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Obama Cartoon in the Journal

The Albuquerque Journal published a cartoon Saturday that's had phones ringing today at the Alibi. John Cole's ed toon depicts President Barack Obama standing atop a humble mountain labeled “Presidency” and looking at a cloud-ridden monolith of a mountain labeled “Expectations.”

But that’s not the problem. The people who've called about the image are irate because they say Cole made the president look like a monkey. See the image for yourself here.

The callers can't believe the cartoon ran in the paper. What do you think?

Public Comments (35)
  • The monkey's in the eye of the beholder  [ Mon Jan 26 2009 4:05 PM ]

    (at least) 4 years of every exaggerated caricature being called a monkey, therefore a result of racist cartooners?

    Now I wish I had voted for Ross "huge ears" Perot. If he had been elected, we could have gotten this monkey business over and done with over a decade ago.


    Last edited [1/26/09 4:14 PM]
  • Perot?  [ Mon Jan 26 2009 4:22 PM ]

    What about the last 8 years of GW ape faces?Or do they not count having not been illustrated?

    I guess I see what everyone is pissed off about. Obama's hairline isn't that low.


    Last edited [1/26/09 4:25 PM]
  • Does seem monkey-ish  [ Mon Jan 26 2009 4:30 PM ]

    His placement of the end of that rope can be reasonably scrutinized.

  • The internet was, and still is, awash with  [ Mon Jan 26 2009 6:19 PM ]

    Bush/monkey comparisons, witness just one abysmal example...


    Play Youtube Video

    Why should "THE ONE" be immune?

  • Um  [ Mon Jan 26 2009 8:12 PM ]

    What you all fail to realize is that depicting a white politician as a monkey and a black politician as a monkey carry two entirely different connotations. ENTIRELY. If a black cartoonist depicted Dubya as a saltine, or perhaps a captain's wafer, rednecks like Hotrod would be the first onesyelling sour grapes at the biased left-wing media.

    And the people that think that the cartoonist's depiction of Obama was entirley coincidental are full of shit. And no, Obama is not "immune" from any sort of satire or humor or criticism but for chrissakes, this is ridiculous. I can point out a multitude of flaws by G.W. not even somewhat related to race, but that would be far too easy. What else was Cole trying to say here? Obama has a lot to do to live up to expectations? No shit, that's how "the one" as Hotrod puts it was coined in the first place. What a horribly insensitive cartoon with very non-subtle subtleties.

  • So you are saying  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 6:38 AM ]

    that it is somehow "okay" to say a white guy looks like a monkey but it is NOT okay to say a black guy looks like a monkey? Isn't that exhibiting a racial bias, also known as racial discrimination? By even drawing attention to the distinction, aren't you actually saying that black guys look like monkeys and it should not be pointed out? Do you think that we should be blind to racial differences or should we strive to point them out by omission? I think you need to closely examine your own true racial feelings.

    Signed, Hotrod, the equal opportunity redneck who thinks EVERYBODY looks like a monkey.

  • Nothing there  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 7:51 AM ]

    If they're attempting a monkey, it's the least racist monkey I've ever seen.

  • hmmmm  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 8:56 AM ]

    I mean, the tail thing is pretty monkeyish... but I believe that is all... I mean the big ears, well Obama does have some massive ears. I think the "artist" was going for monkey, but sort of failed.

  • Well  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 9:45 AM ]

    that it is somehow "okay" to say a white guy looks like a monkey but it is NOT okay to say a black guy looks like a monkey? Isn't that exhibiting a racial bias, also known as racial discrimination? By even drawing attention to the distinction, aren't you actually saying that black guys look like monkeys and it should not be pointed out? Do you think that we should be blind to racial differences or should we strive to point them out by omission? I think you need to closely examine your own true racial feelings.

    Signed, Hotrod, the equal opportunity redneck who thinks EVERYBODY looks like a monkey.

    I'm not saying that at all, but when you apply racial insensitivity to something that could be taken the wrong way by a very large number of people, you're asking for trouble. You seem to forget portraying black people as "monkeys" has a little more of a historical significance as far as jokes or stereotypes that occurred so many years ago, it seems a little stale and a bit ridiculous to keep re-hashing these things. Just as I think comparing Obama to Little Sambo or Uncle Tom would be equally insensitive, but making those comparisons to a white person would have an entirely different context. Don't you think we've come a ways since the Minstrel Show?

    And I partially agree with you, about not being able to have your cake and eat it too. Should we ignore racial differences/stereotypes completely, or do we pick and choose as per convenience? And there is no easy answer, but it seems this day and age, there still exists a very prevalent layer of thin ice that the unspoken rule is to tread lightly on, and I think this particular cartoon stomped on that ice quite a bit.

  • The Rumble in the Jungle  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 10:55 AM ]

    Amidst a barrage of insults, Ali called Frazier a "gorilla" before the fight as part of a campaign of demoralization. It worked.

  • Years ago,  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 12:25 PM ]

    I had a very good, and very dear friend who was very big and very black. He actually looked very much like a gorilla and, in fact, he went by the name "Gorilla" although he was one of the sweetest, most genuine, and most gentle men you would ever want to know. I know that he would have been hurt and insulted if some "sensitive" person had insisted on calling him by his given name instead of Gorilla.

    My point? In this day and age, get over it. Try to see us all as equals whether in regards to compliments, insults, or whatever. By bending over backwards to be "sensitive" you are actually encouraging and perpetuating racial divisions.

  • And  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 12:51 PM ]

    I agree with you 100%, actually. But that is a different case. Certain boundaries should not be crossed given the situation. Unfortunately, neither Obama nor the readers of the Journal are dear friends of the cartoonist, very different from your relationship with "Gorilla." If one is given the green light in a situation where you personally know someone, then by all means it's acceptable. But to risk offending people who do not know you or perhaps would not get the "joke" seems to do more harm than good in the long run.

    For example, I wouldn't go up to some random, passerby on the street and call him an "asshole", even if I didn't intend anything malicious by it. But a good friend perhaps reminisces over a story to which he dealt with a customer at a restaurant job and you playfully jab, "you're such an asshole," even though it would be certainly shrugged off and laughed about?

    My point is, something taken out of context, especially regarding (still) a sore subject such as race, anything can be misconstrued until you are confident it would not be. Did you call this fellow "Gorilla" at the first sight of him, or was it something he made apparent at a later date to be "okay" with hence giving you that right?


    Last edited [1/27/09 12:52 PM]
  • I'll repeat my point.  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 2:49 PM ]

    Get over it. Try to see us all as equals whether in regards to compliments, insults, or whatever. By bending over backwards to be "sensitive" you are actually encouraging and perpetuating racial divisions.

    That aside, President Obama is not any longer "some random, passerby on the street". He is now a very public figure and therefore, fair game for all sorts of barbs, name calling, and funny pictures so, get used to it. There will be many more to come in the next four years but he's a big boy and I don't think he really needs your protection.

    That aside, I don't recall anything in the Constitution or the Bill of rights demanding that we be politically correct or protecting us from insensitive remarks. In fact, quite the opposite, the right to free speech will certainly allow a political cartoonist to draw any President, black or white as a monkey if he so desires. Thank God.

    That aside, what's so bad about monkeys? I like monkeys. I had a distant relative who was a monkey.

  • too bad that rope isn't a tail...  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 3:59 PM ]

    it kind of looks like a tail. I mean what the fuck kind of monkey doesn't have a tail. stupid artist. Barack Obama has a tail. He's got a tail for every day of the week, and he's so filthy rich with the Jew vote and the Demon vibes that he sends them to the dry cleaner every hour on the hour, whether they need it or not.

    (And obviously not the tail he's currently sporting. That would be impossible.)


    Last edited [1/27/09 4:04 PM]
  • Hotrod  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 4:03 PM ]

    Since you have everything figured out, I want you to walk down the street and find the first black man you see and call him "gorilla." Let me know what happens to you, if you make it that far. And if you hesitated, or opted not to, why? You should be exercising that free speech as per the Bill of Rights, and he should be respecting the fact that you have that right. Of course, everything would be thrown out the window when you get socked in the face, and I must say if this hypothetically happened, you'd deserve it.

    Since you seem to be so outrageously gung-ho about issuing insensitive remarks as you see fit, because it is your Constitutional right, I want you to follow through with this and let me know how successful you are. If your results are unfavorable, I'd hate to say I told you so.

    That said, exceptions exist, whether you like it or not. This world is far from perfect. Even you, Hotrod. Which goes back to my previous point. I agree with you on the complexity of the issue, whereas we have that right but then again we don't. So I challenge you to strongly take one path or the other and let me know where it gets you.

  • On the other hand,  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 4:06 PM ]

    you can call a gorilla a gorilla or a ball of wax or plate of sand or Jesus H. on horseback, and still you might get housed.

  • Bad mistake to make  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 4:32 PM ]

    The cartoonist might not have been thinking about the racist undertones of drawing our first African American president in a very monkey-ish fashion, but it's a bad mistake to make.

  • Chongo  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 4:58 PM ]

    I once had a friend who we all called Chongo. (I'm not sure if that's how you spell that.) I thought that was his real name for the longest time until someone finally told me it meant "monkey." When I asked, "Why, then would you call someone that?" They said, "Well...because he looks like a monkey." To this day, I can't remember what his real name is.

  • Well no  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 7:19 PM ]

    Foxy, I'm not going to do that because I've had many black friends over the years and I have too much respect for blacks but then, neither would I arbitrarily call a white guy "gorilla" either in fact, I wouldn't arbitrarily call anyone "gorilla" either black or white because to me, people are just people, I don't give anyone any special treatment because of his race but you certainly seem to focus on it.

    That said, if I should say, pass your good self on the street tomorrow, and I recognize you, I might very well flash you a big smile, a cheery wave, and shout, "Hi Gorilla", which I can do and I don't even know whether you are black or white or orange (like a fox). If you should respond by punching my nose, I will quickly summon the nearest constable when you will be arrested for assault and hauled off in irons to the hoosegow. Hoosegow? Now I wonder where that word came from. Good word isn't it? What would you say if I called you a hoosegow eh, Foxy?

  • The Constitution..​.  [ Tue Jan 27 2009 8:54 PM ]

    ...is supposed to guarantee free speech. Common sense and manners, however, guarantee good taste.

    "Constable"? "Hoosegow"? Oh, boy.

  • Yeah, constable and hoosegow!  [ Wed Jan 28 2009 7:41 AM ]

    I do enjoy slightly obscure. old-timey sounding words like that and it turns out that hoosegow has a very interesting etymology, it comes from an old gringo mispronunciation of the Spanish word juzgado meaning tribunal or judgement.

    To return to the monkey thing, yes, I think that our current President does somewhat physically resemble a monkey but more significantly and more unfortunately, he resembles a trained monkey in the sense that he can dress the part and he can look the part and he can sound the part - but only as long as his tele-prompter doesn't break down and so long as a reporter doesn't ask a question that he hasn't been told the answer to before hand because he has no clue what he is doing on his own. In other words, he does just fine as long as the music is still playing but when the organ grinder stops turning the handle, he is totally lost.


    Play Youtube Video

    And yes, robertmcat, the first amendment allows me the freedom to compare our President to an organ grinder's monkey and as long as it does, I shall continue to call the shots as I see them and I'll leave the political correctness to you and Miss Manners. That little monkey in the cartoon certainly does have a big mountain to climb. Frankly, I don't think he's up to it and I think he's going to fall right on his face but we'll see.

  • Political Correctness  [ Wed Jan 28 2009 9:52 AM ]

    What I said has nothing to do with "political correctness," Hotrod. Your response is another example of fallacious argument. In this case, you're just putting words in my mouth that I did not use and responding to me as if I had actually said them. What I did say was that common sense and good manners are important to keep discourse on a reasonable level. Comparing anyone to an ape, even in jest, is both demeaning and belittling. You might want to consider that as you fling poo at the readers. Sure, you have the right to say it, but why would anyone want to? The Constitution lets us trample or burn the American flag but, again, why would any thoughtful person want to do that? It's just destructive and mean, accomplishing nothing to forward the debate.

    Your case against Obama is called an "ad hominem" attack; that is, you attack the person rather than the person's ideas. In this example, it is your perception of the person's appearance rather than the quality of the person's proposals. Oddly enough, considering their own appearance and personal histories, it is a favorite of Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove. It speaks to insecurity and the tendency toward preemptive striking.

    If I can do so without you jumping to the assumption that I am an Obama supporter, I'd like to point out that any comparison of the former and the current president's verbal stumbles, gaffes, and misstatements is bound to be a losing proposition for the Bush camp. While Obama still has a long way to go and many opportunities in the future to put his foot in his mouth, I can't say I anticipate a publishing sub-industry based on his inability to articulate in the same way that the former president launched an entire field regarding his "Bushisms."

    And, really, for all our sakes, please check out that web site that defines fallacies.

  • Here we go already? ...  [ Wed Jan 28 2009 3:13 PM ]

    President Obama attempted to enter the oval office via a window instead of a door today

    Now, I could say something about how black guys just feel more comfortable entering a big fancy house through a window but, i won't say that out of respect and political correctness. Okay?

    Here's the story... Obama window

  • It could happen to anyone...  [ Wed Jan 28 2009 3:29 PM ]

    Frankly, I don't think he's up to it and I think he's going to fall right on his face but we'll see.

    I hope you're right hotrod, because if you're wrong...


    Last edited [1/28/09 3:30 PM]
  • Kiddin' Me?  [ Wed Jan 28 2009 9:52 PM ]

    I had a very good, and very dear friend who was very big and very black. He actually looked very much like a gorilla and, in fact, he went by the name "Gorilla" although he was one of the sweetest, most genuine, and most gentle men you would ever want to know. I know that he would have been hurt and insulted if some "sensitive" person had insisted on calling him by his given name instead of Gorilla.My point? In this day and age, get over it. Try to see us all as equals whether in regards to compliments, insults, or whatever. By bending over backwards to be "sensitive" you are actually encouraging and perpetuating racial divisions.

    Those type of "harmless" nicknames are most often used by those who would bully with words those who by nature are less aggressive and by those who seek affirmation of their own superiority by diminishment of a "friend". I have a beautiful friend who calls himself "Fat Larry". I told him when I first met him I would not feel right calling him anything other than just plain ol' "Larry". Years later, while semi-drunk, he admitted to me how he hated the "Fat" part of his name, and how he had only adopted it in a preemptive way.

    There are nicknames that hurt and nicknames that don't, and, as noted above common sense and good manners will always show us the difference.

  • On those rare occasions  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 6:20 AM ]

    when my comments have been honored by red stars on this website, I feel gratified as well as somewhat amused knowing, as I do, that the site is dominated by far left liberals, commie pinkos, lazy welfare recipients, and pie-in-the-sky Socialists and that I am very much the hamhock in the bouillabaisse. Admittedly, a position that I enjoy occupying.

    Hey, why would anyone call himself SPUDBUDD? Should I assume you resemble a potato or would that make me guilty of "seeking affirmation of my own superiority"?.

  • assumptions  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 7:02 AM ]

    Maybe you should just stop making assumptions and name-calling, hotrod. Remember what Felix Unger said?

    Your kind of provocation may work on talk radio where the host can shout down, talk over, or simply cut off any who would challenge assumptions, fallacies, and generalizations, but it doesn't work so well in this form of written debate.

    Even so, I've noticed how you cherry-pick other people's posts, arguing only those statements that appear to fit your aggressive sarcasm and smug didacticism while ignoring well-made points that don't suit your particular style of debate.

    I honestly can't believe that you're really defending hurtful name-calling as a Constitutional right. Imagine what unkind assumptions about your character and personality someone could make based on your screen name and icon. Imagine how your friend, one the "sweetest, most genuine, and most gentle" men you knew, may have been tested each time someone insisted on calling him "Gorilla."

    I honestly can't believe you're defending hurtful name-calling with a Constitutional argument while ignoring the most basic logic of the Golden Rule.


    Last edited [1/29/09 7:04 AM]
  • I'll admit  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 8:16 AM ]

    that I don't find it too difficult to ignore YOUR scattered ramblings because to follow them is simply not worth the effort but I will try once again, - for some reason. First of all, as I have said, I never insisted on calling my friend 'Gorilla', HE insisted that he be called Gorilla, he was very proud of that moniker, and would have been insulted by any other name.

    Yes, the First Amendment to the Constitution DOES permit me a great deal of latitude in speaking my mind and, so far as I know, the "golden rule" has not been signed into legislation - yet.

    And finally, those of us who have the ability to separate fantasy from reality know that Felix Ungar was a fictitious character and never said anything.

  • I'll admit...  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 9:17 AM ]

    ...that manners, the Golden Rule, and common decency are not legislated and it's a good thing for you, hotrod, because if they were it's likely you'd be going to jail.

    I don't know "Gorilla" and I don't know "Fat Larry," but I find that there may be something to be gained from comparing your assertions with those of SpudBudd. I have seen many individuals and even entire ethnic groups take the sting out of hurtful name-calling by appropriating the terminology before it can be used against them. That doesn't mean the words are no longer hurtful; it only means that their use as a weapon is somewhat diminished. Regardless, just because someone hands you a hammer and says "hit me" doesn't mean you have to do it.

    And, yes, the Constitution allows us to say almost anything we want. That is a very, very good thing. Left-wingers and right-wingers and in-betweeners are all free to say almost anything they can think no matter how poorly reasoned or ill-advised. However, I will again say that common sense and good manners should regulate our exercising of that privilege. It would make the world a much more pleasant place and would not diminish the public discourse in the least.

  • I had a friend  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 9:24 AM ]

    named Mascot. We called him that because he was very short. We would take pictures of him holding objects that were slightly larger than normal like a jumbo sized bottle of Heinz ketchup. Good times.

  • Why, Indeed ?  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 10:50 AM ]

    when my comments have been honored by red stars on this website, I feel gratified as well as somewhat amused knowing, as I do, that the site is dominated by far left liberals, commie pinkos, lazy welfare recipients, and pie-in-the-sky Socialists and that I am very much the hamhock in the bouillabaisse. Admittedly, a position that I enjoy occupying.Hey, why would anyone call himself SPUDBUDD? Should I assume you resemble a potato or would that make me guilty of "seeking affirmation of my own superiority"?.

    Maybe someone w/ an attachment to Idaho?

    Why would one self-apply the appellation "hot rod"? Got one? Think you are one? Wish you had one? Is it your porn site screen name? Maybe it's to reference your penchant for flaming?

    My original observation stands.

    But thanks for the detour.

  • Gee, thanks for asking.  [ Thu Jan 29 2009 7:16 PM ]

    I was beginning to think nobody ever would. A hotrod is a souped up, revved up sports car and, by extension, a souped up revved up guy. A guy with style, unique, one of a kind that stands out and apart from the crowd! A car, (or a guy), with a big motor, big wheels, and lots of chrome that goes fast and sticks to the road like glue. He laughs at danger and flaunts authority. That's what a hotrod is.

    Alternatively. It's a guy with a big dick. ............................ Or, maybe both.

    an attachment to Idaho?

    ???? Really? Bo-ring.


    Last edited [1/29/09 7:17 PM]
  • not the name I would expect from..  [ Fri Jan 30 2009 8:11 AM ]

    ..someone who is so shy!

  • Okay Sloppy  [ Fri Jan 30 2009 2:01 PM ]

    Your turn. Explain yourself. Sloppy eater? Sloppy dresser? Drool a lot? An attachment to Idaho? What?

  • Habit  [ Fri Jan 30 2009 2:41 PM ]

    The name was hilarious when I was 14 years old, and out of habit my fingers have been typing it at login prompts since then.

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