The National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid long derided by many for its celebrity gossip, earned enormous respect and credibility with its brave investigative report on John Edwards’s love child.   This was a story about a possible vice president of the United States that was whispered about but ignored by many media deemed “respectable” (although to a diminishing degree) and “mainstream,” but ignored by them.

To its great and everlasting credit, the Enquirer devoted considerable time and money to tracking down the story and documenting it. I am among those who take it seriously for its journalism, as a result. Only the Enquirer had the guts and determination to get the story out.

This election cycle, the Enquirer clearly has its favorite candidate in Donald Trump, who is usually pictured with flattering photos, and whose accomplishments  are lauded. In contrast, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Hillary Clinton have received very critical coverage, and their pictures are usually not attractive.

With this background, I was deeply struck by a cartoon that appeared in then February 22^nd issue of the Enquirer in the lower left corner of page 38. Out of respct for the copyrighted nature of the cartoon, I am reproducing it in thumbnail dimensions.

It pictures someone at a table eating a meal and looking over his shoulder at a TV screen on the wall showing Hillary Clinton and the words “Hillary’ 16.”

The caption below the picture reads, with quotes around the words:

“In light of recent allegations I would like to clarify that I have a deep abiding love for all Huma beings.”

Now, there has been a lot of gossip about the nature of Hillary’s relationship with Huma Abedin and indeed her past sexual history. The candidate and her close aide have even been seen in public wearing matching outfits on a number of occasions.

I have no idea the nature of the women’s relationship, but because of the family and work connections of Abedin to the Muslim Brotherhood I am concerned about any close relationship with a potential POTUS.

So I wonder: was this cartoon a foretaste of an investigative report to come? Given the circulation of the Enquirer and its very wide readership in supermarket checkout lines, if it were to run such a story, the impact could be great. To be sure, America’s attitudes toward same sex relationships have been changing. But the Clintons are running as a couple, and Bill already is well known for his dalliances making Hillary the victim, a status she has profited from. This could change that image.