Artist: Tom Toles
Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize, Toles is a famed political cartoonist for the Washington Post.
Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize, Toles is a famed political cartoonist for the Washington Post.
Summary:
In light of the recent elections, the Republican party looks to bury Obama publicly. The guillotine, a form of public execution most known for its prevalence during the French Revolution, is the very kind of humiliating and thorough defeat opponents of the Obama administration would like to see. With greater possibilities of communication due to television, this will attract every kind of public attention. At the bottom, it says there is an olive branch in the basket, a sign of peace. The cartoon makes it clear that the opposing party is not willing to collaborate or compromise. If Obama is gullible enough to believe they will offer the olive branch mentioned at the bottom, he will bring an end to his career.
In light of the recent elections, the Republican party looks to bury Obama publicly. The guillotine, a form of public execution most known for its prevalence during the French Revolution, is the very kind of humiliating and thorough defeat opponents of the Obama administration would like to see. With greater possibilities of communication due to television, this will attract every kind of public attention. At the bottom, it says there is an olive branch in the basket, a sign of peace. The cartoon makes it clear that the opposing party is not willing to collaborate or compromise. If Obama is gullible enough to believe they will offer the olive branch mentioned at the bottom, he will bring an end to his career.
Analysis:
IN the context of the upcoming elections, this cartoon offers a reason for the political deadlock that has continued during the Obama administration. The purpose is to portray the cause for the president’s hesitation, and the underlying motives for the Republicans who wish to bury him. He looks resigned, significantly smaller than his towering opponent. His is bent over in submission, seemingly resigning to his fate in 2012. Dressed more plainly than his lavishly robed counterpart, he is shown to have very little choice in his fate. Unless he accepts the Republicans and submits to implementing some of their ideas, they will make sure he is brought down brutally and publically. If he does agree to collaborate, the cartoon shows that all their ideas have one goal in mind: not helping the American people, but eliminating their elected head.
IN the context of the upcoming elections, this cartoon offers a reason for the political deadlock that has continued during the Obama administration. The purpose is to portray the cause for the president’s hesitation, and the underlying motives for the Republicans who wish to bury him. He looks resigned, significantly smaller than his towering opponent. His is bent over in submission, seemingly resigning to his fate in 2012. Dressed more plainly than his lavishly robed counterpart, he is shown to have very little choice in his fate. Unless he accepts the Republicans and submits to implementing some of their ideas, they will make sure he is brought down brutally and publically. If he does agree to collaborate, the cartoon shows that all their ideas have one goal in mind: not helping the American people, but eliminating their elected head.
Rhetorical Devices:
Contrast: Obama and his president seem polar opposites. Not only are they in very separate positions, one of power dictating the execution and one in the weak position of receiving the sentence, they are not even the same species. Obama is represented as human, dressed modestly, looking indecisive and submissive. The other is a towering elephant with tusks, dressed lavishly and appearing to be anything but human.
Symbolism: Other than the obvious symbolism, such as the olive branch representing and offering of peace or the elephant representing the Republican party, there are other symbols as well. The most prominent of which is the basket. The elephant says it contains work they’d like Obama to fill, but it was only created to hold his head. A system of interwoven ideas, accepting any one predicts the fate of Obama. Relatively old fashioned, the use of a basket may also represent a regressive form of governmental shift.
Irony: Like most political cartoons, this one is satirical. It shows that behind the public face of smooth political transition and protection of the public interest, the goal of the Republican party is personal and powerful. The leader of the nation has no choice but to submit to the losing political party, and the offering of the olive branch in fact results in a violent overthrow and a political suicide. 
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