What's Wrong with This Tom Toles' Cartoon?

I've figured out the "problem" with the Tom Toles cartoon in the Washington Post, spoofing the July 21^st cover of the New Yorker. The caption is "But one's ironic." The pictures on the covers of the two magazines are indeed identical. However, one must also consider the context, that is, the names of the magazines. It would also have helped if the New Yorker had included the title of the picture, "The Politics of Fear", on their cover. However, they never do this, and one must page through the magazine if one wants to find the title. I think that their "laid-back" style has backfired in this case, and that they may have outsmarted themselves with possibly disastrous consequences.

I sent an email letter to the New Yorker about the cover, which I reproduce here. The contents are the same as the first paragraph in my previous AC article .

"As a longtime New Yorker subscriber, I'm used to the occasional cover which some readers consider to be in bad taste. This one is so slapstick, it looks like it belongs in Mad Magazine. As for being offensive, I'm sure Cheney supporters were more offended to see him depicted as the Halloween pumpkin. The people in this country have different grasps on reality, but surely they can all take, if not appreciate, a joke."

Given the subject of my email, I was not surprised to get an automated reply, which included the following.