# So does this Mallard Fillmore have his head completely lodged up his ass or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 7, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477 "2004-09-07T12:39:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/1 "2004-09-07T12:39:42Z")
I’ve always read the comics in the newspaper, ever since I was a kid. I got addicted by brilliant strips like Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side. For some reason, I still read the comics, although there really isn’t one that does it for me anymore. One comic has stood out though, not only as unfunny, but as relentlessly whiny. That comic is **Mallard Fillmore**. Sunday’s installment was a treat. An exasperated Mallard was watching the news, and the reporters were going on and on about how there was no bump after the convention. It flipped between several talking heads, all mentioning the same thing: no bump, no bump, no bump. Finally the last frame elaborates that they’re saying there was no bump in the TV news ratings, so next election they’ll be showing repeats of The Bachelor instead. Huh? 😕 So is he… [ol][li]saying that the “liberal media” isn’t reporting Bush received a post-convention bump? If so, he has completely lost it. I barely watched the news last week and I know more about Bush’s double-digit lead than anything. [/li][li]saying that Americans aren’t doing their duty by watching the conventions? Please. Does he get upset when people “Tivo” through the commercials during The Simpsons too? [/li][li]saying nothing at all; his head is too far up his ass to communicate. [/ol]The strip’s website is entertaining. Here’s a quote: [/li] > [@](#): > > Tinsley created Mallard for what he saw as the conservative underdog. The strip is for “the average person out there: the forgotten American taxpayer who’s sick of the liberal media and cultural establishments that act like he or she doesn’t exist,” he says. Yeah it’s tough for conservatives these days. I’d hate to only be able to rely on my local government, all three branches of the federal government, and the media to push my agenda. I think I’m becoming an angry white male. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/2 "2004-09-07T13:18:32Z")
It sounds like a joke about the narcissism of the media, more than anything, done through a play on the double-usage of “bump”. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/3 "2004-09-07T15:13:12Z")
Cross Doonesbury with the Family Circus, then lobotomize it, and you get Mallard Fillmore. That comic sucks something awful. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/4 "2004-09-07T16:29:23Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Sunday’s installment was a treat. An exasperated Mallard was watching the news, and the reporters were going on and on about how there was no bump after the convention. It flipped between several talking heads, all mentioning the same thing: no bump, no bump, no bump. Finally the last frame elaborates that they’re saying there was no bump in the TV news ratings, so next election they’ll be showing repeats of The Bachelor instead. > > Huh? 😕 So is he…saying that the “liberal media” isn’t reporting Bush received a post-convention bump? If so, he has completely lost it. I barely watched the news last week and I know more about Bush’s double-digit lead than anything. I believe that there is some delay between when a cartoon is drawn and sent in to the syndicate and when the strip is actually published. It seems more likely to me that he is talking about the aftereffects of the DNC. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/5 "2004-09-07T17:01:28Z")
Any chance of a link to the comic in question? I looked for it but couldn’t find a site that would give me anything other than today’s or the 08/24/04 comic. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/6 "2004-09-07T17:09:27Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > Cross Doonesbury with the Family Circus, then lobotomize it, and you get Mallard Fillmore. You forgot: Repeat the same _exact_ “joke” at least 3 days in a row. I don’t understand how the guy gets paid for a daily strip when he only comes up with two new ideas a week. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/7 "2004-09-07T17:48:54Z")
Yeah, Mallard Fillmore is awful. I’m convinced that most papers keep it to balance out Doonesbury and The Boondocks. Isn’t there a, ya know, funny right leaning cartoon out there? I would love to see it. Then again, it isn’t all bad. There was one from about late spring in which John Kerry attempted to find a message and came up with “I have half the carbs of my opponet.” That made me smile a little. Too bad “The Onion” did that joke a month before he did. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/8 "2004-09-07T18:55:48Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I believe that there is some delay between when a cartoon is drawn and sent in to the syndicate and when the strip is actually published. It seems more likely to me that he is talking about the aftereffects of the DNC. On the other hand, perhaps he _anticipated_ the media would not report a “bump”, or actually did receive reports that there was no bump (which would of course assume it is not pre-written), or the author could simply not care. I also did not see the strip in question, but it seems to me that the message the cartoon was **trying** to convey was: – There was _indeed_ a post-convention Bush bump – The “liberal media” failed to report this – Your “common folk” realize this, and tune out the liberal media due to “biased reporting”, causing the sweet revenge of their programs being cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/9 "2004-09-07T20:24:36Z")
Like Dennis Miller, **Mallard Fillmore** proves that being conservative kills teh funny. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/10 "2004-09-07T20:58:20Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Like Dennis Miller, **Mallard Fillmore** proves that being conservative kills teh funny. P. J. ORourke would like a word with you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/11 "2004-09-08T01:32:18Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > P. J. ORourke would like a word with you. I remember him. He used to be funny, like Dennis Miller. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/12 "2004-09-08T01:43:25Z")
> [@Wolfian](#): > > Isn’t there a, ya know, funny right leaning cartoon out there? I would love to see it. _The Rocky Mountain News_ just started running one called (I think) Prickly City. It’s showing signs of sometimes being funny. They took advantage and rearranged the comics so all the political ones are together now. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/13 "2004-09-08T01:55:37Z")
The strip is so pathetically lame that sometimes I wonder if its continued existence isn’t actually proof of liberal media bias. It’s like setting up a foreign policy debate where your side is argued by McGeorge Bundy, while the opposition gets represented by that slow kid from Burger King who’s not allowed to touch the deep-fryer. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/14 "2004-09-08T02:06:08Z")
Here in Pittsburgh, the _Tribune-Review_ puts MF on its editorial page. (Of course, the editor is one Colin McNickle, the guy to whom Theresa Heinz told to “shove it”) ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/15 "2004-09-08T03:08:37Z")
I think that there are probably a larger number of right-wing humorists than you realize, but they just don’t make politics a part of their shtick. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/16 "2004-09-08T03:16:44Z")
Nobody’s mentioned the fact that the strips tend to be at least 75% words with very little drawing (and never any action). Remember when the comics used to be a visual medium? ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/17 "2004-09-08T03:18:43Z")
A lot of that has to do with that limited space given to comics nowadays. Breathed did a great series about this with his characters going on strike way back when. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/18 "2004-09-08T04:13:08Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > I think that there are probably a larger number of right-wing humorists than you realize, but they just don’t make politics a part of their shtick. Then they’re simply humorists, no? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/19 "2004-09-08T04:38:46Z")
Sad thing is, Bruce Tinsley is one of the few genuinely gifted caricaturists in the comics business. Unlike 4th rate artists like Garry Trudeau (who fools no one by using the WHite House or an asterisk or a waffle to represent presidents! Face it, Garry, your arts SUCKS, and you resort to gimmicks because you couldn’t draw a halfway decent caricature if your life depended on it!), Tinsley is an excellent cartoonist. Unfortunately, he never has anything funny to say. I AGREE with Tinsley on most issues, and he STILL never makes me smile, let alone laugh. Tinsley is a lot like Tom Tomorrow, in that regard. He seems to think that humor is unnecesssary, that a strip is brilliants as long as it expresses the proper sentiments. And sadly, both Tinsley and Tomorrow undoubtedly have hordes of fans who feel their views are underrepresented, and are SO delighted that there’s ONE strip out their expressing their views, they’ll actually pretend that the stupid duck and the stupid penguin are funny. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477/20 "2004-09-08T04:57:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Unlike 4th rate artists like Garry Trudeau (who fools no one by using the WHite House or an asterisk or a waffle to represent presidents! Face it, Garry, your arts SUCKS, and you resort to gimmicks because you couldn’t draw a halfway decent caricature if your life depended on it!) Longtime _Newsweek_ readers might remember a 1988 cover drawn by Trudeau showing Bush41 and Michael Dukakis in a mudslinging match; the only time (as far as I know) that he drew recognizable images of either man, and certainly one of the very few times he drew a real person. He _can_ draw caricatures but has chosen not to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-does-this-mallard-fillmore-have-his-head-completely-lodged-up-his-ass-or-what/263477.md?page=2)