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Best of the 'Gates'-Gate Political Cartoons: Pick Your Fave
You've got race. You've got politics. You've got police. And now, you've even got Bud Light.
For editorial cartoonists, it's a welcome perfect storm that requires more than deft punch lines. To comment properly, the story demands the cartoonist pick a side and pack a true opinion.
In terms of execution of their idea -- no matter their opinion -- here are three of the better political cartoons this Riffster has seen this week about the arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates and the subsequent fallout that reaches clear to the White House. Call it Gates-gate.
Here's the trio of top 'toons -- you're invited to vote for your fave. (And if you've got another you like, feel free to share them links.)
NATE BEELER (SOURCE)
STEVE KELLEY (SOURCE)
KEVIN SIERS (courtesy of cagle.com)
By
The Reliable Source
| July 31, 2009; 10:05 AM ET
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The Political Cartoon
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Posted by: filfeit | July 31, 2009 10:22 AM | Report abuse
I like the punchline I heard this week, "The best kind of beer is free beer."
Posted by: MSchafer | July 31, 2009 12:49 PM | Report abuse
Here's a suggestion for future reader polls: add options for ALL and NONE. This is the first time that I thought that ALL of the cartoons presented have good merit. On the other hand, more than once I've wished there was a button for "NONE OF THE ABOVE" when voting.
Posted by: kilby | August 1, 2009 12:34 AM | Report abuse
Zapping around this morning I saw the Beeler cartoon shown at the end of a political roundup segment on CNN (but I have no way to tell whether they had shown any better cartoons before that one).
The thing I liked about the Beeler cartoon was not the gag (it was, I admit, the weakest of the three), but the absolutely flawless rendition of Joe Biden speaking with a foot in his mouth. Using creative spelling to accurately present a vocal effect or accent is not easy (c.f. Mark Twain's caveat about the dialog in the preface to Huckleberry Finn).
Posted by: kilby | August 2, 2009 2:51 PM | Report abuse
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Kelley was clever, definitely best of the bunch. Siers, I think, needs a better punchline, but I can't imagine what it could be.
I think Beeler had the cartoon sitting on his drawing board for six months and he was waiting for a chance to use it. Surely newspapers could find someone who is smart, insightful, clever, and funny, as opposed to Beeler who is None Of The Above.