For 8 years, life was good and easy for the liberal political cartoon community--they had George W. Bush & Dick Cheney to kick around. With hardly a care in the world, they boldly spoke truth to power, at immense personal risk to themselves, and quietly stacked their Pulitzers for being so bold and courageous and funny.
Then along came Barack Obama--the cool, handsome, African-American incarnation of JFK & Abraham Lincoln (no less). What were the professional sketch satirists to do?
"I had all my villains in place for eight years and they've been taken away," lamented Pulitzer Prize winner Pat Oliphant, one of the most widely syndicated cartoonists. "I don't know that I've ever had this experience before, of a president I maybe like. This is an antagonistic art. We're supposed to concentrate on finding things wrong. There's no point in drawing a cartoon that's favorable."
Story Continues Below Ad ↓
Given the positive dearth of lampoon-able material from their most favorite President ever, the only thing left to do is perfect the rare art of the laudatory political cartoon--the one that celebrates the subject.
During the presidential campaign, cartoonists frequently homed in on Obama's measured temperament, with more critical strips caricaturing him as cold and aloof. More often than not, though, drawings were complimentary. One showed him mending a Constitution shredded by Bush, and another depicted him as a symbol of 1960s civil rights struggles. Cartoons regularly portrayed Obama as rail-thin with big ears or playing basketball (one of his passions) or placed him in a pantheon with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.
Even during the election, with material presenting itself daily, liberal cartoonists still found themselves unable to caricature their hero-candidate. Sending him up as "cold & aloof" supposedly counted as negative in Politico.com reporter, David Mark's opinion. But we all know that "cold & aloof" just means "cool" to liberals.
None of this is news. Matthew Sheffield, NewsBusters founder & Executive Editor, documented more of the same last September when the Washington Post Ombudsman openly admitted the liberal bias of industry political cartoonists. His write-up on the awarding of Pulitzer prizes to political cartoonists showed a similar liberal bias.
Adding even more weight to the liberal bias charge was Mark Finkelstein's post on what Time magazine thought constituted the most humorous cartoons from 2007. As you probably guessed, they all lampoon conservatives.
(Regrettably, I've been unable to locate the 2008 edition, but it would have been similar.)
So why, specifically, the problem with Obama? Renowned, liberal, Pulizter Prize winning, political cartoonist Pat Oliphant explains:
"With Bush, you had that general vacuity -- those blanked-out eyes and those goofy expressions. As for Obama, Thank God for his ears. A good-looking president isn't good for cartooning."
Suggestion that a good-looking, cool, smart, articulate, Democrat in the White House might make things difficult to near impossible for liberal political cartoonists was met with this stern response:
Cartoonists take umbrage at the suggestion they will go soft on Obama because they agree with him ideologically. The cartoon landscape will probably be similar to the early presidential days of Bill Clinton, whom they came to regard as a wayward friend, Wilkinson said.
"The Clintons came in with a great deal of hope," she recalled. "You want to be supportive for the home team. So if you like them and they're the home team, it's a little harder to make fun of them.
Even they can't defend themselves. The Democrats are the home team and Barack Obama is the MVP. Even if he isn't immediately successful in bringing about a liberal utopia, he'll still be considered, at worst, "a wayward friend," like his predecessor, Bill Clinton.
—Jacob S. Lybbert is an editorial associate at NewsBusters.




















Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Oh, Boo-Hoo. I guess
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:43 ET by SpaceManSpiffOh, Boo-Hoo. I guess they'll actually have to find a real job now and contribute to the economy as opposed to slandering and spreading misconceptions about people.
real easy way
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:03 ET by JeffC...Why can't they reuse their caricatures of Condeleeza Rice but make them kind of masculine?
Because racism is only OK
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 14:30 ET by mattmBecause racism is only OK when it's aimed at republicans...
Good
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:46 ET by MidAmericaI hope they starve.
Now I know why that guy who was in jail
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:46 ET by thebutlerdiditripped out his eyeballs. He had had enough of reading utter crap like this! I wish I could draw, I bet everyone on this site come come up with at least one truly funny Obama cartoon. But, I guess that's because we aren't on the "home team." Maybe they can go get another job, if theirs is just so impossible to do.
Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke
The (Very good) cartoonist-Michael Ramirez
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 12:32 ET by ahusserThe cartoonist At Investor's Business Daily will then have a well deserved monopoly.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
Yeah,
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 20:29 ET by UpNorthMichael Ramirez should do well, if he can find any paper to carry his cartoons, other than IBD. We all know the dead tree media won't carry them. If he hasn't, I hope he publishes a book of them.
makes me wonder
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:52 ET by kdizzydazewhat the response to any cartoonist that actually lampoons Obama will be. I bet the outcry will rival that of the Muslims over the published likenesses of Mohammed in Danish papers.
Also, good looking? He has a wart the size of rhode island on the right side of his nose (his right-not ours) and those ears could catch a stiff breeze and make him airborn. As for articulate and smart, the number of "umms" and "uhhhs" whenever he has to speak off the cuff speaks volumes of his ignorance or inability to be honest.
God made man, but he used a monkey to do it -- DEVO
I'm no artist but even I
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:56 ET by TN MomI'm no artist but even I could draw a stick-man Obama with big ears and puffed-up cheeks throwing a hissy-fit while telling Republican leaders "I WON, so I TRUMP YOU"
... A stick-man Obama playing nanny to Biden (in diapers) as Biden insults the Cheif Justice of the Supreme Court.
...A stick-man Tim Geithner cheating on his taxes while other would-be tax cheats are hauled off to JAIL.
will someone please pass the crayons to me. For the first time in my adult life, I feel the urge to draw cartoons!
Oh yes, this is a conundrum for them.
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:57 ET by KarinHowever, it's a great opportunity for conservative cartoonists. While those poor schmucks seek employment at McDonald's, I'll be enjoying the cartoons in the Washington Times (who carry Mallard Filmore, and a host of others). There's plenty of material! What's the problem??
Overlooking the obvious...
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 10:58 ET by wyogatorIf the Bushes or Reagan had those ears, they would have been regulary depicted as "Dumbo" with emphasis on the "Dumb". Let's see how long it takes for a political cartoonist to use that caricature...probably never.
Oh, I forgot. Criticism of Obama at the minimum, and depiction of Obama as an elephant at the extreme, are both prima facie evidence that I'm a racist. I'll go for my sensitivity training now...
Learn about my daughter's Ugandan home for orphans with AIDS at
www.africaourownhome.org
Ears
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 15:16 ET by nkviking75Speaking of ears, I saw any number of cartoons of Bush with demonic-looking ears, ala Mr. Spock from Star Trek.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
What if cartoonists
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 17:18 ET by bentbacktulipWhat if cartoonists satirized just the whitey half of Barry? Would that resolve the potential racism charge?
I saw this and just had to pass it on
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:02 ET by Tom in NCI think this sums up Obama perfectly:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/01/obama_gets_mad_mag_treatment.html
He's an empty suit and in way over his head, if we're lucky he will drown in a sea of despair.
Nice. Ironic how a
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 15:49 ET by HockeyKidNice. Ironic how a picture intended to make the point that he faces more challenges (supposedly left for him by President Bush) than any president in history actually serves to point out his total lack of suitability for the job.
"What, me worry? YES WE CAN!"
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
"What were the professional
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:06 ET by kg"What were the professional sketch satirists to do?"
Since you cannot be objective then you should resign and become one of Obama's brownshirts.
"Forget change, I want improvement!"
I would love to see someone
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:06 ET by MazziI would love to see someone have the cojones to portray Obama as a monkey, and watch the public outrage. Never mind that George W. was depicted as a chimp many times over, you just KNOW that it would be decried as "the worst kind of racism" if one did it to Obama.
And the sad part is that at least half of our countrymen would never see the blatant hypocrisy.
"I would rather be historically accurate than politically correct" ~ My husband's T-Shirt
lies! it's easy. huge ears,
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:22 ET by notonmywatchlies!
it's easy. huge ears, throwing money around like a crazy man. totally funny
You're right...
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 14:07 ET by Georgia GirlThere are plenty of ways to make an Obama cartoon hilarious. But they just can't handle doing it. I feel like at least half of our country (and most of the media) have entered into some weird, scary cult. I just can't believe how so many think Obama is the be-all, end-all guy to save the world -- "glorification" is not too strong of a word. I just don't get it. It's so puzzling to me how somebody who speaks smoothly (and seems "cool" to many) could rise to this level, without much substance. In media's glorification is particularly concerning to me because the media seems determined to get the pro-Obama message out, and I never thought they would sink so low -- it's so blatant that it would make the best SNL skit ever! Besides FOXNEWS, talk radio and sites like this, there really are no more watchdogs to protect the citizens. It's beyond spooky. It's like somebody is trying to strip the American out of America.
For those of us not brainwashed into the Obama Nation, we really have to continue doing concrete, productive things to get a qualified and special candidate into office in four years. We also need to (in the short term) keep our spirits up and efforts focused in helping balance out the Washington power in 2010. We really will not recognize the U.S. in eight years, if Obama is allowed to remain at the helm. I don't think moderates have any idea of what our nation will turn into (or maybe they do & want that), but the handwriting is on the wall -- for those of us who take the time to analyze it. We have to at least limit this nonsense to four years!
I just can't fathom even four years of this Obama worship. I don't look at race. I look at the person, and it's not that I feel he's a terrible person, but he's just not a truly spectacular person with the deep convictions and ethics that are deserving of the highest office in the land. His policies...his agenda...very disturbing. And if Obama really does go after talk radio, it surely puts this man's character into perspective in a way that should alarm everyone.
I can only hope and pray that there are many out there who have their eyes wide open and are spooked enough to not give up the fight. America is worth fighting for, and that includes fighting for the person who is really best to lead this nation. Because although a cartoon on Obama can surely be funny -- the decisions he will be making are not!
The Honeymooners redux
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:28 ET by Pilgrim1949The One will no doubt get a zillion and one "passes" before the starry-eyed (and leg-thrilled) honeymoon boat suffers the slightest rocking from the waves.
Wonder what will happen when at last the honeymoon euphoria loses its hallucinogenic properties?
Sometimes, the higher the swoon the greater the "splat" when the swooner is at last brought down to the reality of Earth.
In this case, it will be the spurned-lover libs who will be delivering the empassioned, "Bang! Zoom! To the moon!"
Pass the popcorn -- it should be a good show.
Tom in NC,
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:29 ET by KarinThey could have added something else to the top of his desk (a little blow). No smack, though.
I'm actually having Schadenfreude for these guys over this. This is their livlihood, what the hell are they going to do??? It's a monkey-wrench (har!) in the cogs of their brains.
How bout drawing him as a
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:29 ET by TexasteacherHow bout drawing him as a puppet (which he is) with soros' left hand up his a** and his other hand up pelosi'. That would be a pretty dang accurate cartoon right there.
Day [X] of obama's transcendent kingdom and I'm still waiting on my mortgage to be paid off...and I'm waiting on my unicorn.
Don't color his skin in the
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:33 ET by marpelDon't color his skin in the cartoon....you'd be labeled a rascist if you do...
Bush vs Obama
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:47 ET by slickwillie2001Here you go folks: http://www.bushorchimp.com/
Just pull out the pictures of President Bush and replace them with pictures of Obammy. Couldn't be anything wrong with that, could there? I wonder if Obammyorchimp.com is taken?
And you know
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 16:33 ET by thebutlerdiditI wasn't upset about the Bush or chimp site. Why should I be? It is funny. And it would be just as funny with Obama. I love the Sarah Jessica Parker looks like a horse site. I refuse to be worried about being labeled a racist. I know I'm not, I am the only one who has to answer for my actions. I know it makes people livid, but I truly think Obama does look like Curious George. He has the exact same face shape and ears. It wouldn't matter what color he was, and that silly" black people are like monkeys" thing means nothing to me. I wasn't born til after segregation. I never even saw anything like that. Personally, I always thought Nixon had a gorilla look about him.
Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke
Not sure on this one
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:48 ET by StarAZThose ears are getting pretty big in Benson's stuff out here in AZ. And the big phony grin.
(Satire should not)
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 13:17 ET by Jack BauerOli Sychophant is NOT a satirist.
He's a cheerleader and #1 Fan of THE POWERS THAT BE.
Why did I see this comming?
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 14:15 ET by mizflame98It's only the logical progression you know.
* MSM volunteering to be useful idiots for Obama.
* Throwing down the gauntlet to Rush.
* Waning political cartoons that goes against The One.
Soon it will be forbidden to look upon The One for fear of reprisals.
Oh, wait...
http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2009/01/tipoff_drum_major_john_coleman.html
Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration
http://www.despair.com/government.html
Das ist verboten!
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 15:33 ET by AndanteCurious George does come to mind.
-------------------------------------
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Thomas Jefferson
This is where you weed out the cowards
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 15:52 ET by nwahsThis is where you separate the cowards from the artists. Believe me, others will rise to the top to do what David Letterman is afraid to do - comedy about Obama.
Pat Oliphant
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 16:03 ET by WR JonasIs a filthy purveyor of lies and visual innuendo's. I hope he becomes so depressed that drowns himself in his inkwell.
my favorite cartoonist
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 09:48 ET by AndanteBruce Tinsley's Mallard Fillmore keeps me sane.
I'm an animator/illustrator.
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 16:45 ET by eugeneromeroI'm an animator/illustrator. Maybe I should take a crack at political cartoons. I can find a lot of things to make fun of him about. Tons! The only problem is finding a publication to print them in.
I Think There Will Be Plenty
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 17:05 ET by considerthis...who try and draw for people who are not following the lemmings.
I have picked up the pen since election day and started making my own editorial cartoons (as others have). I doubt my cartoons will ever be in the big name papers and such since they are not favorable to President Obama and his Court, but I will keep doing them anyway. There will always be something to say and there will always be someone who is dying to say it.
I think we will see a new breed of anti-Lib, anti-Obama cartoons, artwork, websites, etc... This current crowd has been raised on the "Underdog" status of the Left. Now that will change. The new generation will not know Obama and the Liberals as anything but a dictator and a bully. And they will have huge templates to follow. Templates that were built be the Left themselves.
Posted by Mazzi: I would
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 17:33 ET by Antisocial-ismPosted by Mazzi:
I would love to see someone have the cojones to portray Obama as a monkey, and watch the public outrage. Never mind that George W. was depicted as a chimp many times over, you just KNOW that it would be decried as "the worst kind of racism" if one did it to Obama.
How about this? You know how chimps like to use their own feces as a projectile? Why not a picture of a chimp that looks suspiciously like obama standing in front of a feces stained map of the United States holding a turd labeled "stimulus plan"?
Cool? no. handsome? no
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 19:29 ET by RD Kingand call me what you like but before I even read the 2 monkey posts prior to this the first thought I had was how chimpanzeen he is. So they can starve if they want or just go ahead and characiture the moonbat away.
Yes, blasphemy would be
Tue, 01/27/2009 - 23:32 ET by RR GOPYes, blasphemy would be taking it too far.
Geez, I don't subscribe to any newspapers or magazines anyway (well, just MHQ) so I won't miss his great, Pulitzer Prized talent.
Besides, there's tons of great pics/art people have come up with and posted on the internet that are truly hilarious.
Dinosaurs. Gone the way of the do-do and Comintern.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Not about cool and handsome.
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 07:24 ET by Blogger Guy00001It's really about being deathly afraid of being called racist.
Obama's head is noticeably dainty.
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 07:35 ET by ekslibI think that it would make sense to draw him as a pin head.
There is plenty
Wed, 01/28/2009 - 07:35 ET by Arelof Obama satire out there and I am sure there will more to come. These Liberal cartoonists aren't the only cartoonists out there we will have much to laugh about over the next 4 years and unfortunately much to cry about too.
'Out of work' liberal cartoonists
Thu, 01/29/2009 - 18:21 ET by SFCMAC"After poking fun at George W. Bush for eight years — often drawing him with big ears and a severe overbite, or as a gung-ho Joe College type, or simply as a clueless doofus — political cartoonists are finding Barack Obama a more elusive target."
“Poking fun”?
I saw some of the most vicious, tasteless, overboard, bat***t crazy ‘political cartoons’ on the part of ass***** like Ted Rall, who portrayed Condolizza Rice as a “house nigga”.
“I had all my villains in place for eight years and they’ve been taken away,” lamented Pulitzer Prize winner Pat Oliphant, one of the most widely syndicated cartoonists. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had this experience before, of a president I maybe like. This is an antagonistic art. We’re supposed to concentrate on finding things wrong. There’s no point in drawing a cartoon that’s favorable."
That they maybe like? If I see one more jesus-like halo effect on Obamessiah, I’ll puke.
Since the leftwingnut sycophants are having trouble ‘finding things wrong’, I’ll lend a hand.
Leave the lampooning up to us. THE ONE has been in office less than 2 weeks, and already we have enough material to last for months:
Obama- A Marxist and terrorist-sympathetic president with radical mentors and friends, who appointed a cabinet stocked with Clintonistas and a motley crew of corrupt, leftwing imbeciles:
Tim Geithner- A tax cheat for a Treasury Secretary.
Eric Holder- A nominee for attorney general who thinks interrogating terrorists is “torture” and was involved in Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich and members of the FALN terrorist organization.
Janet Nepolitano- a Homeland Security Secretary who thinks open borders permitting the entrance of illegals and terrorists is okay.
Susan Rice- A U.N. ambassador who politicized intelligence data and circulated fabricated evidence in making critical national security decisions. Also had a hand in the intelligence failure leading up to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Tom Daschle- Department of Health and Human Services director and former DNC demagogue who fought against enforcement of U.N. Resolution 1441, and labeled America’s best health care system in the world, a “myth”. He forgets about the people in other countries with seriously ill children who usually hop a plane to the U.S. for treatment, to get much needed care on behalf of a “myth”.
Hilda Solis- a Labor Secretary in the political sack with the radical group La Raza, who rails against supporters of illegal immigration laws.
(Former Army) General Eric Shinseki- Veterans Affairs Secretary, made out by the liberal media as ‘running afoul of the Bush administration by questioning the Pentagon’s Iraq war strategy’ when in reality the scenario went like this: He never pressed for more troops for Iraq, and, when asked in a private meeting of the Joint Chiefs if he had concerns about the war plans, never said a word, according to two people who were in the room. Asked by Newsweek two years ago to respond to the criticism he didn’t press his concerns, Shinseki e-mailed back: ‘Probably that’s fair. Not my style.’”
His major claim to fame: he made us all wear a ridiculous black beret.
Carol Browner- a “global warming czar” with ties to the Socialist International’s Commission for a Sustainable World Society. Their mission is to push the ‘climate change’ hoax, as well as a variety of other socialist political and economic agendas.
Rahm Emanuel- a Chief of Staff who served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage scheme Freddie Mac.
David Axelrod- Obama’s Chief media strategist responsible for an ‘astroturf’ campaign (fake grass-roots political campaign) in an attempt to connect Sarah Palin with an Anti-American separatist organization, an accusation which was soundly debunked.
Hillary Clinton- A Secretary of State once part and parcel to her husband Bill’s felonies, including the theft of FBI files on Republican opponents (File Gate), and connected to Norman Hsu, a convicted felon and democrat fund raiser.
Go ahead Oliphant, take a sabbatical. We’ll take it from here.
"On the Eighth Day God Created the United States Army and the Devil Stood at Attention"