[SoldierDad]

Who wrote the Porkulus bill? Was it Obamasiah? Or, wasn't it Pelosi and a handful of other dimocRATS? Methinks Al Sharpton et al are just looking for any conservative to skewer for any reason they can contrive.

[cll]

“Some people take their funnies too seriously”

(Obscure Calvin and Hobbes quote)

[A_Former_Democrat]

Darling, don’t you monkey with the monkey
Monkey, monkey, monkey
Don’t you know you’re going to shock the monkey

Shock! - watch the monkey get hurt, monkey

Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey
Shock the monkey to life

[ExTxMarine]

Bottom line is that CONGRESS wrote this piece-o-crap, NOT President Obama.

Anyone, and I MEAN ANYONE, who sees this as racist is plain and simply trying to deflect criticism away from the real problems within this stupid law!

[doodad]

Even as a kid, I thought that if blacks are so incensed about being depicted as monkeys don’t they then think that they DO look like monkeys?

I don’t think humans look like monkeys.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"Some cartoonists (Ben Sargent of The Austin American-Statesman and Steve Bell of the Guardian in Britain, for example) consistently drew George W. Bush as a monkey. The cartoonists all chose to draw Bush with big monkey ears and a huge, monkey-like upper lip, so drawing Bush as a monkey was a natural progression. Now the cartoonists are all drawing Obama with similar, big monkey ears and we’re starting to hear complaints from readers about how we draw Obama’s lips. Presidents get shorter in cartoons if they don’t perform well — and chimps are short."

Apparently pointing out that he looks like a chimp or monkey is considered racist, whereas the Bush cartoons were not because Bush is a caucasian. Bush's Tourette's tics were exploited to suggest that when he curls his lip up he looked like a chimpanzee. As political cartoons go that seemed harmless. It's not clear the chimp cartoon about the stimulus bill was intended in any racist sense. But they will trouble stopping people from seeing the similarity. During the campaign someone had made a Curious George T-shirt which also drew protests, presumably for suggesting a resemblance to Obama, perhaps because of the ears. Some of those are posted online:

It seems fair enough for the media to observe the guidelines and avoid cartoons with apes, chimps, or monkeys. But that probably will not stop it from happening or from people noticing a resemblance.

[martin_fierro]

I’d suggest that every cartoonist should make a list of every racial stereotype to avoid regarding African-Americans, and assume that every cartoon will be considered to be a metaphor for Obama — then go through the check list before putting pen to paper, like a pilot goes through a check list before taking off in his plane.

Yeah, just like they did during their depictions of Bush.

What a moron this guy is.

[popdonnelly]

The chimp in the cartoon is only a chimp. Without racial indignation, Al Sharpton would be nowhere.

[Yaelle]

Cartoonists would have an easy time if they just remember these rules:

1. Humor can take license to spoof people's looks and idiosyncrasies so cartoonists are free to mock and needle as long as it's for cartoonish effect

2. In this country we have full freedom of speech and expression

3. Do not portray Obama in any type of a negative fashion at all no matter what.

If these guidelines are followed, nothing bad will happen to any cartoonist, all addresses of which are known to the federal government.

[Islander7]

I ain't ugly, I'm a good looking monkey.

[IYAS9YAS]

Funny. I took the ‘toon to mean that one of the “thousand chimps typing on a thousand typewriters” was shot for being out of control (like the pet). I didn’t take it as a jab at Obama, but comparing congress to a bunch of out of control chimps typing away for a stimulus bill.

[ReagansShinyHair]

What is up with monkeys being off limits? That’s crap. I call my son “monkey” all the time.

[Post Toasties]

Only an idiot would think the monkey in that cartoon represented 0bama. It represented a chimp that attacked a friend of its owner. Besides, 0bama didn’t write Porkulus. Thirdly, chimpanzees have white skin. Therefore, the racists are the people getting upset over the cartoon.

[Lancey Howard]