We can all appreciate a well-timed zinger in a political cartoon, but when one distorts the facts way beyond reality, it is nothing more than propaganda.
Such is the case with a cartoon in “The Gallery” in the Feb. 12 Tribune, which displayed an obese gent labeled “Deficit” tipping the scale at a weight-reduction clinic. On the left is George W. Bush advising, “Eat less. Exercise more.” To his right is the Democratic donkey insisting, “Buy bigger clothes!”
The implication is clear: Somehow the Democratic Party is responsible for our ever-expanding deficits.
Here’s a news flash: The Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress for quite some time, and Bush eschews the veto pen to cut profligate spending. The last president to leave money in the till was Bill Clinton.
For years, the Republican mantra was that Democrats were “tax-and-spend liberals.” Today the blame should be placed where it belongs: on tax-cut-and-borrow Republicans.
