Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart dress as the Obamas (after a fashion)
Be forewarned. Or, depending on the latitude you are willing to grant satire, rejoice.
On Friday, a variation on the controversial New Yorker cover drawing that caricatured Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, pops up on newsstands (it's also in the mail to subscribers). 
Getting into the act is Entertainment Weekly. Assuming roles of the Obamas at Comedy Central stalwarts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (barely recognizable in an Afro wig but sans glasses).
The two, whose shows have become must-stops for presidential wannabes (especially those seeking inroads with younger voters), hold forth -- out of character -- for EW. The Ticket was sent excerpts, most of which are a bit too off-color for us to pass along. But here are a couple of the non-profane ones that we found noteworthy.
Stewart expresses his disappointment that, in his view, the Obama/John McCain race has taken on a tenor comparable to the 2000 faceoff between George W. Bush and Al Gore and the '04 contest between Bush and John Kerry.
"I was convinced an Obama/McCain campaign would be measurably different on almost all standards," he says. "And to watch it become Bush/Kerry, Bush/Gore, has been one of the most dissatisfying experiences."
Colbert chimes in: "That means it’s not an Obama/McCain campaign. It’s a Guys Who Work for Bush/Guys Who Work for Kerry campaign. Both sides have people who are just smart enough to know 'We need to tweak this dial right here,' so of course voters are divided 50/50 between the parties. ..."
Stewart also reflects on the phenomenon that has been the Sarah Palin candidacy -- and what it says about the media:
Everyone likes new and shiny. We’re bored. What’s great about that is [Democratic VP candidate Joe] Biden is an absolutely eccentric character. That’s how powerful Palin’s story is -- it has cast the first African-American presidential nominee, the oldest [non-incumbent] presidential nominee, and a really wild cork vice presidential candidate completely out of the picture.
The press is 6-year-olds playing soccer; nobody has a position, it’s just "Where’s the ball? Where’s the ball? Sarah Palin has the ball!" [Mimes a mob running after her.] Because they can only cover one thing.
-- Don Frederick
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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Ah, Colbert and Stewart. What would we do without them?
So glad to see some people found their senses of humor throughout the New Yorker cover flap. Brilliant spoof. But where's the flag burning in the fireplace?
Posted by: Andrew | September 25, 2008 at 09:32 PM
These guys are just too funny. In all this madness, they keep us laughing! Good show chaps!
http://www.boppoll.com
Colbert and Stewart rock!
Posted by: Thanks for keeping it funny! | September 26, 2008 at 01:14 AM
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Another stupid pick, Magazine sales must be very low. Where's the ENTERTAINMENT. I stopped buying this magazine a long time ago.
Posted by: Tyrone Taylor | September 26, 2008 at 06:04 AM