MORNING READ

The New Yorker cover cartoon satirizing attacks against Barack Obama is panned by Obama himself and liberal bloggers, who find it offensive. The troubles of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and IndyMac don’t reflect well on Obama or Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), according to conservative bloggers.

The cartoon, which shows Obama in Muslim garb and his wife with a rifle slung over her shoulder, is “disgusting” and might be worth a subscription cancellation, writes Daily Kos’s reef the dog, who wonders whether it’s even a joke. All the scare tactics used against Obama are lumped into the cartoon, which should be received well by The New Yorker’s sophisticated readership but will still delight Obama’s critics on the right, according to The Huffington Post’s Rachel Sklar. Some of those scare tactics, including the ones comparing Obama to Osama bin Laden and showing him in exotic dress, were first used by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), recalls The Corner’s Seth Leibsohn. If Obama’s campaign wanted to minimize the uproar over the cartoon, it should have kept quiet instead of criticizing it, suggests Isaac Chotiner at The Plank.

Obama and Democrats, who hope to use revenue generated from taxes on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, should instead be looking to privatize and wind down the government-sponsored mortgage giants, according to The Corner’s Stephen Spruiell. Schumer should apologize for leaking to the press a letter that questioned the viability of IndyMac and led to its near-collapse, writes RedState’s Erick Erickson. With bail outs set for IndyMac, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers will become the ones paying for the economic crisis, writes The Huffington Post’s Jared Bernstein, who knocks the Federal Reserve for not doing enough to keep bubbles from bursting.

FROM THE BLOGS:
The New Yorker Cover: OMFG, WTF? – reef the dog, Daily Kos
Yikes! Controversial New Yorker Cover – Rachel Sklar, Huffington Post
The Obama Campaign Picks The Wrong Fight – I. Chotiner, The Plank
A Little More on New Yorker Cover – Seth Leibsohn, The Corner
The Political Economy of Last Week – J. Bernstein, Huffington Post
Obama Wants Piece of Freddie/Fannie – S. Spruiell, The Corner
Chuck Schumer Owes Public An Apology – E. Erickson, RedState
Obama Calling ICE Agents Terrorists? – Carol Platt Liebau, Townhall
Clarifying Thoughts on Olbermann Post – Todd Beeton, MyDD
Iraq: No Agreement w/o Timetable – Josh Marshall, TPM
Progressives Unite, Or Same-Old Story? – Theda Skocpol, TPM Cafe
Who Killed Chandra Levy? – Marin Cogin, The Plank
GOP Is Party of Freedom of Choice – The Directors, RedState

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Treasure Acts to Shore Up Fannie and Freddie – New York Times
Government as the Big Lender – New York Times
Chicago Links Obama’s Circle – Washington Post
Hopes on Race Relations are High, Poll Shows – USA Today