670AM KIRN RADIO IRAN LA!(Persian)

(CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday called a New Yorker cover that unflatteringly depicts him and his wife an unsuccessful attempt at satire that will probably fuel misconceptions he has long battled over the course of his presidential campaign.

The New Yorker cover published Sunday shows Barack and Michelle Obama with a flag burning in the fireplace.

But in an interview with CNN's Larry King, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee downplayed the impact of the illustration, which depicts him in Muslim attire in the Oval Office, with his wife, Michelle, carrying a machine gun.

"It's a cartoon ... and that's why we've got the First Amendment," Obama said. "And I think the American people are probably spending a little more time worrying about what's happening with the banking system and the housing market and what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, than a cartoon. So I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it.

"I've seen and heard worse," he said. "I do think that, you know, in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me instead. But, you know, that was their editorial judgment."

The cover, which also depicts a U.S. flag burning in the fireplace and a picture of Osama bin Laden on the wall, drew heavy criticism from both political parties after it was circulated on the Internet over the weekend. Both presidential campaigns immediately condemned the magazine, calling the illustration "tasteless and offensive."

David Remnick, the longtime editor of the publication, said Monday that he believes the ironic intent of the illustration will be clear to most Americans.

In Obama's wide-ranging CNN interview -- the entirety of which is set to air on "Larry King Live" at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday -- the Illinois senator seemed to give cautious approval of the government's response to the turmoil surrounding mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"I think some of the ideas that were offered with respect to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are good ones," he said. "I just want to make sure that we're not bailing out shareholders and CEOs but that we're focused on maintaining liquidity in the housing market."

Those comments come the same day Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was grilled by lawmakers on Capitol Hill over his proposal to provide more government capital to the embattled mortgage firms and possibly acquire more equity in them.

Obama also repeated his pledge to push for the death penalty for September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden if he is captured.

"We want to capture him or kill him," he said. "And as I've said -- as I just said this past weekend, if we captured him, then we would want to put him on trial. And I think he would be deserving of the death penalty."

Obama also repeated his pledge that if he were president, U.S. troops would pursue bin Laden into Pakistan if adequate intelligence suggested that he was there