CSotD: Gamesmanship
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The shortest take of all: Rhymes With Orange demonstrates Hilary Price's ability to be silly.
There's probably a way to elaborate on this idea and it's good she didn't.
At the other end of the simplicity scale, The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee takes a leisurely cruise around the bay before getting to the gag, and a delightful ride it is.
This could have been a one-panel, with Ahab and the white whale and labels, but what fun would that be? The longer approach allows much more focus on the absurd obsession and makes the point much more clearly: Ahab, out of context, can appear heroic. Reducing it to a destructive, futile personal vendetta not only has more punch but is more accurate satire.
While Edison Lee bounces between straight comedy and social commentary, the latter is central to Candorville, so there's no surprise in today's conversation, but it's a good example of the different arrows in Darrin Bell's quiver: His editorial cartoons are far more direct and iconic in nature, while the commentary in Rudy Park is generally less political and more social.
When Lemont dons his "reasonable man" personna for these extended conversations, it allows Bell to address the audience more directly and personally, and, in this case, to express what I think is likely a common frustration among thoughtful progressives and, perhaps, thoughtful voters of several persuasions.
Lemont puts the argument very well: There are all sorts of undesireable people who, for all their flaws and shortcomings, are not Donald Trump. From a purely Machiavellian, pragmatic point of view, it might be best for everyone to adopt his position of focusing not on what you get with Hillary but what you avoid.
But in a campaign that has focused so much on the shortcomings and failures of the system, "four more years of the same" is a tough sell.
Confession: I have backed Bernie, both with contributions and in the New Hampshire Primary, but I didn't expect, or really want, him to win nearly as much as I wanted him to push Hillary away from the same-old, same-old and into a more actively progressive mode.
Their first debate made that seem a reasonable dream, but subsequent exchanges have solidified my impression of her as the self-righteous honor student, because she not only bristles at criticism but seems to surround herself with those who share that defensiveness.
This threatens to drive a wedge between the Old Guard and the young idealists upon whom victory hinges.
I'm old enough to remember the days of the Equal Rights Amendment, when opponents promised that we didn't need an amendment to guarantee women equality because it was inherent in the Constitution. You can see the way that reassurance has played out since.
Similarly, when the issue was first raised of why the bulk of superdelegates had committed before the primaries, there were reassurances that they could change, and DNC even said the horse-race tracking should not include them because their votes weren't fixed.
Now that song has changed to "You knew the rules; Stop whining."
I doubt Bernie will be given much voice at the convention, but I'm more concerned that this style of defensive, divisive campaigning will continue in November and that the only bloc of united voters will be those who believe in Bigfoot, alien abductions and the promises of Donald Trump.
I do not seem to be alone in my doubts about Clinton as a campaigner, as demonstrated in a brilliant
Juxtaposition of the Day
I don't know which of these I prefer, but they make the same point: The email controversy is a gift and it seems an unnecessary one.
I'm certainly sympathetic to the idea that Clinton may be tired of the continual witch-hunts that have plagued her since Travelgate and Whitewater up through Benghazi and this tempest in a teapot, but she can't claim to have been open and transparent while refusing to cooperate.
If nothing else, there is the option of running a fantastically successful foundation and using it to advance your goals outside the world of elective politics.
But, if you're going to stay in the game, play the game. And now that I'm spending large portions of my time watching the NCAA softball tournament, I won't apologize for a sports metaphor:
You can bullshit the fans, and you can even bullshit the refs, but you can't bullshit the players. (Which brings us to …)
Matt Davies excellent analysis of the coming campaign, in which, regardless of how the refs, much less the other players, view you, it's bullshitting the fans that counts.
I want Hillary to win. But anyone who thinks logic and fairness are going to carry the day is not paying attention, and is, to add one more sports analogy, perhaps witnessing their first rodeo.
There is a story that a woman cried out to Adlai Stevenson ""Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!"
And that he responded,"That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!"
This is that campaign.
When John Kerry explained that, though he initially favored a piece of legislation, he subsequently voted against it because of how it had been amended, he was branded a "flip flopper."
Trump can make one statement one day, contradict himself the next day and deny saying either on the third and escape unscathed.
Hillary, meanwhile, can trip over barriers she might have simply stepped across.
It is a puzzlement. But it's one she needs to solve between now and November.
Because a lot of people are not Donald Trump. But Donald Trump is.
In more cheerful news
Fire up a victory cheroot for Friend-of-the-Blog Terri Libensen, who picked up a Reuben for Pajama Diaries last night.
Here are the rest of the winners, including 2016 Kenosha guest-to-be Ann Telnaes.
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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