Compliments to Obama can be twisted by the Republican Party to make them seem like criticism. For example, in the first panel, McCain makes “popular” into a “celebrity”. This implies that Obama just gets lots of press and attention; more attention to his family and what he wears versus his politics. In the second panel McCain turns “smart” into an “elitist”. This entails that Obama is well educated (or smart) and therefore he is an elitist because he think he is better than the rest of us. Moving on to third panel, this shows how Obama is “young”, which McCain makes “unready”, but then realizes he can’t call him young because he has just selected his Vice President (Palin) who is younger than Obama. Calling Obama unready is saying that he won’t be prepared to take the presidency. In panel four, McCain makes “He worked his way up from a difficult background” into “Bizarre”. This is trying to alienate Obama from the voters and separate him from what seems normal. In the fifth panel there is no dialogue, and the second man is not there. This indicates a pause in time. In the last panel, his advisor comes back and tells him Obama has been made president, to which McCain responds “We’ll call him ‘My Friend’”. This shows how quick he is to change his mind, which is flip-flopping on issues. McCain re-formed positive things about Obama to become negative words.
Toles, Tom. Cartoon. Washington Post. n.d. 2 Sept 2008.
Political Cartoon #2- 9/9/08:
McCain is challenging Obama by asking him if he’s ready to lead with his experience, while at the same time the media is challenging McCain’s vice president, Palin, on her experience. The media is asking, “Is Palin ready to lead??” while John McCain is saying that “A man would never get that question!” This is referring to the growing debate about how sexism affects how people view Palin, and about how people are questioning if she’s ready to be vice president when she’s still raising a four month old disabled son and is only forty-four herself. The picture shows that the media is questioning McCain, he is getting frustrated, and Palin is standing slightly behind him, and behind her is a banner that proclaims “Is Obama ready to lead?” When you read this both this and the dialogue in the cartoon, it shows that the McCain campaign is being contradictory because they are protesting that a man wouldn’t be questioned, yet they are the ones questioning this very same thing about Obama. The media is questioning Palin, and McCain is challenging Obama on the very same thing the media is questioning Palin about.
Political Cartoon #3- 9/16/08:
Sarah Palin is getting closer and closer to being the vice president, and she is bringing in some very different views about religion and choices. The first apparent thing in the cartoon is Sarah Palin depicted as Darth Vader holding a lightsaber. This is referring to the fact Darth Vader is seen as a tyrant who forces his views on other people, and many people think because Palin is very Christian, teaches creationism, and is anti-choice that she might turn these views into laws. The second thing you see is that she is holding her finger over a button that says World War III. This is talking about how close she is to the presidency, and how her interesting, and often polarizing might lead her to starting a large conflict. In conclusion, Palin is closer than any woman has ever come to becoming president, and she brings different aspects of politics to the table.
Peray, Stephane. Cartoon. n.p. n.d. 16 Sept 2008.
Political Cartoon #4- 9/23/08:
In response to the collapsing economy, the Presidential candidate’s policy on the economy is coming under greater scrutiny, and because Sarah Palin has been very outspoken in issues, people are watching her perhaps even closer than they are watching McCain as she talks about each issue. The first thing you see is Sarah Palin sitting on top of a bull, with a knife over head while McCain watches her with a bemused look on his face. The bull represents the changing economy, while Sarah Palin, who is an avid hunter, has brought down the bull and McCain is just standing by. The Second thing you see is McCain’s advisor saying “Sir, you’ve got to get on top of this economy crisis… Fast!...” and then “… Before you running mate starts to field dress it.” This represents that a lot of people have been skeptical because Sarah Palin has been attracting a lot of attention and talking out, while McCain is just sitting back, so people are noticing Palin’s policy, when its McCain running for president; that is why his advisor is advising that the hold her back.
Political Cartoon #5- 9/30/08:
The government’s solution to the collapse on Wall Street exposes how big business is willing to let the tax payers take the fall for their mistakes. The people who own these big businesses and have allowed them to fall apart have caused a very difficult situation. Because they have allowed them to fall apart, taxpayers are very concerned with the amount of money they have to pay to save the economy. As the people in Wall Street push tax payers away, saying “You first…” they are trying to line their pockets. These big business people have been revealed as not caring about citizens, but only about their money. Wall Street is counting on taxpayers to pick up the slack in the economy.
Political Cartoon #6- 10/29/08:
Political Cartoons:
The United Sates is in a giant recession, jobs are being sent overseas, gas prices are rising, and things are falling apart with candidates continue to argue over issues instead of doing anything about them. The plane, labeled USA, is falling out of the sky. This is representing how the United States is in a sort of downfall, and no one can seem to ‘pilot’ the plane correctly. The speech bubble says, “And so now Senator Obama will give his rebuttal on why he should be the captain.” The captain, in this case, is representing the president, and it’s really saying that we are just adding a new captain to a sinking ship instead of trying to save the ship. The presidential candidates have a lot expected of them in order to recover some of the American values we have lost.
Cardow, Cam. Cartoon. N.p. n.d. 29 Oct 2008.
Reflection:
When an individual changes society, it's always for what he wants, and when society changes an individual, it’s generally to what the whole society thinks. In observing all these cartoons, it has become apparent that in every bit of humor lies this kernel of truth. In each cartoon, the cartoonist makes fun of the people’s problems or the government’s choices. The cartoon usually sums up a large problem into a joke, yet it is surprisingly accurate. When the majority of the individuals seriously want something, the government is usually powerless to stop them. Yet the people often become reliant upon the ‘greater’ forces, a.k.a the government.
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