text  |  2009  |  2010  |  2011  |  2012 [campaign]  |  2013  |  2014  |  2015  |  Michelle Obama
Obama's Difficult Year, Take Two
2014 was another difficult year for President Obama.  The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza awarded Obama "the worst year in Washington" in a Dec. 12 column, citing "losses at home and crises abroad" and declaring that it was "inarguably" the worst year of his presidency.  The theme was repeated in a Dec. 30 article in National Journal by James Oliphant headlined "Barack Obama Had a Really Terrible Year."  Examples of covers reflecting the difficult year include: "Self-Inflicted Wounds" CQ Weekly (8/4), "Can Obama Save Himself" Foreign Policy (Sept.) and "Lost" The National Interest (Nov.).  A total of 42 domestic magazine covers were found, comprising 24 illustration, 14 photo or photos and 4 photo illustration.

The Week
 01/31
 2014
 Obama and dogs straining at the leash
 Reining in the NSA
 Illustration
 Fred Harper
CQ Weekly
 01/27
 2014
 Obama during a SOTU; Biden in background
 West Wing Reboot
 Photo
 Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Reason
 02
 2014
 Obama, Sebelius and Pelosi
 They Lied
 Photo
 Official White House Photo
by Pete Souza
The Weekly Standard
 02/17
 2014
 Obama and Sebelius
 Obamacare Flunks
 Illustration
 Jason Seiler
CQ Weekly
 02/24
 2014
 Ukrainian protester, small insets of Obama, Putin
 Standing Up To Putin
 Photos
 All Getty Images; Obama
Alex Wong, Getty Images.
The American Spectator 03
 2014
 Obama as small figure in empty frame The Official White House Portrait Illustration Yogi Love with inspiration
from Jeff MacNelly
National Journal
 03/01
 2014
Obama in limo on phone
 The War Obama Will Not End
 Photo
 Official White House Photo/Pete Souza
The Weekly Standard 03/03
 		2014
 		Obama from back, crowd
 		The Great Disappointment
 		Photo
 		Associate Press/Charlie Neibergall
National Review 03/10 2014 Obama as card huckster The Obamacare Swindle Illustration
 Roberto Parada
The Week
 03/14
 2014
 Obama arm wrestling Russian bear
 Tough enough?
 Illustration
 Fred Harper
The Weekly Standard
 03/17
 2014
 Obama with Nobel Prize, plus inset photos
 Give It Back
 Photos
 White House photo (Pete Souza);
 insets Newscom
The American Spectator
 04
 2014
 Obama as king
 The Good King Barack
 Illustration
 Shafali Anand
New York
 04/07
 2014
 wide shot Obama walking
 As it turns out, race has been the real story of the Obama presidency all along.
 Photo
 Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
The Week
 04/11
 2014
 Obama as patient coming out of emergency room
 Alive and kicking
 Illustration
 Fred Harper
The New Yorker
 04/14
 2014
 Obama as doctor feeding medicine
 [The Best Medicine]
 Illustration
 Barry Blitt
The American Interest
 05
 2014
 Obama
 America Self-Contained
 Photo
 -
The Weekly Standard
 06/16
 2014
 Obama with Jani and Bob Bergdahl
 The Unraveling
 Photo
 Newscom
The Week
 06/27
 2014
 Obama and Iraqi PM al-Maliki
 Is Iraq broken?
 Illustration
 Howard McWilliam
The Week
 07/04
 2014
 Obama in fighter pilot uniform
 Back to Iraq
 Illustration
 Fred Harper
The Week
 07/11
 2014
 Obama as goalie, Scalia kicking goal, Alito cheering
 The Right scores
 Illlustration
 Howard McWilliam
The Weekly Standard
 08/04
 2014
 Obama holding Give Peace a Chance sign
 Wrong Then, Wrong Now
 Illustration
 Dave Malan
CQ Weekly
 08/04
 2014
 Obama
 Self-Inflicted Wounds
 Photo
 Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
The Week
 09/05
 2014
 Obama as sheriff
 Back on the job
 Illustration
 Howard McWilliam
National Review
 09/08
 2014
 Obama as student at chalkboard
 Obama's Constitution
 Illustration
 Roman Genn
National Review
 09/22
 2014
 Obama putting flower in barrel of a tank's gun
 [The Unrealist]
 Illustration
 Elbridge Colby
Foreign Policy
 09
 2014
 Obama from scraps of paper
 Can Obama Save Himself?
 Illustration
 Ian Wright
The Economist
 09/27
 2014
 Obama in flight suit (a la GWB)
 Mission relaunched
 Photo Illustration
 -
National Review
 10/6
 2014
 Obama in officer's uniform w/ Nobel Prize
 Reporting For Duty (sort of)
 Illustration
 Roman Genn
Rolling Stone
 10/23
 2014
 Obama CU
 In Defense of Obama
 Photo
 Olivier Douliery/Abaca USA
Newsmax
 10
 2014
 Obama holding putter and crouching on golf course
 The Referendum
 Photo
 AP Images
Bloomberg Businessweek
 10/27
 2014
 One photo of Obama, looking cool in sunglasses, run nine times
 Crisis Management and the Obama Presidency
 Photos
 -
The National Interest
 11
 2014
 Obama
 Lost
 Photo
The Week
 11/14
 2014
 Obama and McConnell in sports car, both with steering wheels
 A sharp right turn
 Illustration
 Howard McWilliam
The Economist
 11/8
 2014
 Obama from behind facing off Western style agains a line of 8 Republicans; Capitol
 Welcome back to Washington
 Photo Illustration
 -
The New Yorker
 11/17
 2014
 Elephant on couch in Oval Office; Obama behind desk
 [The Elephant in the Room]
 Illustration
 Liniers
The Week
 11/21
 2014
 Obama on operating table, Justices Roberts and Scalia ready to perform surgery
 Back on the table Illustration
 Fred Harper
The Economist
 11/15
 2014
 Obama and President Xi Jinping
 Bridge over troubled water
 Photo illustration
 -
National Journal
 11/15
 2014
 Obama and Boehner in tangle of arms and legs
 Legacies intertwined
 Illustration
 Russ Tudor
The Weekly Standard
 11/24
 2014
 Obama and Gary Hart
 Put Not Your Trust in Glitz
 Illustration
The Week
 11/28
 2014
 Obama making sausage
 Making legislation
 Illustration
 Howard McWilliam
CQ Weekly
 12/8
 2014
 Close up photos of President Xi Jinping and Obama
 It's Easier to be Friends
 Photos Illustration
 Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images, Mark Wilson/Getty Images
The Week
 12/31
 2014
 Ten figures of the year; Obama is in the center cutting same sex wedding cake
 The faces of 2014
 Illustration
 Howard McWilliam








Interestingly, two magazines have run three consecutive Obama covers this year:
The Week (twice) - 6/27 (Obama and Iraqi PM al-Maliki), 7/4 (Obama in fighter pilot uniform), 7/11 (Obama as goalie, Scalia kicking goal, Alito cheering).
                               11/14 (Obama and McConnell), 11/21 (Obama on the operating table, Roberts and Scalia operating), 11/28 (Obama making sausage).
National Review - 9/8 (Obama as student at chalkboard), 9/22 (Obama putting flower in barrel of a tank's gun), 10/6 (Obama in officer uniform w/Nobel).


International
Der Spiegel  03/10/2014  Russian President Putin very large towering over President Obama, Chancellor Merkel (waving a white flag) and Prime Minister Cameron.  "Der Brandstifter" [fire raiser, arsonist].  Photo montage.

Maclean's     07/14/2014  Close up of the back of Obama's head.  "America Surrenders" [Iraq, Syria, Russia].  Photo.  Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty Images.
Maclean's    10/20/2014  A small PM Harper chasing after Obama.  "Stephen Harper Goes to War.  Photo Illustration.

    text  |  2009  |  2010  |  2011  |  2012 [campaign]  |  2013  |  2014  |  2015  |  Michelle Obama