Plastered around various regions of New York (generally frequented by folks in their twenties and thirties) this week have been posters featuring a stylized illustration of a demonic-looking Sarah Palin. The posters are certainly striking, and they’ve triggered some debate from various corners of the political world. That said, once I looked closer and noticed the oh-hey-Sarah-Palin-has-fangs aspect of them, my interest basically waned. I’ve got nothing against political street art per se, but in this case, I don’t see it making any kind of effective argument. As a lefty, the image doesn’t make me any more likely to vote for Obama, and I can’t imagine a conservative seeing it and having an epiphany to change how their vote might be cast. And while the image is weirdly resonant, I suspect that a similar illustration, with the same color palette, showing, say, Joe Biden with a third eye would be equally eye-catching.
That said, I don’t necessarily agree with Ross Douthat’s comparison of this to some of the uglier recent behavior at McCain/Palin rallies. Satire, whether good or bad, right-wing or left-wing, has a certain level of detachment to it that doesn’t quite match with the more fervently angry, lunatic-fringe shouting that’s reported on every few days. There is, probably a discussion to be had about whether satire fuels partisanship or vice versa, but that seems to my early-a.m. brain to be a chicken/egg-level conundrum that may never be nearly resolved.