Got a call yesterday from an angry reader who said he was 79 years old and had been reading the O-R for a long, long time. He was so upset by the editorial cartoon in Monday's edition that he was thinking about dropping his subscription.
The cartoon was drawn by Pat Oliphant and poked fun at Hillary Clinton for pandering to the "bowling and shot-and-a-beer crowd." But the reader thought the cartoon was insulting to... I'm not quite sure which demographic, either West Virginians or stupid people. He thought if we sold a good many newspapers in West Virginia, that cartoon just might throw the election to her opponent.
Look. We have been publishing Oliphant cartoons in this newspaper for as long as I've worked here, which is going on 36 years. He has poked fun at and insulted every president and every serious candidate for the presidency during that time, regardless of party. He champions no political causes but rails against hypocrisy, dishonesty, indecision and weakness of conviction. So, if you've been reading this paper for a long, long time, are you just now getting around to the editorial page?
And by the way, we sell only a few newspapers over the state line, and we're pretty confident those West Virginians who buy our newspaper aren't dumb enough to base their choice for a presidential candidate solely on an editorial cartoon.
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3 comments:
I also noticed that cartoon and felt it was particularly mean spirited.
I think all the political cartoons are mean spirited,that's why I rarely read them. But being from West Virginia I don't think it would sway anyones oppinion about any political figure. Some people have a better sense of humor than others but those that find the cartoons offensive should just not read them like I do.
The best political cartoons are biting and "mean spirited"
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