February 21st, 2018

Ask A Cartoonist: Setting the President!

by Tea

Happy Presidents’ Week!

So, I was saddened to find out that Presidents’ week is not, as I believed, the week when we ALL get to be President. I had some cool executive orders I wanted to sign!

Instead, in celebration of all the Presidents of the United States who’ve come before, I asked our cartoonists to share some of their favorite Presidential tidbits.

Mike Peters, Mother Goose & Grimm:

Of course, my first president was Nixon, and that was “camelot” for editorial cartoonists. I have been lucky enough to have met all of them since( and equally lucky Not to have crossed paths with the current inhabitant) It may be surprising to some that my favorite personal exchange was with Pres. Reagan. All the presidents have hosted cartoonists (except You Know Who) and when I met Reagan, I told him that my daughter, Tracy, had a crush on his son, Ronnie, and wanted me to ask the prez for Ronnie’s autograph. The President thought for a moment and then responded, “There was a time when young girls wanted my autograph!”

Martha Gradisher, Six Chix:

Bill Griffith, Zippy the Pinhead:

Fun fact to know and tell: In 1984, Zippy ran for President of the United States. (Actually he ran every four years from 1976 to the present, but who’s counting?) Well, he was a write-in candidate in ’84—-over 10,000 Californians cast their votes for Zippy in the Presidential contest that year. I know because the State Board of Elections told me—and asked if I’d like to pay a thousand bucks to receive the official tally!
I declined.
Zippy’s imaginary running mate that year was Julia Child, who promised to put a coq au vin in every pot.

Mary Lawton, Six Chix:

Here’s a cartoon I drew this week about Trump, after his way-too-slow response to violence against women.

Dan Piraro, Bizarro:

Sadly, this is a cartoon about an actual U.S. president. I’m proud of the gag but truly sorry for the inspiration.

Bill Hobrook, Kevin & Kell, On the Fastrack, & Safe Havens:

Not exactly Presidential, but on a Founding Fathers theme Dethany and the cast of “Fastrack” once did a parody of “Hamilton,” which you can find on Facebook here.