Julie was distracted by winged pigs when NOW courageously came to the aid of conservative Michele Bachman, the GOP presidential hopeful portrayed as “Queen of Rage” on the cover or Newsweek. The ugly photo made Bachmann look like Charles Manson’s sister.  


Well, since Julie’s item, the sky has become congested with flying pigs! 


I cited Jack Shafer’s Slate column this morning chiding editrix Tina Brown for using the picture. 


Now, Jon Stewart, a well-known liberal who does not share Bachmann’s politics, is taking the same tact. Mediate reports:



It seems that Newsweek‘s cover photo of Rep. Michelle Bachmann has already proven to be a game-changer: it got Jon Stewart to defend the Republican presidential candidate for an entire segment- not an easy feat. Stewart blasted the magazine for deliberately finding an unflattering photo of the Congresswoman, arguing “you’ve got to go pretty far” to find an unflattering one, listing examples of Bachmann making “yelling into a bullhorn” look attractive, and giving editor Tina Brown a dose of her own medicine. …



Stewart then noted Brown’s argument that the photo was illustrative of the Representative’s intensity, which Stewart did not buy one bit. “That’s not an ‘I’m galvanizing the voters in Iowa’ picture,'” arguing instead that the cover looked like “the female version of The 40-Year-Old Virgin.'” “You used that photo in a petty attempt to make Michele Bachmann look crazy,” he scolded, suggesting instead, “that’s what her words are for.” He then put together a far “scarier” portrait of Rep. Bachmann- made entirely of her quotes. “Shame on you, Newsweek, and shame on your editor Tina Brown,” he railed, showing the least flattering photo of Brown he could find.


I like some of the things Ms. Bachmann says, but I still think it was dandy that Mr. Stewart came to her defense.


By the way, I was in the 2 percent that said the Newsweek cover was not sexist on the NRO online poll. I’m so sick of people crying sexist that it would take a heckuva lot for me to call something sexist. That said, conservative women do get savaged by the media elite. Glad to see that this time it is backfiring!


Finder’s fee: Pete Wehner