# FDR column: Is Slug just phoning it in now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 20, 2016, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394 "2016-08-20T09:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/1 "2016-08-20T09:14:18Z")
If it wasn’t for the signature, I would swear Little Ed tried to slip in one of his kid’s scrawlings as the cartoon for the column on FDR’s disability: > **[Did Americans know FDR couldn’t walk?](https://www.straightdope.com/21344392/did-americans-know-fdr-couldn-t-walk)** No wit, no sex, just some microphones, a leg brace and a wheelchair. Huh? And why he used a caricature of [Warren Buffet](https://www.google.com/search?q=warren+buffett.&num=50&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJtt_l08_OAhUH7B4KHSgVDtEQiR4IngM&biw=1600&bih=765), I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/2 "2016-08-20T09:26:22Z")
He has been illustrating the columns for over 40 years… ---
**Author:** ![MHaye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@MHaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaye)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/3 "2016-08-20T09:59:22Z")
This looks a little out of place. Reported. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/4 "2016-08-20T12:08:39Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > If it wasn’t for the signature, I would swear Little Ed tried to slip in one of his kid’s scrawlings as the cartoon for the column on FDR’s disability: > > [Did Americans know FDR couldn’t walk? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3302/did-americans-know-fdr-couldn-t-walk) > > No wit, no sex, just some microphones, a leg brace and a wheelchair. Huh? > > And why he used a caricature of [Warren Buffet](https://www.google.com/search?q=warren+buffett.&num=50&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJtt_l08_OAhUH7B4KHSgVDtEQiR4IngM&biw=1600&bih=765), I’ll never know. I thought it was Harry Truman. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/5 "2016-08-20T20:11:51Z")
I see the wit, I think. He’s got robotic legs making him look like a short guy instead of a guy in a wheelchair. Hence hiding his disability status. But it does look weird. I’ve never seen him draw a normal looking face. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/6 "2016-08-20T21:57:09Z")
It looks to me like a cropped version of a larger cartoon. The artist’s signature is huge (and incomplete), and the lines look thicker and less sharp than usual. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/7 "2016-08-20T22:15:39Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > He has been illustrating the columns for over 40 years… 40 years of awesome. So what’s up with this stinker? > [@MHaye](#): > > This looks a little out of place. Reported. Say what? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/8 "2016-08-20T22:56:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Is Slug just phoning it in now? What do you mean, now? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/9 "2016-08-20T23:17:54Z")
It’s different, to be sure, but I like it. He’s doing normal portrait art, and that’s an interesting variation from his usual extreme caricature style. How many of us could draw this well? ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/10 "2016-08-20T23:34:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I see the wit, I think. He’s got robotic legs making him look like a short guy instead of a guy in a wheelchair. Hence hiding his disability status. > > But it does look weird. I’ve never seen him draw a normal looking face. I think those are supposed to be his braces, not robotic legs. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/11 "2016-08-20T23:38:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I thought it was Harry Truman. Why would he depict Truman with leg braces and a wheel chair? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/12 "2016-08-21T01:15:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Say what? This should be in Comments on Cecil’s Columns/Staff Reports. It is not About This Message Board, but about a column on the main site. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/13 "2016-08-21T01:50:08Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from About This Message Board to Comments on Cecil’s Columns/Staff Reports. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/14 "2016-08-21T01:54:54Z")
Thread about the column itself: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=801907](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=801907) As I said there, FWIW, I thought at first that Slug had drawn Steve Jobs. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/15 "2016-08-21T02:03:23Z")
From the other thread: > [@Did Americans Know That FDR Couldn't Walk?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-americans-know-that-fdr-couldnt-walk/763288/13): > > I was thinking Woodrow Wilson. > > [http://i.emlfiles1.com/cmpimg/5/9/3/8/1/1/files/735924\_dope\_160812\_fdr\_mailing1.gif](http://i.emlfiles1.com/cmpimg/5/9/3/8/1/1/files/735924_dope_160812_fdr_mailing1.gif) It looks like his drawing isn’t sized correctly to fit on the column page. There it should be scaled equally in width and height, but for some reason it’s just been squashed, then truncated on the right. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/16 "2016-08-21T02:06:07Z")
If you “view image” on the graphic on the column page, you get this. [http://www.straightdope.com/images/art/2016/dope\_160812\_FDR\_online.gif](http://www.straightdope.com/images/art/2016/dope_160812_FDR_online.gif) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/17 "2016-08-21T02:12:07Z")
“FDR column: Is Slug just phoning it in now?” What would make this more in his style? Eleanor getting it on with a woman in the background? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/18 "2016-08-22T17:57:12Z")
I thought that was Chevy Chase, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/19 "2016-08-22T18:04:32Z")
> [@](#): > > What would make this more in his style? Eleanor getting it on with a woman in the background? Well, yes, but the penmanship also seems to be different, as though it were drawn with a different implement than whatever his usual is. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394/20 "2016-08-26T15:39:14Z")
Slug’s [back](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3303/how-long-have-adult-diapers-been-around) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fdr-column-is-slug-just-phoning-it-in-now/763394.md?page=2)