Newsweek has again caused controversy with a cover image of Sarah Palin. The current cover’s close-up is too close for comfort for some, who say it is intentionally unflattering.

Fox News Channel called the cover a slap in the face, and had a  photo editing expert critique the cover.

Andrea Tantaros on the Fox Forum blog says:

“The left’s blatant bias has crept from within its pages onto the cover
shot. The latest Newsweek shows a magnified, purposely un-retouched
photo of Sarah Palin that highlights every imperfection on her
beautiful face. Women will understand this. We’re talking unwanted
facial hair, wrinkles and un-extracted pores….”

Outsidethebeltway.com says the article inside is even greater evidence of bias against Palin.

Bonnie Erbe, on a US News & World Report blog, says the hubbub is unfounded:

“The Republican right, in all its glory, is going bonkers over a Newsweek cover with what some call a highly unflattering picture of their fearless leader, Gov. Sarah Palin.

“Despite countless magazine pictures and covers with similarly unflattering pix of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (and his wife, Michelle), this one, they whine, shows too many wrinkles and too much unsightly facial hair and was taken from too close an angle. Apparently you’ve got to see one in person to get the full effect.”

Just last month Newsweek stirred a bit of controversy with its cover of a shotgun-toting Palin. The photo was a stock photo taken years before. And even though Newsweek acknowledged that datedness, that wasn’t immediately apparent to readers.