By Randy Evans – Senator Barack Obama handled it in the best way possible – diminish it and move on – as quickly as possible – with the hope that the story (about the picture) would die out and, as a result, most Americans would never see it. After all, the last thing the Obama team would want is an ongoing controversy that extended the political shelf life of a potentially devastating political satirical caricature beyond a media cycle or two.

So, what was it that created near panic among optimistic Democrats? It was the July 21, 2008 cover of the New Yorker magazine. The picture reflects Senator Barack Obama clad in Muslim garb; his wife Michelle Obama dressed with militant gear; a flag burning in the fireplace behind them; and a picture of Osama Bin Laden hung on the wall.

The New Yorker, whose liberal bias eliminates the infamous “vast right wing conspiracy” as a possibility, insists that its cover is nothing more than satire. (Undoubtedly, the director of sales viewed it as an instant revenue surge as magazine sales were sure to increase as the controversy blossomed.)

Yet, the fear of Democrats everywhere had to be that this could be one of those proverbial “connect the dots” moments where a single picture instantaneously defines in stark terms the Presidential nominee (and his wife) for an American electorate that has not quite made up its mind. Once the dots are connected, it is next to impossible to offer any other acceptable explanation.

Defining moments are not new in Presidential campaigns. Most often, they come in the form of a simple picture that reflects visually the unspoken suspicions of an unsure electorate about whom or what a candidate really is. Rarely are they completely accurate. Yet, they are lasting.

It happened in 1988 with a picture of Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis driving a tank wearing an oversized helmet. It said it all. No matter what he said, or how much he spent after that, the Massachusetts governor could never recover.

Something similar happened to Senator John Kerry in 2004. There he was windsurfing in a flowered swimsuit. The subliminal suspicions of a jetsetter rich kid who never grew up crystallized in a clear picture that explained it all.

Sometimes, it can be a political caricature that does the trick. For President Jimmy Carter, it was renderings of the attack of the killer bunny rabbit while he was fishing. (Any hope of recovering and proving that he had not lost all touch with reality was lost when he cited a conversation with his then twelve year old daughter Amy as proof of a national concern over nuclear arms proliferation.) The jokes, the ribbing, and the humor in it all – he could not recover.

These defining moments are not limited to Democrats. President Gerald Ford stumbling over steps getting off of Air Force One painted a picture of a bumbling never elected President who was in over his head. (Of course, insisting in 1976 that “[t]here is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration” while the Soviets had four divisions of troops in Poland did not help.)

And who can forget Senator Bob Dole falling off the stage in 1996 just as the public wondered if indeed he was too old. In 1992, it had been President George H. W. Bush seemingly confirming his disinterest by looking at his watch during a Presidential debate. After seeing these pictures, Americans checked the box, and then moved on to elect and re-elect President Bill Clinton.

In 2000, it was Vice-President Al Gore’s repeated sighs that caught the attention of voters. Whatever his kissing his wife at the 2000 Democratic Convention had accomplished, his contemptuous sighs and interruptions during the debate were eliminated.

So now in 2008 comes the cover of the New Yorker magazine. Rumors and innuendo circled during the Democratic primary contest with Senator Hillary Clinton over Senator Obama’s religion with more than hints by opponents that he might in fact be Muslim. Internet buzz continued about Michelle Obama’s doctoral thesis and her “real” opinions about America.

Early in the campaign there was the flag pin controversy arising out of Senator Obama’s refusal to wear the American flag on his lapel. And based on his continued willingness to talk with America’s enemies, his opponents have raised questions about just how committed he would be to find America’s number one public enemy – Osama Bin Laden.

Amidst it all comes this picture. Time will only tell whether it was an image that connected all the dots or instead is just another passing blip on the political radar in a long Presidential contest. Senator Obama says he has seen worse. But, it is unlikely that he has seen a picture more worrisome.