Commentary

Elizabeth Warren appears on the cover of Time magazine this week alongside the suggestive headline, “Who’s Afraid of Elizabeth Warren?’’

“She’s hounding Obama, haunting Hillary, and paving the way for Bernie Sanders. How she’ll shape the 2016 race,’’ the tagline reads.

This week’s Time cover. —Time

The cover portrays Warren as a Hound of the Baskervilles-like presence, “haunting’’ and “hounding’’ the political powers that be. If that sounds familiar, that’s because Time is the third magazine to recently put the Massachusetts senator on its cover next to some description of her scariness and ghoulishness.

The trend was memorably started by The New Republic with its Being John Malkovich–inspired cover in November 2013. “HILLARY’S NIGHTMARE,’’ the spooky headline screamed, buttressed by dozens of people holding up blank-faced Warren masks.

Dozens of Warren faces graced The New Republic cover in Nov. 2013. —The New Republic


The story documented Warren’s rapid rise among liberals for her pointed criticisms of Wall Street executives and the politicians in their pockets. “When I recently asked a top Clinton campaign operative from 2008 if there’s any Democrat who Hillary should fear in 2016,’’ Noam Scheiber wrote, “he immediately named the Massachusetts senator.’’

Just last month, Bloomberg Markets picked up on that similar “fear’’ theme with their cover portraying Warren as a lurking threat.

Warren on the cover of Bloomberg Markets in their June 2015 issue. —Bloomberg

“BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID,’’ the headline read. “Why Elizabeth Warren makes Wall Street tremble.’’

Are the hairs on the back of your neck standing up yet? Are the lights in your office flickering? Did you recently anger the spirits?

Or did the latest issue of your favorite news magazine just land at your doorstep?

Gallery: The 2016 presidential candidates.