# Please explain this Onion editorial cartoon. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416 "2008-08-27T14:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/21 "2008-08-28T16:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] I don’t understand. What’s clever about celebrating the banal? [/QUOTE] Oops, I misread the post. I thought it was saying the Cartoonist was criticizing people who celebrate the banal. But now that I’ve read it again, it still doesn’t seem right. The Cartoonist is the type who would never celebrate anything the Democratic Party has to offer. If they seem to be offering mom and apple pie, he’ll find a way to make it look hypocritical. I think. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/22 "2008-08-28T17:23:52Z")
I tried to form my own guess before reading other posters opinions. I thought the cartoonist was trying to imply that he/she thought that the convention was a meaningless show. All props, no substance. As pointless as a beauty pageant. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/23 "2008-08-28T17:55:20Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] I thought the cartoonist was trying to imply that he/she thought that the convention was a meaningless show. All props, no substance. As pointless as a beauty pageant. [/QUOTE] That would be a good guess if this were a _real_ cartoon. In the fictional world of the Onion cartoonist, however, irony is unknown. When he approves of something, the Statue of Liberty cheers (or in this case, cries a tear of joy.) When he disapproves, she weeps. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/24 "2008-08-28T18:10:28Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] That would be a good guess if this were a _real_ cartoon. In the fictional world of the Onion cartoonist, however, irony is unknown. When he approves of something, the Statue of Liberty cheers (or in this case, cries a tear of joy.) When he disapproves, she weeps. [/QUOTE] Hmm. Ok, thanks. I am not an Onion regular. EDIT: I went through the last couple months cartoons… Holy Crap! Not a very subtle cartoonist… ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/25 "2008-08-28T18:19:35Z")
Maybe the cartoonist is merely thrilled to see capital “D” democracy in action… Or approves of the attention politics is finally getting this cycle… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/26 "2008-08-28T18:20:08Z")
Why do these painfully unfunny cartoons repetitively featuring the blatant political agenda of the cartoonist remind me of Mallard Filmore? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/27 "2008-08-28T18:46:14Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] Maybe the cartoonist is merely thrilled to see capital “D” democracy in action… Or approves of the attention politics is finally getting this cycle… [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Laughing Lagomorph] Why do these painfully unfunny cartoons repetitively featuring the blatant political agenda of the cartoonist remind me of Mallard Filmore? 🙂 [/QUOTE] You guys should check out the link in post #19. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/28 "2008-08-28T18:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] You guys should check out the link in post #19. [/QUOTE] I don’t see how that link helps explain this cartoon. I’m already familiar with the Onion Cartoonist character, and I don’t understand the cartoon. The people the Cartoonist is a lampoon of wouldn’t say what the Cartoonist is saying about what he is saying it about, but to interpret the cartoon any other way would be to interpret the Cartoonist as understanding irony, and that’s contrary to his character. I’m in the"Not getting it" camp. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/29 "2008-08-28T19:39:57Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] You guys should check out the link in post #19. [/QUOTE] Ignoring for a moment the cartoon linked in the OP, and mentioning that I have never until today seen any of the Onion editorial cartoons: As I understand it from a quick review of several of them the Onion editorial cartoons normally spoof painfully unfunny editorial cartoons that repetitively feature the blatant political agenda of the cartoonist. They do this by running painfully unfunny editorial cartoons that repetitively feature the blatant political agenda of the cartoonist, only the cartoonist doesn’t realize that he is unfunny, he thinks he is witty and his observations are trenchant. My only point was that I felt like I was reading Mallard Filmore (which I dislike, not because of its political agenda per se, but because that agenda is so blatantly and repetitively featured in an unfunny comic strip that its creator thinks is witty and trenchant). Does that make more sense? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/30 "2008-08-28T19:54:25Z")
In the Hummer cartoon ( [http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/aug-11-2008](http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/aug-11-2008) ), Lady Liberty has tears (apparently distressed), and the cartoonist has a frown. He appears to have a negative opinion of GM selling off that line of vehicle. In the Beer to Belgium cartoon ( [The Onion | America's Finest News Source.](http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/jul-21-2008) ), Lady Liberty is distressed (with tears), and the cartoonist has a frown. The dude is annoyed with another US product moving overseas. In this portrayal of eco-zealots ( [The Onion | America's Finest News Source.](http://www.theonion.com/content/cartoon/jul-02-2008) ), Lady Liberty is distressed (with tears), possibly at the overt hostility of the eco-crowd, the catoonist is frowing. However, in the OP’s cartoon, the Lady Liberty has tears coming from her eyes (indicating distress, despite the strained smile on her “beauty pageant” face), yet the cartoonist fellow in the lower right seems happy. It’s definately confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/31 "2008-08-28T20:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] However, in the OP’s cartoon, the Lady Liberty has tears coming from her eyes (indicating distress, despite the strained smile on her “beauty pageant” face) [/quote] No, that’s her “tears of joy” aspect, which is usually shown in celebration of some kind of right-wing victory. The only thing I could come up with is that Kelly is so shallow that he sentimentally capitulates to superficial trappings of his notion of patriotism. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/32 "2008-08-28T20:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=TommyTutone] I am fairly certain that the editor is making fun of editorial comics, rather than stating his own belief. [/quote] He’s making fun of right-wing opinionists, specifically. > [@](#): > > With that in mind, I think the current comic is just making the point that Democrats are awesome and that Lady Liberty would be a democrat if she was an actual person. If this is the case, then this is a radical about-face for the Kelly persona. Usually, anything the Democrats do is depicted in a negative light. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/33 "2008-08-28T20:17:40Z")
Maybe he’s saying we’d all be winners if the Democrats loved America that much. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/34 "2008-08-28T20:23:40Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] He’s making fun of right-wing opinionists, specifically. [/QUOTE] So, your saying the Cartoonist dude in the lower right is actually a _caricature_ of right wing editorialist/carttonists, as well. (Like Colbert is a caricature of O’Reilly.) :smack: Sorry I am so slow today. I haven’t eaten yet. Blood sugar out of whack. Yeah… that’s it… ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/35 "2008-09-03T08:05:12Z")
Update: he has drawn _exactly_ the same cartoon for the Republican convention, but with “Democratic” changed to “Republican” and an elephant suit on the presenter instead of a donkey suit. I think this is supposed to be the simpleton cartoonist’s way of celebrating the democratic process. On the other hand, compare this one from a couple of years back: > **[The Onion | America's Finest News Source.](https://www.theonion.com/)** > > The Onion brings you all of the latest news, stories, photos, videos and more from America's finest news source. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/36 "2008-09-03T09:20:59Z")
Yeah it makes more sense with the second cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/37 "2008-09-03T09:58:51Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > Update: he has drawn _exactly_ the same cartoon for the Republican convention, but with “Democratic” changed to “Republican” and an elephant suit on the presenter instead of a donkey suit. > > I think this is supposed to be the simpleton cartoonist’s way of celebrating the democratic process. Yes, exactly. Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/38 "2008-09-03T12:06:37Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Yeah it makes more sense with the second cartoon. I was going to write that it took you guys one heck of a long time to click on that second cartoon and get the joke, but then I realized the second cartoon only came out this Monday, and the thread started the previous Wednesday. I just came upon this thread today, with both cartoons present, and couldn’t understand your confusion. Sometimes the Onion amazes me – make readers wait a whole week to get the second half of the joke. Have they ever pulled that one before? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/39 "2008-09-03T12:15:36Z")
> [@Lunar\_Saltlick](#): > > I was going to write that it took you guys one heck of a long time to click on that second cartoon and get the joke, but then I realized the second cartoon only came out this Monday, and the thread started the previous Wednesday. I just came upon this thread today, with both cartoons present, and couldn’t understand your confusion. Sometimes the Onion amazes me – make readers wait a whole week to get the second half of the joke. Have they ever pulled that one before? To the best of my knowledge, not in the cartoons section. I usually enjoy the crude politicking but I found the initial cartoon in this duo perplexing and not in the least bit funny. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416/40 "2008-09-03T13:41:34Z")
Huh? Of course it was funny! The cartoonist isn’t just a caricature of a generic right-wing attack dog. He’s a caricature of all those political cartoonists that have hung on for decades who often have bizarre idiosyncratic points of view. He’s not a right-winger, he’s a jingoist xenophobe. He loves america, and that includes both republicans and democrats and OJ Simpson too: [The Onion | America's Finest News Source.](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55538) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-onion-editorial-cartoon/461416.md?page=3)