CSotD: Come to the Talent Roundup
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Sometimes there a story so ridiculous that people say “The jokes write themselves.” But Eric Schmitt (R-Mo)’s questioning of Jack Smith was so breath-takingly asinine that he left very little for the cartoonists and comedians.
It spawned a lot of cartoons, but Anderson got off the best of them, in part because his punchline demonstrates the utter, humiliating bathos, as did the look on Katie Britt (R-Ala.)’s face as she realized things were collapsing.
Several other cartoons relied on rhyming his name with excrement, which might have worked if it weren’t the sort of pun that occurs to everyone. Anderson’s reliance on bathos is particularly fitting in this case because Schmitt was so puffed up with pride over his amazing revelation that when his Perry Mason Moment fell to pieces, not only did he look as ridiculous as portrayed in the cartoon, but his failure also captured all the headlines.
Did Jack Smith admit to anything the GOP might be able to hang over him? Who knows? Whatever else happened at that inquisition hearing is forgotten in the hilarity over Schmitt’s pratfall.
On a related topic, Dear Leader set himself up for similarly embarrassing jokes when he declared himself the stable genius who would solve the problem of artificial intelligence, which he did by renaming it “Superior Intelligence.” He even cited his sainted uncle who taught at MIT as the source of his own intelligence, citing a belief in genetics.
At Camp Lord O’ The Flies, the counselors had an expression “Paint it and make it new” to cover the camp’s apparent policy on repairs. Dear Leader seems to have a sincere belief that renaming things serves the same function, which is a cause for humor when he applies it to lakes and gulfs and whatnot.
It’s not so funny when he keeps declaring the war on Iran over, apparently based on a theory that it allows him to start a new war a day later, and thus avoid triggering Congressional approval for any war that goes over 60 days.
Anderson extends his hot streak with this comment on another move from the stable genius, which is to film campaign ads and call them “public service announcements” so he can spend a few million in taxpayer funds rather than dip into GOP campaign funds. My first impression of this cartoon was that I’d have used Xi, who had just visited here, but then realized that Anderson used the very fellow whose nickname “Dear Leader” has become Trump’s as well.
“Dear Leader” was such a good way to point out Trump’s urge for dictatorial power and the blind obedience of both his MAGA followers and the Republicans in Congress that it’s impossible to say who thought of it first. I know it occurred to me, but it exploded across the media so fast that I realized it was one of those things like “Schmitt Creek” that was obvious.
And I know from my time in local TV advertising something that I’d expect everyone to also know through osmosis, which is that, if they were “public service announcements,” the only cost would be production and distribution. Stations air PSA’s free in unsold breaks. The fact that he is paying to get them on the air proves that they are advertisements. He should know that, or defer to a staffer who does.
Let’s hope at least five members of the Supreme Court know it and have the integrity to rule accordingly, though, of course, by the time it gets to them, the midterms will be long over. Whatever he knows about advertising, he certainly knows that.
In any case, the whole world is watching. Sharon Murdoch is from New Zealand and Bas van der Schott is Dutch. She thinks our president is a moron and Schott thinks he is a clown jumping to the wishes of Putin and Xi.
And he thinks he is a scowling tough guy whom everyone considers a brave, brilliant world leader.
Juxtaposition of the Day
Stahler frames what is almost certainly the major issue in the upcoming midterms, though their emphasis is on “everybody,” because a more likely situation is that his faithful followers will turn out, as will the throngs that turned out for No Kings Days.
Luckovich’s take is that, because the ship of state has foundered (not just floundered), and whether or not anyone discusses the urge to desert a failing enterprise, there’s a strong likelihood that a lot of previous Trump voters will simply stay home.
The hardcore MAGA crowd will show up. Someone at the dog park was laughing about a neighbor who honestly believes Trump’s promise that gas prices will come down just after the midterms, which requires trusting Dear Leader, not knowing how gas prices are set and an overall loyalty that amounts to idiocy. But it also represents a straight-ticket Republican vote.
Mamet, however, represents the people the Republicans need to reach, the lukewarm voters who, if they show up, would vote Republican because they always have and they would again, though they probably won’t because they haven’t really been paying attention.
Trump is setting out on a barnstorming tour of battleground states, which a lot of formerly red states have become, and we’ll see who his presence inspires, because he might whip up some GOP moderates but he could also prompt some Democratic moderates to turn out.
Meanwhile, he does not seem to be distributing to candidates the hundreds of millions of dollars the GOP has raised, and it’s said he is saving that money for his library.
Gotta build a hanger for that Qatari airplane, after all.
Juxtaposition of the Day #2
Tennessee’s bungled attempt to kill a prisoner attracted a lot of attention and a lot of cartoons. Rowe stands for those who oppose the death penalty in principle, Bennett those who decry the inhumane incompetence in this case. I agree with both points of view.
But the editor in me mostly wishes that the media would stop saying that Tennessee authorities administered two “lethal doses.” Obviously, neither dose was lethal.
But, bad reporting aside, here’s how much of a “deterrent” the death penalty has always been:
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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