Newsweek's 'crazy eyes' Michele Bachmann cover

Tina Brown's venerable magazine faces accusations of sexism and liberal bias over its unflattering cover photo of the GOP presidential hopeful

Bachmann on Newsweek
(Image credit: Newsweek)

The image: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, made Newsweek's latest cover — but that may not be a good thing for her campaign. Tagged "The Queen of Rage," the cover photo captures the Tea Party darling with what's being characterized as a startled, glazed-over "crazy eyes" expression. (See the image below.) In 2009, Newsweek was also criticized for a "sexist" cover featuring Sarah Palin in tight and presumably alluring workout attire.

The reaction: "Memo to conservative women," says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. When approached to be a Newsweek cover subject, "always bring your own photographer." This photo makes Bachmann appear helpless and robotic, says Jonathan Capeheart at The Washington Post. "It’s as if someone is dangling a treat (or maybe it’s a line of Scripture) to get her to look at the camera...." It's shocking, says Michelle Malkin at her blog, that a respected editor like Newsweek's Tina Brown would resort to "recycling bottom-of-the-barrel" photo cliches in order to make conservative women appear crazy. And let's be honest, says Jessica Grose at Slate. It's unlikely that the magazine would "portray a male candidate with such a lunatic expression on his face." Judge for yourself:

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