Barthes and the Onion

http://www.theonion.com/articles/obamas-19yearold-son-makes-rare-appearance-at-dnc,29458/?ref=auto

The hermeneutic code is one of Bathes' codes that brings up questions in the readers mind and doesn't aim to answer them right away. In this article, the hermeneutic code appears very often. Why so often? Well, the Onion is a satirical news source, if you weren't aware, and they like to play on people's ignorance by using false information. The title of the article is an enigma in itself, because, as far as the public is informed, President Obama doesn't have a 19-year-old son. This brings up many other questions, like "who is the mother of this child?", "why has Obama been keeping this 'secret'?", and "why is his son making his existence known now?". These questions are answered later in the article and the answers are obviously fake, but humorous at the same time.
The proairetic code is not as prevalent as the hermeneutic, but can still raise as much mystery and suspense. The fact that Obama's "son" appeared at the Democratic National Convention leaves the reader wondering how people would react. Would they be in shock? Would they greet him warmly?
The semic code looks at the underlying meaning and possible connotations of certain phrases and sentences within the article. At the end of this piece, Obama has a "quote" where he says he wasn't the perfect father who wasn't always there for him, but he's proud of how his son turned out. Now, I might be way over-analyzing this (after all it is a satirical article), but it's possible that this is the relationship that the Onion writers believe Obama has with Americans: that he's not always there for us, but we've come around and, although we've not had an amazing relationship with each other, we know that Obama is always here for us.
The symbolic code is the application of semic codes with one another, such as by antithesis, and they are a lot harder to find. Obama's past relationship with his son is the negative in the antithesis of their relationship, and the present and future is the positive aspect. If my analysis of the semic code is correct, then the sybolic meaning of this article is the Onion saying that Obama should be reelected because his relationship with the Americans (or his son) is going to be positive in the future as opposed to the past.
The final code, referential, is used a lot as well. The Onion uses the referential code against us, in a way. They make up false quotes or statistics by people and organizations that we normally would trust, which can create an air of different responses. If you're aware of the Onion's shenanigans, then you might get a laugh out of these references, but if you aren't, then you might be slightly confused. Specifically, the author uses references from Obama and a few other political figures. They also use the referential code to appeal to our knowledge of the Obama family, the campaign process, and health.