Political Cartoon 5 (3/30/11)

1. In this cartoon there is one caption coming from a man who appears to be representing the Nobel Prize Committee and it reads "Well, at least he's not Bush." That line is poking fun at both President Bush and President Obama by saying that although Obama has done some things that have been frowned upon, he still is better that President Bush.

2. There are several things present in the cartoon. Most notably is a lanky, evil looking President Obama who appears to be beating a dove with his over sized Nobel Peace Prize. There are also two mean talking amongst themselves behind the President. More subtle in the cartoon is what the dove appeared to be carrying- an olive branch, which is important because it represents peace in the Bible and in the Olive Branch Petition used during the United States time of gaining independence from Great Britain.

3. In this cartoon, there is one main action taking place which is President Obama beating the olive branch-carrying dove with his Nobel Peace Prize while two members of the Nobel Prize Committee watch.

4. The message of the cartoon is that although President Obama has made some moves concerning the situation in the Middle East, that he is still better than President Bush despite his current actions in Libya and his approval rating sitting at 48% according to Gallup Polls. This to me, the ideology represented in this cartoon is that of a Liberal, based off of one thing, the line "Well, at least he's not Bush". That line alone shows the artist will still side with Obama and "compliment" him despite his current popularity with the American people.

5. This cartoon directly relates to the crisis in Libya and President Obama's course of action that he has taken with the situation. It directly ties in to what is spoken about in class at least 80% of the time.

6. Irony is a major player in this cartoon. The biggest ironic factor is President Obama beating a olive branch-carrying, peace wanting- dove with his Nobel Peace Prize. Its hard to use "beating" and "Nobel Peace Prize" in the same sentence, but here, it works. The irony in this cartoon is so clear that it hardly needs explanation.

Source- New York Times: http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/gm/
Artist- Glenn McCoy