On The Media

Nick Anderson is mistaken if he thinks drawing a woman and exagerrating her hips is equivalent to showing the charisma of a man. One is negative and one is positive. He needs to take another loog at Barack Obama. His perfect white teeth, large mouth and smile would make easy targets for caricature.

He thinks Obama is "good looking"? Only if Denzel Washington plays him on screen.

Drawing her as big-hipped while Bush as a monkey and Cheney as a troll seems hardly harsh and giving women politicians the same treatment as men seems like the equality women say they want. I imagine her cartoon version as being portrayed as the pantsuit-wearing, school vice principal-sounding, broom-riding female ogre she most closely resembles; at least if you embellish her essence at its core.

Re: Obama, Nick, just concentrate on those tiny shoulders relative to the size of his head. There is your point of contrast.

It should be no surprise that I have done quite a bit of cartooning, before MS crippled my hands. Oddly, though, I avoided topical political caricature.

My only such cartoon portrayed our former Police Chief and long-entrenched Mayor, Biagio Dileto, from a God-like distant perspective, negating the need for detailed caricature, doing cartwheels on New Haven Green in the dead of night under the averted eyes of a mounted police officer and his horse, saying “Nobody’s watching, right?”. I quite forget what circumstance inspired him to promise to do so but am confident that it was a boast that I believed unlikely.

Cartoon humor based upon situation and language, rather than gross physical exaggeration, would be my preference. I clearly remember seeing cartoons from the 19th Century portraying the Irish as simian and it offended this grandson of a man who said of my English-descended father, “Thank God he’s Catholic, Eileen!” even a hundred fifty years later.

Not sure why, in light other sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton's campaign that it was Bob Garfield and Nick Anderson's shared chuckle about Hillary Clinton's jowls to her knees that set me off - but I guess is was because I expected more of Bob Garfield. He started off the piece by speaking about the delicacies of dancing around racism and sexism and ended the piece with a sexist joke. I would shrug it off, if this wasn't such a tight election and Nick Anderson didn't make a point of saying how charismatic and handsome Obama was. I don't disagree with Anderson's musing about Obama, but there was no balance for Clinton. I expect more of you Bob Garfield.

Thirty years ago I was a young girl interested in art and a voracious reader. One of the books I read was on caricature and I remember being confused and angry when, after the author showed various ways to add comedy to men's faces, he said that women must not be treated so broadly and certainly never drawn as unattractive. At the time I took it that the author was saying women were vain and that made them petty and weak.

I know this was not your guest's point when she complained about cruel caricatures of Senator Clinton, but I wanted to present an alternate view. Mean jibes about women's looks may hurt us, but I think the notion that we have to be protected from them hurts us more.

I, as a former public school teacher and now private teacher and skills coach, know (it is a fact, not even a possibility any more) that doing political cartoons in caricature mode is just dumping us all down. We are being out voted on important issues (like the environment, war, health care and education) because of the shear numbers of ignorant people who are enjoying the political cartoons for their caricature and not for their statements, that is when there are even substance behind them. I am not claiming to be smartest of anything, let alone politics, but some of these people make me look like Albert Einstein (sp?).

With that said, I think there is no doubt that portraying anyone (including a politicians) in political cartoons, in caricature mode, with their friend (our running mate) as lovers/married is wrong and easily and correctly identified as sexiest, if one of them is a woman. Portraying any woman, let alone a strong woman, with huge hips and/or cold/stern and/or controlling personality just because she is in a man's industry is again wrong and easily and correctly identified as sexiest. It would be equal to portraying Dictator (never elected) Bush Jr. with a big penis and unaffectionate. Of course Dictator (never elected) Bush Jr. is not a strong person, ex-drug user, used as a puppet and can not deliver a sentence without embarrassing every USAn citizen. Also, at that time (correct me if I am wrong) but she was a Senator and the other politicians portrayed in political cartoons, in caricature mode, was from The President and The Vice President, huge difference when one makes fun of each politician's physical appearances, and calls it equal treatment. Now if she was surrounded by her fellow congress persons then it would be fair treatment.

What it comes down to if the artists of these political cartoons, in caricature mode, have to resort to using politicians' physical features and gender to find something to make fun of, then they are way over paid and not talented enough for their job.

Jason,

Because Democrats in your state are too ignorant to be able to design a ballot and then vote that ballot, you call Bush a dictator. That's ironic.

Political cartoons should be different depending on the office the politician holds. That's pathetic.

In conclusion, sexiest is best.

Post if any one thinks it is necessary to reply to such a post.

Ditto clare giesen's comments.

I draw cartoons, including those of a political nature and Barack Obama is very EASY to draw: wide smile; perfect hairline; creased forehead; lean, wispy body. I can't believe a political cartoonist and political commentator (Anderson and Garfield) can't describe some of Obama's physical characteristics more incisively that just calling him handsome! There is only one conclusion this longtime listener can make: Anderson and Garfield like MSNBC's Chris Matthews, has a total man-crush on Barack Obama!

I'd think it was Jeb Bush's Sec. of State, Katherine Harris, who was in charge of overseeing the design of the ballots in the Florida 2000 election debacle, Jack.

You would be wrong Chris. The butterfly ballot in question, used in Palm Beach County, was designed and approved by election supervisor T. LePore, a Democrat. Google and discover for yourself. The design was hardly complex or confusing. Who knows if an even simplier ballot would have given Jason the outcome he was hoping for. Obviously he cannot deal with the reality of present day.

I don't think the comment about Hillary's jowls hanging to her knees was sexist. The woman has prominent jowls! If, however, they were to have commented on some other part or parts of her anatomy hanging to her knees, that might be a different story. Obama has huge ears and big teeth, Bush has huge ears and a face like Alfred E. Neuman that stuff is all fair game if you ask me.