Latest Newsweek Cover: Hit the Road Barack! Story by esteemed British historian Niall Ferguson. Time for Obama to Hit the road ?

Newsweek magazine is targeting its latest controversial cover at the Obama
administration. It’s part of a devastating story written by esteemed British
historian Niall Ferguson telling President Obama that it’s time to go and that
the only team that can possibly turn the country around is the Romney-Ryan
ticket.

“In his inaugural address, Obama promised ‘not only to create
new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.’” Ferguson writes in the cover
story, “Hit the Road, Barack: Why We Need a New President.”

“He
promised to ‘build the roads and bridges, the electric grids, and digital lines
that feed our commerce and bind us together.’ He promised to ‘restore science to
its rightful place and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality
and lower its cost.’” wrote Ferguson, who made some of the same arguments in a
March 2012 Newsmax cover story, "Decision Time." “And he promised
to ‘transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a
new age.’ Unfortunately the president’s scorecard on every single one of those
bold pledges is pitiful.”

“Welcome to Obama’s America: nearly half the
population is not represented on a taxable return—almost exactly the same
proportion that lives in a household where at least one member receives some
type of government benefit,” Ferguson writes. “We are becoming the 50–50
nation—half of us paying the taxes, the other half receiving the
benefits.”

In all, it’s an uncharacteristically conservative piece for
the magazine, which previously has had cover stories celebrating Obama as “the
first gay president” for his stand on gay marriage, and has offered lengthy
defenses for another four years. Since Tina Brown's Daily Beast took over
Newsweek, which recently said it will soon cease print publication, the magazine
has been one of the most left-leaning publications in the country.