Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's announcement that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant opened cries from both sides of the aisle about what news is legitimate to cover in a presidential campaign.
Detail of Daryl Cagle's cartoon that is causing a stir among readers and newspaper editors.: (click image for full cartoon)Daryl Cagle, the editorial cartoonist for MSNBC.com and owner of the Cagle Cartoons syndicate, entered the fray unintentionally with a cartoon he filed yesterday.
"The cartoon isn't about the daughter, it is about the Palin's opposition to birth control and sex education in schools, and her 'abstinence only' stance," Cagle says on his blog, in response to some editors claims that he was "over the line" by including Palin's pregnant daughter in the cartoon.
Of course, several readers have chimed in on the cartoon, ranging from "well said!" to "wasn't Chelsea off limits?"
One commentator with the screen name 'Carole' wrote, "To think that you can just tell girls to not have sex, and that they will follow that, is ludicrous."
Another reader named 'ITB Conservative' wondered "would the media have created a feeding frenzy were it Sen. Obama or Sen. Biden's daughter?"
"Social conservatives like to make the point that 'abstinence' as birth control 'always works,'" Cagle says in response to critics, "but realists can see that 'abstinence-only' sex education works only as well as it did with Palin's daughter."
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More from Politicker.com editorial cartoonist Rob Tornoe:
they are all fair game...but
they are all fair game...but it is just another distraction from all the real issues...politics are too complicated and boring for most Americans...the MSM has turned the presidential campaign and the news in general into a reality show...
They are bringing up family, the Downs Syndrome Baby, etc. ....
My thoughts are that the Palin pick actually works so that McCain can create a stir and take the spotlight off of the great speech Obama delivered the night before.
All the controversy then distracts the sheep from looking at the REAL issues, like the unjust war in Iraq, the already political scandals that are allowed and overlooked like appointments of judges, Bush admin. types refusing to testify and in contempt of court, committing treason by outing a covert CIA agent to punish the hubby .... and McCain's being the most absent Senator and MIA during votes this past session.
It seems that Palin wants it both ways.
The line is hard to draw,
The line is hard to draw, but there are things *obviously* over the line. For example, posts which condemn and judge the girl for what happened are wrong. Posting the boyfriend's myspace page, then judging him incessantly for what he says and what happened is also wrong. They're not politicians themselves.
On the cartoon itself... I wonder if there was a Clinton version. Those were EXACTLY the words used about the Monica Lewinksy scandal, but from democrats, not the republicans. If it was wrong to drag his personal baggage in then, when is it okay now?
Press meltdown
I think I'm witnessing a journalistic meltdown on CNN, MSNBC, FOX. What has happened to fair balanced reporting. The press is pissed they have to wait to meet her like the rest of us. So they show their true colors. I am a registered Dem and very concerned by the news I witnessed Tuesday.
You have to go to BBC or Canadian news to get any decent journalism.
picking a side..
It's hard to conceive that a country like America can be so pious sometimes. So the girl is preggers at 17.. I'd say that's a bit of an achievement gauging from the new societal "norms" that have been set. I get why it's so "juicy", but really and truly, I agree, it's all fair game. You're in the spotlight, news ppl are drooling for something SENSATIONAL to print, and little miss Palin fit the bill. Tough cookies... I feel for her, but no one is off limits, clearly.
Political satire cartoons
Political satire cartoons have been in use since time immemorial. Society judges the content. What is acceptable now was not so in say the 1800's.
Cartoons appeal to the lowest common denominator. Everyone can appreciate them. As a nation we should focus on the important issues facing our country, and not on tabloid journalism. We are at the crossroads. This is our future. It's time we took it seriously.
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