Ya can't make it up  —  The New Yorker says it's satire.  It certainly will be candy for cable news.  —  At a press availability Sunday afternoon in San Diego, Senator Obama was asked, according to the diligent Maria Gavrilovic of CBS News: “The upcoming issue of the New Yorker …

Obama Camp Hammers New ‘Ironic’ New Yorker Cover Depicting Conspiracists' Nightmare of Real Obamas  —  The sophisticates at The New Yorker have come up with a cover that is sure to get the magazine a lot of attention.  Negative attention.  From their friends.

Barry Blitt Defends His New Yorker Cover Art Of Obama  —  Barry Blitt is the artist behind this week's very controversial New Yorker cover of Barack and Michelle Obama.  Via email, I asked him to respond to those who feel that his work was offensive, and to explain his own personal feelings about the Obamas.

New Yorker cover shows Oval Office with Obama as tribal African, wife as afro-70s-woman with machine gun, Osama on the wall, and flag on fire … More from Jake Tapper at ABC:

Fannie, Freddie and You  —  And now we've reached the next stage of our seemingly never-ending financial crisis.  This time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in the headlines, with dire warnings of imminent collapse.  How worried should we be?  —  Well, I'm going to take a contrarian position …

Paulson Statement on Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae: Full Text  —  July 13 (Bloomberg) — Following is the text of a statement issued today by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson:  —  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in our housing finance system and must continue to do so in their current form as shareholder-owned companies.