McCain wants Obama press coverage? He got it.

By GottaLaff

Be careful what you wish for:

John McCain’s campaign complained Tuesday morning that the press wasn’t treating the presumptive Republican nominee like they had covered Democrat Barack Obama. Tuesday afternoon, they got an unexpected jolt of equal treatment: their own parody magazine cover, modeled on the controversial illustration that graced last week’s New Yorker.

That should make them very happy. Now they're media twinsies!

In the picture, which debuted on Vanity Fair’s Web site Tuesday afternoon, John McCain and wife Cindy are shown in the Oval Office giving each other daps, the fist-jab greeting that Barack and Michelle Obama traded on the cover of the New Yorker.

Other elements have been tweaked so the illustration – like the New Yorker cover – reflect stories and stereotypes the candidate and his wife would most like to leave behind. Cindy McCain isn’t clutching a machine gun – she’s cradling vials of pills. There’s no Muslim garb in sight, but the Arizona senator is leaning on a walker. The American flag isn’t burning in the fireplace; instead, the Constitution smolders.

In place of the portrait of Osama bin Laden in the original art, the liberal magazine has opted for a likeness of President Bush. [...]

But don’t go looking for the cover on a newsstand near you: it will remain a virtual production, posted on the Web site alone.

Yes, this is mildly (if that) amusing, but here's the difference: Context. Everyone knows this is satire. In fact, it's a parody of a "satire" that was set up by the New Yorker commotion (which had no set-up of its own).

Plus, it won't be seen at your local newsstand or supermarket by casual passers-by. It will take effort to track the Vanity Fair cover down.

Finally, there is no built-in fear factor (read: Muslim). Who could be afraid of a pathetic, out-of-touch couple like this one? Let me retract that, because, if by some fluke J Sid is elected, we'll have plenty to fear.