'Riffs in Review: Top OBAMA cartoons from 2010

Be they liberal or conservative or perched somewhere moderately between, political cartoonists of all stripes naturally keep 1600 Penn at the forefront of their mental address book: From any direction, the White House remains a requisite true-North for occupational satire.

Yet even under that constant cartoon vigilance, most every modern president proves satirically elusive for a while, before the truth of the humor gains true and cumulative traction. Enough political misfortune must be amassed before the slings and arrows really stick with substance, perhaps even striking an Achilles' heel or two.

So it is that the cartoonists' darts, in 2010, appeared to more routinely fly true, from both sides and the middle. Which sets up 2011 as potentially a defining year, not only for President Obama's ever-sharpening image but also for even some of the political satirists bearing sharpened nibs.

Which that in mind, here are a few of the cartoons that stuck out in 2010. We judge them here not by their politics, but rather by their pointed execution. To wit:

GARRY TRUDEAU ("Doonesbury"):
(click here for larger "Doonesbury" image)

NEXT MEDIA ANIMATION:

JACK OHMAN:

JEFF STAHLER:

MICHAEL RAMIREZ:

MATT WUERKER:

TOM TOLES:

STEVE KELLEY:

DARRIN BELL ("Candorville"):
(click here for larger "Candorville" image)

LISA BENSON:

THE RELATED READ:

THE YEAR IN COMIC RIFFS: What most resonated with readers in 2010