forbes occasionally writes for Forbes, and that Oprah wrote for "O". It's his magazine.

Coming soon: a long-ish Think Piece from Michelle Obama on Martha Coakley's struggles in Massachusetts, and what that means for women.

Sometimes the cover just isn't enough.

Sometimes a ridiculous number of covers is not enough.

Learn to love it.
If you're looking for an effective relief fund, may I recommend the Catholic Relief Services? They were very effective with helping a lot of my Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian employees after the unpleasantness in the former Yugoslavia.

In the meantime.....

Only one of these Newseek covers is a parody. It came from here.