Kathryn McFarland

9/15/10
AP Lang
Cracchiolo Pd. 8

Political Cartoon

http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/wpnan/2010/09/01/

This political cartoon by Nick Anderson was posted in the Washington Post on September 1,
2010. Anderson is an independent, but in this picture he is portraying a potential conservative side to his
political views. Obama is standing at a podium with a Teleprompter in front of him on each side. He
appears to be either scared or unsure of what he is supposed to say. This is referring to the known fact
that Obama cannot speak without Teleprompters. They also appear to be blank, which would explain his
worried expression.
There is also a banner with derogatory adjectives hanging behind him and in big, bold letters it
says, “ACCOMPLISHED.” This tactic is similar to what Marc Antony was doing when he was speaking
about Brutus being an “honorable man.” The difference is Antony simply implied all of the bad
characteristics of Brutus, while Anderson is clearly saying them. Anderson is trying to get his viewers—
mostly liberals—to see that Obama isn’t all he’s “cracked up” to be. He’s “all talk no game” and unable
to make decisions.
This cartoon uses pathos, because Obama’s face and the words used to describe him clearly
evoke either agreement or anger when you view this picture. Also, it brings to mind the Marc Antony
speech, which most people are somewhat familiar with. By doing this he reminds us of the emotion and
strong feeling Antony had when he was giving his speech. He had great conviction in the way he
presented his speech and the way he did it. Anderson is trying to bring to light the bad things that
everyone is so quick to overlook. He is honest about his opinion of Obama and is trying to get the people
in Washington, D.C. to recognize that Obama isn’t as good as they believe.