Political Cartoon Analysis #5

Artist: Tom Toles
Source: The Washington Post
Date Published: January 7th, 2009

This political cartoon is a quite obvious jab at President George W Bush. It displays Bush and Cheney in a boat labeled "Mr. Environmentalist" with Bush proclaiming that the portion of the ocean they are in shall become off-limits. Deep underneath the water is a large locked treasure chest containing the "Bush Records."

I believe that all Democrats and anti-Bush Republicans would enjoy this political cartoon because it implies that President Bush made numerous mistakes while in office and that he would be willing to stoop so low as to hide the proof of his mess-ups. On top of that, it shows that Bush is pretending to be interested in protecting our environment just for the excuse to hide his records.

Political Cartoon Analysis #4

Artist: Tom Toles
Source: The Washington Post
Date Published: December 19, 2008

This political cartoon depicts a large man (meant to represent "big tobacco") telling a grave digger that Governor Tim Kaine's new cigarette tax will kill his job. It takes the assumption that if cigarettes are more expensive fewer people will be able to afford their bad habit which will in turn reduce the number of lives lost to lung cancer and other conditions caused by smoking.

I believe that the cartoon takes a witty approach at making fun of tobacco companies and smokers. In the lower right hand corner, a man makes the commentary of "a breathtaking argument" which clarifies the message that smoking kills.