Today's editorial cartoon is a bit of cheat. I wasn't too pleased with the previous Volpe cartoon I had created yesterday so I modified an older local cartoon to comment on the current membership irregularities plaguing the federal Liberal party thanks to the Joe Volpe leadership campaign.

The original cartoon, published in November 2005, commented on an issue related to a local yokel on Hamilton's city council. Thinking I did a pretty good illustration, I thought it would be alright to alter the theme in order to share it with audiences outside Hamilton. Here's the earlier version:

Subtitle: Or, how to draw a really bad editorial cartoon

Iran's Mahmoud Amadinejad berates George Bush and world diplomacy in his U.N. speech, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez calls George Bush the devil during his own address to the U.N. General Assembly, outrage continues among the Islamic world regarding Pope Benedict's condemnation of holy wars, the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis is delayed due to mysterious space debris flying around close by, the head of the CBC is canned for suggesting Bestiality is legal in Lebanon, and that defecation is one of life's greatest joys... and what do I draw on?... the Hungarian riots. Yes, I blew an opportunity to pick from a bevy of several juicy issues to focus on a pretty obscure story from yesterday's newspapers. Just when it was looking like things were gaining momentum I check the headlines this morning only to read ones like this: UPDATE 4-Hungary opposition calls off weekend rally, and Small radical fringe behind violence at Hungarian protest . I suppose my thinking was to be ahead of everyone else just as revolution was unravelling in the streets of Budapest. To get the first cartoon comparing the angry mobs against the Hungarian PM, against whatever anger remains among Ontarians against Dalton McGuinty for broken promises and added taxes. Boy, do I ever look like an idiot.

Combo cartoons are risky executions, and with my 'I'm-still-mad-at-McGuinty-for-the-health-premiums" attitude, the cartoon comes off pretty out-there, pretty contrived. Wanna know what the original caption would've read like had I gone with it? It would've said, "I hereby order all paprika off store shelves across Ontario effective immediately." Yeah, pretty bad. What's worse is having to throw in a newspaper with wordy headlines to explain the story. The wordier a cartoon is the less people are going to read.

Without the reference to Dalton the cartoon could be considered for publications in places like, Budapest, but with the Dalton reference it'll go nowhere... except the Hamilton Spectator, and there must be a lot huhs? being uttered and head scratching going on right now in the Hamilton area. Still, I throw it out through my syndicate for whichever paper wants to run it.

Picking subjects to cartoon about is a tricky thing. I wrote in an earlier entry about how the summer silly season makes it a bit challenging to pin down a topical subject that's the current talk of the water cooler circles. I took this Monday off leaving some delicious issues to bake and grow stale...and then become fresh again (after I initially thought the issue was long past expired.) So drawing cartoons is a balance between covering the different levels of news goings-on, i.e. world, national, provincial, and local stuff, and being sure not to miss the really topical news stories of the day. The big story may not gel for a few days, so it's easy to get ahead of yourself by cartooning too early, or missing the the story altogether in case the story gets overtaken by other events. What I've got to keep reminding myself is that I can't cover everything. By missing one day in the news cycle, however, you can't help getting upsep when good news stories come and go.

Today I face a whole list of great stories I can draw on, but the trick is figuring out which one will appeal to a broad audience and have the most shelf life. The Muslim world vs. Pope Benedict XVI issue continues to go on. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ranted in front of the U.N. last night, and Stephen Harper appears tomorrow. The Chairman of the CBC quit his job for a rather comedic reason, and the Liberal leadership race goes on with some interest which I haven't had the opportunity to comment on since early June.

A photographic essay of Peter Mackay and Condoleezza Rice's Tim Horton's Odyssey.

Peter: "I'm thinking about a double chocolate glazed donut."

Condi: "I'm wondering about the cream filled eclair."

Peter: "Perhaps it's best if we stick to coffee for the time being."

Condi: "Yeah, let's get out of here, this cup is burning my palm."

Condi: "ha ha... ha ha... get me out of here now!"

Condi: "Maybe next time I'm in Pictou I can drop by your apartment to see your beanie baby collection, but right now I really have to run."

Secret Service: "Not so close, Tubbo."

Condi: "Get me back to Washington now."

Condi: "Much better."

The above cartoon relates to the resolutions passed and debated during the past weekend policy conference of the New Democratic party. A colleague at work raises a good question -- Is the stupid gas actually being pumped into the convention centre, or is the truck actually harvesting stupid gas from the assembled dippers? When drawing the cartoon my intention was to assume the gas was dumbing down reasonably intelligent delegates. The notion of stupid gas being collected from an assembly of already stupid people, whom happen to be NDP'ers, is a little harsh... yet still funny.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Spectator's cartoonist has missed the mark.

Had someone really been pumping "stupid gas" into the NDP convention, party leader Jack Layton would have praised Prime Minister Stephen Harper for providing exemplary leadership and U.S. President George W. Bush for defending democracy against terrorism. Now that's stupid!

— Geoff Ondercin-Bourne, Ancaster

* * * * * * * * * *

Jack Layton and the delegates to the NDP national convention are anything but stupid! I presume your cartoonist is taking exception, in his own childish way, to the convention decision demanding Canadian troops be withdrawn from Afghanistan, which, by the way, is the majority opinion of Canadians according to recent opinion polls.

The delegates, of whom one was my son, have the integrity to stand up and speak loudly against the injustice of invading and occupying a country that has done absolutely nothing to harm us. That war is illegal, immoral and unwinnable. If your cartoonist is looking for stupidity, he should check out the prime minister's office because the decision to sacrifice the lives of young Canadian soldiers for U.S. President George W. Bush's stupid dream of empire was made there.

By taking this bold decision, the NDP has made itself the only real parliamentary opposition in this country. Canadians who wish to see peace, justice and an independent foreign policy would be wise, not stupid, to support the NDP in the next election.

— Kathryn Basham, Hamilton

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ARTICLE EXCERPT OF OUTRAGE

From the leftist website Raise the Hammer:

"The war in Afghanistan, and Canada's evolving role in it, is anything but clear-cut.

Unfortunately, people like [columnist Andrew] Dreschel and Graeme McKay [sic], whose recent editorial cartoon had the NDP breathing "stupid gas" for its principled opposition to the war, would rather shout down that opposition than engage in a productive debate.

Ironically, the inevitable result of ignorance is dumbed-down policy that's immune to the facts."

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BLOGS OF OUTRAGE

More irate, albeit stoned people at the Cannibus Culture Forum forgetting that I've been their biggest hero in the past by glorifying several of their pot activists. Anything but mellow reaction from the commentators!