The One is calm. Very, very calmmmmmmmmzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
The Many Moods of Barack Obama
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Oh man, you are PISSING off the glassy-eyed acolytes. Keep up the good work!
statism-
–noun
1. the principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political, and related controls in the state at the cost of individual liberty.
LAME-O….Ted this isn't original at all. Ever seen the one about the teenager? It's exactly the same!
What's one thing Obama's Acolytes, Right wing Obama haters, and left wing Obama haters all have in common? They completely overreact to everything about the man. And you know what, they all look equally silly.
To the Obama acolytes: He is not the messiah.
To the right wing bigots: He is not a terrorist, he does not want to forcibly convert you to Islam, and he is not an unholy amalgamation of Vlad Lenin, Hugo Chavez, and Karl Marx.
And those to the anti-Obama left: He's no more a secret fascist than he is a secret Muslim.
What we're getting is a politically pragmatic mainstream democrat somewhere between Bill Clinton on one end of the spectrum and FDR on the other end. Hopefully, he's closer to the latter. If he is like Clinton it will all make sense: similarly revered by many without good reason, absurdly demonized by the right, and vilified by those on the far left who were by and large probably living pretty comfortably during his administration (even if he failed to pursue a progressive course of action).
Maybe I'm getting soft, but at this point, but if Clinton II is the worst case scenario, the strongest emotion I can summon is mild disappointment for a mild president.
Rall, I hate to say this, but this comic is really lame. You're making fun of someone because he is not as expressive as you like? What's next, a rehash of Al Gore/robot jokes? This is just childish.
As someone once said, good artists borrow from others, great artists steal outright.
Original or not, I like it!
Aggie Dude, I think it is more an homage to Gary Larsen's "Moods of an Irish Setter" from the early eighties.
Geez, Ted, have you never seen the man smile?
Anyway, better stoic than spoiled and petulant. When did staying calm and focused become a bad trait?
The cartoon's OK, but I'm not sure what your problem is.
True, it's a common trope among editorial cartoonists. To add to what bryant said, I can also recall a Mike Peters "Many Moods of Queen Elizabeth" in 1997.
But that aside, Rall still hasn't done a crying Statue of Liberty, crying sports team mascot or crying Uncle Sam, which gives him mad points in the increasingly vapid and unoriginal land of editorial cartoonists.
Or maybe I just haven't looked deep enough into the archives yet…
Besides, I think we should all give Ted a break now and then. If he is, indeed, a bullshit detedtor the clanging bells he hears triggered by his own thoughts must drive him nuts.
No, it's a smaller version of Matt Groening's "The 99 Moods of Ackbar & Jeff" from his "Life in Hell" strip, though maybe Groening stole his idea from Larsen. Doesn't matter…the Obama cartoon is pretty funny.
– Strelnikov
Ted, this looks nothing like Obama; you should study his face more. I suggest hanging an oversized portrait above your work area.
Ted this comic gave me an idea for the greatest TV sitcom to date!
"The Obama Bunch"
But instead of his family it can be a house of either Obama Clones or look-a-likes interacting with each other. Watch the sparks fly!
TBH the line between "stoic" and "constipated" is a very fine one
You know Ted, I'm starting to think you haven't really been looking at this guy.
For example, I don't know how anyone can miss those ears.
And even Rove says he has a beautiful smile. During the debates, rather than grind his teeth in frustration at the outrageous smears, he'd just chuckle and shake his head.
Speaking of which, you've got his head shaped more like a potato than a baloon.
To sum up, the charicature needs work, and his most common and observed facial expression is a smile.
BTW, Obama as "the one" is a meme purveyed by rush Limbuugh and the religious right trying to paint O as a false messiah, not actually rooted in anything concrete as far as I know. Unless y'all can provide a linky to show me otherwise.
But that aside, Rall still hasn't done a crying Statue of Liberty, crying sports team mascot or crying Uncle Sam, which gives him mad points in the increasingly vapid and unoriginal land of editorial cartoonists.
Or maybe I just haven't looked deep enough into the archives yet…
I doubt you'll find a crying Statue of Liberty anywhere in his archives. At least I hope not. 🙂
The cartoon most likely isn't an homage to anyone in particular. As George Lazenby said above, it's a common trope. And who am I to argue with James Bond?