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Obama's Difficult Year
2013 was a difficult year for President Obama and that was reflected on magazine covers. A couple of major themes observed in the first half of 2013 were:

a) the second term and its possibilities (examples include The Economist (01/19) "How will history see me?" and The Week (02/01) "Grand ambition."); and

b) later on, doubts about the second term (examples include The Week (05/17) "Has he lost his juice?", The Economist (05/25) "How to save his second term"
and The New Republic (07/15) "Snap Out of It, Mr. President").


The unfavorable cover-age continued into the latter part of 2013.  The troubled HealthCare.gov startup provided a convenient peg for unflattering covers (examples include Bloomberg Businessweek (11/01) "Crashed" and The New Yorker (11/11) ["Reboot"]); more general Obama-in-trouble covers such as The Economist (11/23) "The man who used to walk on water" and The Week (11/29) "Is the magic gone?" also ran.

A total of 53 covers were found comprising 28 illustration, 20 photo or photos, and 5 photo illustration.


Harper's
01
2013
Obama and figure holding problem/packages
Second Chance
Illustration
Asaf Hanuka
Foreign Policy
01
2013
Obama
The Second Coming
Photo
Olivier Douiliery/Pool via EPA
Washington Monthly
01
2013
Obama
Race, History and Obama's Second Term Photo
MCT via Getty Images
Washingtonian
01
2013
Obama and Michelle
Special Inauguration Issue
Photo
Ben Baker
The Economist
01/05
2013
Obama, Boehner, Capitol
America turns European
Photos
-
The Weekly Standard
01/14
2013
Obama, Boehner, fight girl
Lots of Fightin' Ahead
Illustration
Gary Locke
National Journal (supp.)
01/19
2013
Obama
The Inheritance
Photo
Official WH photo/
Pete Souza
The Economist
01/19
2013
Obama looking in mirror
How will history see me?
Photo Illustration
-
The New Yorker
01/21
2013
Obama, cats
["Herding Cats"]
Illustration
Barry Blitz
The Weekly Standard
01/28
2013
Obama, Biden, Sebelius, Jack Lew, Holder
We Don't Need No Stinkin' Congress!
Illustration
Jason Seiler
Reason
02
2013
Obama
The 'Truth' Hurts
Photo
Rex Features/AP
The Week
02/01
2013
Obama looking at Obama as Lincoln Memorial
Grand ambition
Illustration
Fred Harper
xxxThe New Republic
02/11
2013
Obama
"Let Me Be Clear..."
Photo
Chris Buck for The New Republic
The Nation
02/11
2013
Obama
Yes He Can
Photo
-
CQ Weekly
02/11
2013
Obama, Biden and Boehner (SOTU)
Great Expectations
(SOTU Preview)
Photo
Saul Loeb/AFP file photo
The Weekly Standard
02/25
2013
Obama, Holder, Justice Dept statue
Justice, Obama Style
Illustration
Gary Locke
Newsmax
03
2013
Presidential seal, NRA logo
High Noon  Obama vs. NRA
Illustration
-
The Week
03/08
2013
Obama, Boehner
Who's to blame?
Illustration
Howard McWilliam
The Week
03/22
2013
Obama, Republican elephant
Charm offensive
Illustration
Fred Harper
National Review
04/08
2013
Obama as ailing doctor
Obamacare's Chronic Condition
Illustration
Roman Genn
UTNE Reader
05
2013
Obama on wall, crowd below
The Wall [immigration]
Illustration
Tom Richmond www.tomrichmond.com
The American Interest
05
2013
Obama
The Invisible Superpower
Photo
-
The Week
05/17
2013
Obama in fair setting
Has he lost his juice?
Illustration
Howard McWilliam
Commonweal
05/17
2013
Obama
From FDR to BHO
Photo
-
The Economist
05/25
2013
Obama
How to save his second term
Photo
-
The Weekly Standard
06/03
2013
Obama, Holder, IRS agents, others on WH lawn
"I See Nothing, I Know Nothing"
Illustration
David Leonard
The Week
06/07
2013
Obama and drone
Second thoughts
Illustration
Fred Harper
The Economist
06/08
2013
Obama and Xi Jinping
 [as Brokeback Mountain]
The Summit
Photo Illustration
-
The Weekly Standard
06/10
2013
Obama as astronaut
Obama's Asteroid
Illustration
Gary Locke
NYTMagazine
06/23
2013
Obama
Is Selling A President Any Different From Selling a Pizza?
Photo Illustration
Illustration Matt Dorfman;
Photo Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Newsmax
07
2013
Obama and AG Eric Holder
Abuse of Power
Photo
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Landov
The Weekly Standard
07/01
2013
Obama
Ich Bin Ein Big Talker
Photo
Evan Vucci
National Review
07/01
2013
Obama as detective
The Inspector
Illustration
Roman Genn
The New Republic
07/15
2013
Obama [extreme close up]
Snap Out of It, Mr. President
Photo
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
National Review
08/05
2013
Obama on horse
Barack Obama's Lawless Frontier
Illustration
Roman Genn
The Weekly Standard
08/05
2013
Obama as engineer of train wreck
Train Wreck Ahead!
Illustration
Jack Davis
The Atlantic
09
2013
Obama, drones in background
Drone Warrior
Illustration
Sean McCabe
The Economist
09/07
2013
Obama
Fight this war, not the last one Photo
-
Time
09/09
2013
Obama
The Unhappy Warrior
Photo
Jonathan Ernst-Reuters
The Week
09/13
2013
Obama behind desk
Passing the buck
Illustration
Fred Harper
The Economist
10/05
2013
Obama and Boehner atop Mt. Rushmore
No way to run a country
Illustration
-
National Review
10/14
2013
Obama, Michelle and Vladimir Putin
"Hey, quit it, Vlad!  I told you I'd be flexible."
Illustration
Roman Genn
The Week
11/01
2013
Obama and HHS Sec. Sebelius
Too big to fail
Illustration
Howard McWilliam
Bloomberg Businessweek
11/01
2013
Obama half-loaded image
Crashed
Photo Illustration
Getty Images
The New Yorker
11/11
2013
Obama, HHS Sec. Sebelius, aide.
["Reboot"]
Illustration
Barry Blitt
New York
11/11
2013
Obama (10/3/12 photo)
"I just don't know if I can do this." [Double Down excerpt]
Photo

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Nation
11/18
2013
high school photo of Obama and "Choom Gang"
Dope and Change
Photo
-
CQ Weekly
11/18
2013
Obama
Audacious, With a Twist
Photo
Win McNamee/Getty Images
The Economist
11/23
2013
Obama in water
The man who used to walk on water
Photo Illustration
-
The Week
11/29
2013
Obama as magician
Is the magic gone?
Illustration
Howard McWilliam
The American Spectator
12
2013
Obama as Grinch, Biden as dog/reindeer
Barry Grinchmas
Illustration
Andy Watt
The Week
12/13
2013
Obama launching Affordable Care Act 2.0
But will it float?
Illustration
Howard McWilliam
The Week
12/31
2013
Obama as patient in hospital bed
plus 8 other figures from 2013: Sen. Cruz, Pope Francis....
The faces of 2013 Illustration
Howard McWilliam
 
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