Jump to September 2012 archive page: 1 2 3

  • Oh that anti-Muslim film...

    Protests by enraged Muslims over a film made in the U.S. they claim mocks the Prophet Mohammad have spread across the Middle East and into Asia, giving President Obama an unexpected foreign policy problem to deal with in the middle of the Presidential campaign. 

    Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle draws what he sees as a typical anti-American film critic:

     Bill Day chooses to show what he thinks are the two sides of the terrorism coin:

    Dave Granlund focuses in on the sudden firestorm surrounding President Obama's re-election campagin:

    While our own conservative bomb thrower, Gary McCoy, thinks this reaction by Muslim extremists is par for the course:


     

    Comment

    Show more
    Explore related topics: , , , ,

  • The Spinning Bounce

    Chris Weyant / The Hill

    Satirist Will Durst weighs in on post-convention polling and the coveted "bounce"...

    Let's speak about The Bounce, shall we? The Bounce being the jump that a three-day, red-white-and-blue infomercial is expected to produce on a candidate's polling. The idea is to use The Bounce as a slingshot of momentum to whip you down the campaign straightaway directly into the swivel seat behind the desk of the Oval Office. Or close enough to let the Supreme Court appoint you. One or the other. 

    What usually happens, after both conventions have drop-kicked their last balloon, is an equilibrium is struck. One side goes up four to six points, then the other side goes up four to six points and you're pretty much back to where you started. The Bounce evens out. Not very exciting. Like sugar-free cookies. Or kissing Andrea Mitchell. Knocking back a shot of non-alcoholic wine. Otherwise known as grape juice. 

    This time around, the net result of two weeks in the Southeast in the dead of summer is President Barack Obama got a cumulative bump of between 3 and 5 points. Hard to say which event was more responsible for his ascension: his own Democratic National Convention, the Republican National Convention or Hurricane Akin. 

    Gov. Mitt Romney got the same kind of Bounce you'd expect from an anvil dropped onto a swamp. Even his own staff called it "not large." Yeah. Not large being a euphemism for non-existent. It was not large in the same way that August in Charlotte does not feature a cluster of destination luge runs. Similar to how Kim Kardashian is not a Nobel Prize-winning nuclear physicist. Banana fritters aren't magnetic. An echoing abyss of whistling emptiness. 

    Some polls actually suggested the GOP ticket received less than Zero Bounce from their convention. Less than zero. On the wrong side of the ledger. Red ink. A negative Bounce; which could be referred to as a Plunge. Might need to christen a new buzzword: the Convention Dip. But that would involve stripping Chris Christie of his own personal Tampa catalogue description. 

    Joe Heller / Green Bay Press-Gazette

    When a campaign finds itself Sans Bounce, it's important to replace it with The Spin. As Republicans are feverishly attempting this year. Spinning like an aging hippie in a peasant dress dead stage left at a Grateful Dead tribute-band concert. Twirling left. Spinning right. Spinning righter. Pay no attention to that man behind the fact-checking curtain. 

    The Spin should be fluid and flexible and is not required to be rooted in the real world. Its only purpose is to distract. "The Not So Large of a Bounce was due to Mr. Romney having already consolidated his base." "The Governor doesn't really need a Bounce because of the spring in his step." "All The Bounce this candidate needs can be found in his hair." 

    Not only do the Bounceless have to convince supporters and the base and most especially prospective donors that the candidate still has a shot, it is incumbent to also soft pedal and ridicule the other guy's visible Bounce. Phantom bounce.

    Romney's pollster Neil Newhouse called the Obama Bounce "a sugar high." That may be so, but you got to remember, in tough times like these, a lot of we normal Americans got ourselves a heavy hankering for anything sweet. Even one of those sugar-free cookies. 

    Will Durst is a political comedian and columnist for Cagle Cartoons Inc. Read more of Durst's columns here.  

  • Matson on Romney’s Flub, Role of Local Cartoons

    R.J. Matson, the editorial cartoonist for Roll Call in Washington, D.C. (and who I syndicate via Cagle Cartoons) came up with an original take on Mitt Romney’s much-maligned comments following the tragic attack on the U.S. consulate on Benghazi, Libya:

    Matson is one of the most prolific editorial cartoonists working today. In addition to his job with Roll Call, Matson was the daily staff cartoonist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for seven years, before being laid-off last month as part of a paper-wide cutback of employees to save money.

    I interviewed Matson about being laid-off, and he shares my fear about the future of editorial cartoons, which are more popular than ever online and in syndication, but threatened by these continued job cuts.

     

    “It’s such a difficult job to do well day after day, I don’t see how cartoonist can crank out stuff like that unless it’s a full-paid job treated with a lot of respect by the publisher,” Matson said.

    “The cartoonist is essentially a columnist and a vital voice for the paper, and a vital voice for the community,” Matson continued. “People love to see events in their town reflected back in editorial cartoons… If newspapers give up on that, they’re giving up on their local scene.”

    Here’s the interview:

  • Cartoons About Mitt’s Libya Blunder

    Mitt Romney’s comments following the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans has been referred to as a “Bungle… utter disaster…not ready for prime time… not presidential… Lehman moment.” And that was just from Republicans!

    Our cartoonists, despite kicking back in Washington D.C., preparing for this year’s Association of American Editorial Cartoonists’ (AAEC) Convention, have also put pen to paper in response to Romney’s highly-politicized remarks.

    Arizona Daily Star cartoonist David Fitzsimmons doesn’t think Romney is ready for primetime:

    Bill Day decided to draw Romney being hung by his own tongue:

    Bob Englehart of the Hartford Courant drew Romney giving his press conference on the grave of the diplomats who lost their lives in the attack:

    While Bill Schorr drew the Republican Presidential nominee leaving something behind in the cemetery:


     

  • Morning cartoon round-up

    Violence flares up in the Middle East, the iPhone 5 is released and Romney gets his own bear hug. Here is our morning round-up of cartoons about what's happening in the news...

    Rick McKee / Augusta Chronicle (click to view more cartoons by McKee)

    Cam Cardow / Ottawa Citizen (click to view more cartoons by Cardow)

    John Cole / Scranton Times-Tribune (click to view more cartoons by Cole)

    Chris Weyant / The Hill (click to view more cartoons by Weyant)

    Bill Day / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Day)


     

  • Trivedi’s Cartoon Media Storm in India

    This offending Trivedi cartoon shows "Corruption" about to rape "Mother India." Trivedi's "seditious" cartoons all used symbols of state in commentary about government corruption.

    Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was released from jail in Mumbai on $100 bail and a promise that sedition charges against him would be dropped.  It was interesting to watch the media storm about Trivedi explode in the middle of my speaking tour of India.

    The Cartoonists Rights Network, a foundation associated with my professional organization, The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, is giving their Courage in Cartooning award to Trivedi this weekend at our convention in Washington DC.  I’ve been spending the past two weeks talking to the media in India, and early on I would get no interest or follow up questions about Trivedi – then when Trivedi went to jail it was all over the news, in banner headlines in all the newspapers and dominating TV news.  All of India was outraged at the ridiculous charges and injustice of putting a cartoonist in jail for drawing symbols of the state.

    I heard and read a lot of outraged opinions on the case in the media here, and I don’t recall hearing anyone argue in favor of jailing Trivedi.  He got support from all corners of India, although I notice that nowhere in the media did I see anyone reprint or show the offending cartoons.

    Also interesting was the motivation of journalists here to tell “both sides” of the story, but since nobody would speak in favor of jailing the cartoonist, the “other side” came out as derision, describing Trivedi as a “bad cartoonist,” and the cartoons as “terrible,” although “nothing that should land the cartoonist in jail.”  I think that attitude is just plain rude.  Trivedi isn’t a bad cartoonist – as regular readers of our site can see, his cartoons hold up pretty well to cartoons by other foreign cartoonists, and cartoonists from India.  I think he’s a good cartoonist, and he deserves some respect for his artwork.

    Trivedi also deserves some admiration for the way he handled himself through this media storm.  He refused to accept bail for days, keeping the story alive and in the headlines.  He’s been appearing all over the media since his release, giving interviews and making intolerant authorities here look silly.  I think he’ll have a strong impact on moving India to a more free press.

    There is a general rule that editorial cartoons are a barometer of freedom in any country – if cartoonists can draw the president of their country then the country has a free press.  We don’t see Chinese cartoonists drawing their president; Fidel Castro is never drawn by cartoonists in Cuba.  Our cartoonists in Singapore tell me that they are free to draw anything, as long as it isn’t about Singapore.

    In India there is a mixed message on the cartoonist barometer.  The press savages the Prime Minister, who is regularly lampooned in cartoons, but drawings of the President of India, who has a less substantive, ceremonial role, are barred.  Cartoonists are forbidden by law from offending religious sensibilities – and Trivedi did well to limit his cartoons to symbols of the state, so that religious issues never came into the argument.  Cartoonists in India are forbidden from drawing symbols of the state, without first getting permission from the state – that may change soon, because of Trivedi, and it is an important change.  It is the role of editorial cartoonists to criticize government, and symbols of government (flags, seals, currency, government buildings like India’s Parliament building) are the prime tools in every editorial cartoonist’s tool chest.

    If I couldn’t draw symbols of governments, and I was barred from offending religious sensibilities, there wouldn’t be much of substance left for me to draw.

    Trivedi has done an excellent job of making his point against government corruption in India and against the absurd restrictions against cartoonists in India.  He’s an excellent artist too, and at the young age of 24 he’s now India’s star cartoonist.  All in all, a great result for a talented, media savvy, young activist.

  • Cartoonists in Kerala

    That's me with famed Kerala cartoonist, Toms, and his character "Unni" kicking me in the groin. Ouch.

    Here I am accepting a lovely portrait from talented young cartoonist Anjan Sathish.

    From left to right, Unnikrishnan, the cartoonist for the Mathnubhumi newspaper, me, Prasannan Anikkad, the Kerala Cartoon Academy Chairman, and Sudheer Nath, cartoonist for the Thejas newspapers.

    Today I’m finishing up my two week long, US State Department, speaking tour adventure in India.  I just spent three days in beautiful Kerala, India’s tropical Southwest region which is known for its cartoonists.  The cartoonists professional association here is the Kerala Cartoon Academy where I have a bunch of new, cartoonist friends.  They are still adding to a collection of photos and newspaper articles from my visit.

    Kerala is wet, steamy, tropical and charming, with an extensive network of estuaries called the “backwaters.” While I was here there was a big trade show going on, which brought India’s Prime Minister to town and was an excuse for me to do some cartooning speaking engagements.  I had a lovely exhibition of my work here and I spent a sightseeing day with my new, Indian cartoonist buddies.

    One highlight was meeting legendary Indian cartoonist “Toms,” who draws what I think Americans would describe as an Indian Dennis the Menace cartoon called Unnikkattan.  Toms is the elder statesman of the cartoonists here, and we celebrated the 25thanniversary of “Unni.”

    I should give congratulations to three winners of the Kerala Cartoon Academy’s cartoon contest, Santhosh, Shiva and Ragesh – nice work!

    Special thanks to my new friend, Sudheer Nath, the cartoonist for the Thejas newspapers, in Kerala’sMalayalam language; also Prasannan Anikkad, the freelance cartoonist chairman of the Kerala Art Academy and Unnikrishnan, the cartoonist for the Mathnubhumi newspaper – they all showed me a great time touring Kerala’s historic sights, and introducing me to the fascinating food here, which is served on big banana leaves, eaten with much drama with gooey fingers mushing things all about.

    Kerala has an outsized cartooning tradition, and the Kerala Cartoon Academy (KCA) is at its heart.  The KCA doesn’t exist as a school, rather it is a cartoonist professional organization that organizes events, like my visit here and the tribute to Mr. Toms.  They do “cartoon camps” for kids and publish books and magazines; I was very impressed with them.

    I’m so rushed I haven’t had a chance to write about my visit to Hyderabad – that will come next.

    Near the end of my visit we got the sad news of the murder of J. Christopher Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya, who was a career foreign service officer, and a friend and colleague of the State Department people who were hosting me here. It was a grim reminder that the world outside of Kerala can be an ugly place, putting things into some perspective.  I’m impressed with the dedication of the State Department people I’ve met on my travels and I appreciate their service.

     

  • Mitt the twit

    Today, President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton condemned an attack on a U.S. consulate that occured Tuesday night in Libya, claiming the lives of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

    Before Obama spoke, Mitt Romney slammed the President's administration, accusing them of sympathizing "with those who waged the attacks" instead of simply condemning them. He even went so far as to blame the attacks on the Obama administration, saying, "We have seen a foreign policy of weakness and decline in American influence and respect. Yesterday, we saw the consequences of this perceived weakness."

    Hartford Courant cartoonist Bob Englehart didn't take too kindly to Romney's remarks, abandoning two previous cartoon ideas in favor of this one slamming the Republican Presidential nominee: 


    Englehart also had this to say about Romney's comments: 

    I was all set to do a Joe Ganim cartoon when I read about the Libyan Islamist extremists and their murderous deadly hysteria they like to wear on their sleeves. I was all set to draw a cartoon about the thickness of skin on the world’s great religions and how thin the skin is on Islam’s more deranged practioners. I was all set to do those things when I read Nitwit Mitt Romney’s statement using this opportunity to criticize the Obama Administration.

    It fits Mitt. In fact, it fits all the people who think Mitt is not a twit, that Mitt’s It. It fits the modern Republican Party, perpetually in a snit, completely out of touch with the reality of working class people. But, hey, let Mitt be Mitt, I say. Mitt has all the charm of a zit.

    What do you think - was Romney right to said what he did, or is he try to use the tragedy to score cheap political points? Comment below, or drop us a line on our Facebook page.  

  • 9/11 seared into the memory of a generation

    Hartford Courant political cartoonist Bob Englehart had a nice take on the 11th anniversary of the horrible attack on September 11, 2001:

    This day is our Pearl Harbor Day and will be as long as there are people who will remember. As for the real Pearl Harbor Day, that generation, the Greatest Generation, is dying out and with it, those emotional memories of where they were when they first heard.

    We baby boomers, Gen X-ers, whatever we want to label adults living today, have a ways to go before we reach the end of our time on the planet. 9/11 will be with us for a long time, our defining moment in the war on terror.

    But a child born 11 years ago today would, of course, have no memory of that Tuesday in September when the unthinkable happened. I hope their generation will be spared the trauma and death that a day like that can bring. If it is, it will be another milestone for the human race, but a positive one this time.

    Don't miss our big Remembering 9/11 cartoon slideshow. 

  • Will Durst: High Atop the Deep Bench

    Nate Beeler / Columbus Dispatch

    Satirist Will Durst weighs in on last week's Democratic National Convention...

    And now a few words on the Democratic National Convention, which was ALSO interrupted by bad weather, and from this we can deduce that God is not overly fond of politicians. Proving that he/she indeed has something in common with a majority of the American public. We are special. 

    The Dems opened their quadrennial confab headlining Michelle Obama, and the president's wife loud wowed the crowd. Authentic and classy and inspiring, people immediately started examining the 25th Amendment for loopholes that would allow the First Lady to jump to the top of the line of succession. At least leapfrog Boehner. If not Biden. 

    The next day, Elvis re-entered the building. The Obama folks buried their '08 bones of resentment in yesterday's backyard to let the Big Dog off-leash, and the whole house howled at the moon. For 48 minutes, Bill Clinton barked it out old-school. Some naysayers scoff the only reason he was in North Carolina was confusion over whether Charlotte was host city or a dinner date set up by Eharmony.com. 

    No matter the motive compelling the 44nd POTUS to attend, it became obvious from the get-go that whatever it was that Hillary's husband at one time had, he's still got it. In spades. 

    David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star

    While thunder rumbled just outside the Time Warner Cable Arena the real electricity was on the inside. Single-handedly he systematically laid out the most persuasive argument yet to re-elect President Bill Clinton... er, unh, Barack Obama. 

    Delegates swooned. MSNBC collectively spilled coffee on their laps wetting themselves. Even Michelle couldn't hide a secret grin. Wouldn't be surprised to find out Ann Romney had one too. Perhaps even he with the lean and hungry look, Paul Ryan. 

    And when you think about it, wasn't really fair. Trotting out a former president to rally the troops. After all, Republicans don't really have a former president to... oh wait. Yeah they do. Never mind. On a side note, Clinton said more nice things about George Dubyah than were heard from the entire GOP convention. Two. 

    After smashing his guitar on the floor of the podium you could almost hear the Man from Hope whisper to Mister Hope and Change as the two embraced, "Follow that Mofo." And on the closing night he did, proceeding to give the third- or fourth-best speech of the convention. 

    Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune

    While Tampa may have been bereft of Bushes, Charlotte curiously featured a distinct lack of former Democratic vice-presidential candidates. Not a Gore or a Lieberman or a home-state Edwards to be seen. Ain't life odd. 

    On the final night, Edwards' ticket mate, John Kerry, gave a rousing speech that had delegates wondering where this funny, self-deprecating guy was hiding in 2004. Jennifer Granholm assumed Ann Richards' mantle getting in the best lines of the week; "Romney loves our cars so much they have their own elevator." 

    Finally Joe Biden teared up, and Barack Obama tore it up. Not soaring to the golden-throated suburb that is Bubba Heights, but dignified, hopeful and focused. Dare we say, presidential. 

    Spending two weeks watching the best our political parties have to offer, it's apparent the Democrats have a deep bench, while the Republicans seem to focus on an empty chair and two empty suits. But to be fair, they're very nice suits. And they have balloons. 

    Will Durst is a political comedian and columnist for Cagle Cartoons Inc. Read more of Durst's columns here.  

  • Opening day NFL cartoons


    We have quite a large stable of cartoonists here on NBCNews.com, and in addition to skewering their favorite politicians daily, a lot of them are also sports fans. So it’s only natural that going into the first week of the new NFL season, a lot of them have weighed in on their favorite team’s chances.

    Adam Zyglis, the cartoonist for the Buffalo News, thinks expectiations are high for the Bills this season:

    The Bills are playing the New York Jets today, and boy, those Bills fans just hate Tim Tebow:

    Rob Tornoe, who draws sports cartoons for the Philadelphia Inquirer, weighs in on the replacement referees in charge of today’s Eagles opener:


    Their quarterback, the infamous Michael Vick, is injury-prone, but one of his sponsers guarenteed he would be hurt as long as he was wearing their protective flak jacket. I’m sure that will end well:

    Joe Heller, cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette, draws about the overwhelmingly-high expectations of fans about the Packers’ season:

    Meanwhile, New Englander Dave Granlund thinks as long as Tom Brady remains :

     

Jump to September 2012 archive page: 1 2 3