THE GLENN BECK CARTOONS: Honestly, who best invokes Abe?

When political cartoonists strive to make a power-through-simplicity statement, they sometimes reach for the nearest large icon -- an emblem already imbued with poignant meaning. So when it came to commenting upon last weekend's Glenn Beck rally, many editorial artists seized upon the biggest icon around.

No-no, not Mama Grizzly or MLK. We mean literally the biggest icon, Beck's chosen background. We mean, of course, the Lincoln Memorial.

Here are seven of this week's most prominent cartoons that invoked a towering Abe. One depicts Lincoln lowering his brow over Obama. Others juxtapose Abe 'n' Glenn in order to belittle (again, quite literally) Beck. (One even turns on an assassination gag -- too soon??)

We come here today not to spotlight the political slant of each cartoon, but rather the artistic execution. Who does it best? Who does it worst? And can too many Abes dilute the power of the best Lincoln/Beck cartoon? If you've an opinion, Comic Riffs is all ears.

RANDY BISH:

(courtesy of cagle.com)

JOHN COLE:

JOHN DARKOW:

MIKE LUCKOVICH:

BRUCE PLANTE:

TAYLOR JONES:

CLAY BENNETT:

(courtesy of WPWG)