My entire career has involved provocative satire and I will always defend a satirist whether or not I agree with the larger point of the comedy.
But when it comes to the rumors about Senator Obama -- if it's going to be mentioned in some way, it needs to be immediately qualified or explained as being a false rumor. This isn't like the rumor about President Bush being a dry drunk, or Cheney being an evil half-penguin man who eats baby orangutans. Both of which are ultimately innocuous. This rumor, however, insinuates that Senator Obama is a terrorist sleeper agent who, once elected, will take over the nation in the name of al-Qaeda.
The sad truth is that terrorists are an enemy on the hit list of every batshit far-right vigilante in the nation. If this Manchurian rumor is spread without adequate attribution or explanation or debunking, it's dangerous. Dangerous to the lives of Senator Obama and his family.
So at face value this cover doesn't do anything to debunk the rumors, but instead only fuels them. The artwork should have underscored the false, silly and insidious nature of the rumors.