Political Cartoons

Cartoon. Star News. n.d. N.P.

This political cartoon exposes John McCain’s false claims of being an “average American man.” For example, a man is nailing a ‘support McCain’ sign to a run-down shack of a house. This implies that even though McCain is rich and high class, people will still believe that he is one of them. To the right of the man is a woman she is questioning the man’s support for McCain. This is because McCain does not know how many houses he owns and the depicted couple only owns two, their house and their outhouse. When a person claims to be something, they should really be it.

Cartoon. Star News. n.d. N.P.

The government and loan brokers are attempting to regain the common person’s trust, while simultaneously forcing them to shoulder the burden of paying for a collapsing economy. For example, there is a man representing the mortgage brokers who is saying “Trust Me” while he is giving a trash can, representing risky loans, to a man who represents the investors and banks. This shows that the investors and banks do not see the bad investments for what they are. Following, Ben Bernanke is handing a trash can representing risky loans to a women representing the taxpayers, and saying “Trust me,” although the woman is giving him a funny look and not taking the loans. Exposing that Bernanke is trying to patch the situation by lying to the tax-payers and trying to make them take the burden of the collapsing economy onto themselves. When it comes to money and investments, a person needs to look past the words being said to view the whole issue.

"Cartoon." politicalcartoons.com.
7 Oct. 2008 <http://www.politicalcartoons.com/>

When John McCain is defeated in a debate, he gets very angry. For example, a man wearing bulky suit is saying “The debates are finished, senator, and your car is waiting” to McCain with an open-backed truck in the background with the words “Bomb Squad” on the side. Meaning that, when McCain is defeated, many people consider him a ticking bomb. This is supported by the fact that McCain is giving off smoke and looks murderously angry. This alludes to McCain’s short temper. John McCain’s short temper makes people be cautious around him because they fear he could explode at any comment.

"Cartoon." politicalcartoons.com.
7 Oct. 2008 <http://www.politicalcartoons.com/>

Bombs are often used in analogies to McCain because of his short temper. For example, a Secret Service agent is speaking to another and saying “Careful. It could go off at any moment. If you’re in range you’re toast.” the second replies “A bomb? Where?” and the third one says “Shh… He’s talkin’ about McCain, you idiot…” This shows that even the Secret Service agents assigned to McCain regard him as a threat. McCain is standing in the center of the trio of men and looks like he is seething in rage. This implies that McCain is angry all the time. McCain is regarded by many people as an explosive threat to their safety.

"Cartoon." politicalcartoons.com.
7 Oct. 2008 <http://www.politicalcartoons.com/>

The Dollar’s value is going down at a steady rate. For instance, a jagged line with an arrow moving down is piercing through a picture of George Washington. This implies that the falling economy is destroying the US Dollar’s value. It is also implying that, by the breaking of a picture of a founding father, the economic situation is destroying the United States of America. The US Dollar is losing its value when compared to many foreign currencies.

"Cartoon." politicalcartoons.com.
7 Oct. 2008 <http://www.politicalcartoons.com/>

The $700 billion bailout bill will not help us in the long run, but will only cripple the taxpayers in the future. For example, Uncle Sam is in a sinking boat (the economy) and is trying to bail out water with a paper bag labeled “700 $ Bailout.” This shows that the bailout is an effort to keep our nation from sinking into depression. The paper bag has a hole in it and water if flowing through the hole in the bag. This implies that even though the bailout looks good on paper, it will not help at all in practice. The $700 billion bailout will only hurt our economy.

Reflection: Applying the Essential Question to the Political Cartoon



People use humor as a coping mechanism when the current times are in bad shape. My six political cartoons represent how an individual will comment on a society with humor. For example, all of my political cartoons except for one (the stock market one) are poking fun at the government. The aforementioned stock market cartoon is showing how the falling stock market is destroying the dollar’s value. Humor is an important tool as it helps people understand what a person is saying.