US:BARACK OBAMA'S campaign has condemned as "tasteless and offensive" a satirical cover of the New Yorkermagazine showing the Democratic presidential candidate dressed in traditional Muslim clothes and his wife Michelle wearing fatigues and carrying an assault rifle, writes DENIS STAUNTONin Washington
The couple is standing in the Oval Office before a fireplace with the American flag burning inside, above which hangs a portrait of Osama bin Laden.
"The New Yorkermay think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree," said Mr Obama's spokesman Bill Burton.
John McCain's campaign agreed that the cartoon was offensive but New Yorkereditor David Remnick defended the cover as satirising the outlandish rumours that have emerged about Mr Obama during the presidential campaign.
"It combines a number of images that have been propagated, not by everyone on the right but by some, about Obama's supposed 'lack of patriotism' or his being 'soft on terrorism' or the idiotic notion that somehow Michelle Obama is the second coming of the Weathermen or most violent Black Panthers," Mr Remnick said.
"The idea that we would publish a cover saying these things literally, I think, is just not in the vocabulary of what we do and who we are."
The controversy over the New Yorkercartoon came as polls show the presidential race tightening, with Mr Obama less than four points ahead of Mr McCain in an average of recent polls. Mr Obama's lead has eroded in recent weeks amid a succession of apparent policy shifts and the latest Newsweekpoll found that 53 per cent of voters believe the Democrat has changed his position on key issues in order to gain political advantage.
Mr McCain yesterday sought to persuade Hispanic voters, a potentially crucial group in November, to reward him for his support for comprehensive immigration reform, a stance that made him unpopular among many Republicans.
"I took my lumps for it without complaint. My campaign was written off as a lost cause. I did so not just because I believed it was the right thing to do for Hispanic Americans. It was the right thing to do for all Americans," the Republican candidate told the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza in San Diego, California.
"I do ask for your trust that when I say I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it. I think I have earned that trust."
Since the failure of the immigration bill that he co-sponsored with Democratic senator Edward Kennedy, Mr McCain has attempted to appease conservatives by promising better border security before legalising up to 12 million illegal immigrants in the US.
Mr McCain told the Hispanic group, however, that his record on immigration remains more courageous than that of his Democratic opponent.
"Senator Obama declined to cast some of those tough votes. He voted for and even sponsored amendments that were intended to kill the legislation, amendments that Senator Kennedy and I voted against," Mr McCain said.
On Sunday, Mr Obama told the same gathering that Hispanic voters will hold the key to this year's presidential election and asked for their support.
"Some of the closest contests this November will be in states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico - states with large Latino populations," he said.
"I know how powerful this community is. Just think how powerful you could be on November 4th if you translate your numbers into votes."