Washington (Rooters) -- President Bush's Press Secretary Dana Perino today denounced a January 2007 cover for The New Yorker magazine which depicted George Bush as the Roman Emperor Nero.

A visibly angry Perino called the depiction of Bush "an ugly reminder of the often-repeated stereotype of the US as an empire and the president as an unaccountable tyrant who wears a toga, uses decorative leaves in his hair, and plays the harp. In fact, the president hasn't worn a toga since his senior year in college," said Perino.

Asked why it took more than 18 months for the Administration to react to the cover, Perino said that "no one in the Administration had a subscription to the magazine," and that she did not become aware of its existence until an Omaha, Nebraska, Republican "saw it in the waiting room of her doctor's office, and immediately notified us. When I spoke to her this morning, she was in tears," reported Perino.



A written statement released to the White House press corps said, "The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature President Bush's Left-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree."

As literally dozens of angry Republicans protested across the country, unmistakable signs of a boycott of The New Yorker began to take shape among its Republican subscribers.

So far, according to one report, seven Republicans have canceled their subscriptions to the magazine.

In a phone interview with Rooters, the magazine's editor David Remnick confirmed the seven cancellations, conceding that they had reduced the number of Republican subscribers to the magazine by "more than 35%."

One magazine insider expressed the fear that if the Republican boycott continued to take root, "visitors to doctors' and dentists' waiting rooms might not be able to find a copy, and they'll have to read Harper's instead."

"I don't mind telling you, it has a lot of people around here sweating," said the staffer, who requested anonymity.