Editorial+Cartoon+IJ

media type="custom" key="591703" John McCain is the oldest person running for President, and is very popular among older people.

In my cartoon, John McCain has just become the nominee for the Republican party. He is speaking to the Shady Groves Nursing Home when he announces he is officially the Republican nominee. When giving his speak, he tells the crowd to get up on their feet if they are voting for him, but realizes that they are so old they are all in wheelchairs and cant stand because they are so old. Even though they can't get up for him, they scream and praise him. Balloons and confetti fall down from the ceiling to help the senior citizins celebrate their favorite candidates victory. John McCain, the 71 year old Republican Party Nominee, is represented in my cartoon. Also, the senior citizens at Shady Grove Nursing Home are represented in my cartoon. exaggeration-I tried to exaggerate the audience memebers support for John McCain. This is to show that he has a lot of support from the older people in America. labeling- In my cartoon, there is a banner saying "John McCain: Senior Citizen Party Nominee". It is used to show that John McCain is very old and his major support group is the senior citizens of America. The speech bubble coming our of John McCain's mouth says "Everybody get on your feet if you are voting for John McCain!" But, the audience can not get up on their feet because they are all so old. The label of McCain 4 Prez on his podium if just to show that the man talking is John McCain, because it is kind of hard to tell who it is because it does not really look like him haha. The audience members shouting out things to McCain is suposed to be ironic. They are these old people shouting out thing like "I LOVE YOU JOHN" and "JOHN YOU ARE MY IDOL!" They are very old people, and yet they still are acting like teenagers praising their favorite star. The label of Shady Groves Nursing Home is showing that John McCains majority of votes come from older people, like himself. irony - You would expect these old people to be quiet and not really screaming for John McCain right? Well, they are not. They are as excited as they would be if they were meeting their favorite rockstar. Just because they can't get on thier feet to show John McCain he has their support, they are showing it by screaming for him. My opinion about John McCain is that he is way to old to be President. I am sure that he is extremly qualified to be president, but does not represent America. The President should be the one person that America can relate to. The President should want to move the country forward. No offense to John McCain, but I know from experience especially from my grandparents that older people are not used to the culture of Americans now a days. My grandparents get annoyed with me when I spend hours on the computers because they do not realize that the computer is my major form of communication. They also get upset with how open people are. Sometimes when they hear me and my sister talking to each other they get really upset with how we joke around with each other and say some really nasty things. My grandparents are around the same age as John McCain is. I am afraid John McCain just will not recognize the youth of America.

media type="custom" key="591693"

I will change the country.

When you listen to the news what is every candidate promising? Change. I really have to admit that in this election there has been a lot of diversity, but not much change. The fact that we have a black man and a women fighting for the Democratic nomination really shows that our country has come so far. I mean, black people used to be seperated from the rest of the country, and now we may just have a black president. Women have come far too. Just 50 years ago, women were not allowed to vote or have any say in our president. Now, a women might be our leader. But, Hillary as president is not really change. I am a Hillary supporter, but I must admit that for the past 15+ years we have either had a Clinton or Bush in office. Bill Clinton did an excellent job as president. George Bush senior also did a good job in office, and look how George W. Bush is. As for Obama, he has very little experience. Every candidate thinks they will created change. Well, I believe that anybody will bring great change to our country, especially since our country is at an all time low. The captions saying "I'm the change" represents all the candidates, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, all of them.The caption that says "The Candidates have arrived." represents the United States. __symbolism-__The sign that says "Anywhere, U.S.A" is symbolic that this "change" they are talking about has no real meaning, feeling and direction behind it. They are not directing their statements to the people for their benefits, it is mainly a political tactic. They do not care who the change is going to affect, they just know the country wants change. It is a general statement, not specific.__exaggeration__ -The captions stating "I'm about change" is definatly exaggerated. The artist wants to show us that this statement is so overused, it really has lost its meaning.__labeling/captioning__- Without labeling and captioning, this cartoon would not be clear. It would be impossible to detect what the artist was trying to say, with the captions, its clear. __irony__- The sign about Anywhere, USA is suposed to be ironic. You woul think each candidate would direct each of their statements towards the audience they are speaking to. Anywhere symbolizes the fact that they are using this overused line to anybody they come in contact with. Not everybody is change, but they all are claiming they are the big change. They all can not be change.I think that this artist definately is fed up with all politicians. They probably are tired of getting all of these promises that never get fulfilled. He probably thinks that change is overused. Every politician promises change. Every president is a change from the last. Stating you will be the change is pretty obvious. There is always something people can accomplish and do better. This artist probably feels that the change these candidates are talking about does not have to do with their politics. The change the candidates are talking about has to do with either their age, skin color, or gender. I do agree with this cartoonist's point of view. The subject is not something controversial. I feel that change is overused. It has totally lost its meaning. The first candidate that used the change line was Obama. After the other candidates saw his success, they jumped on the change bandwagon. Instead of telling everyone they are the change, they should state how they will be changing the country. I think the line "I am the change." is focusing on the candidate and not what their views are. Barack Obama is black. Yes, that is change from all the white presidents we have had. But instead, he should say something about HOW he will change. He should support his statement. Hillary Clinton is a women. She is different from all the males we have had in office. Instead of claiming she is change, she should say WHAT she will change. A good strategy is to get people to vote for you about what you will accomplish in the White House. Not, that you are black or a women.

I think editoral cartoons are so popular because they deal with a very serious issue in a humorous way. They make you think about something, without throwing out facts at you. They make you think critically and use logic to find the true deeper meaning of the cartoon. Plus, some of them are really funny to read and make you think of a situation in a different way. I think cartoons help people discuss current events, because they are much different from the news. When you watch the news, it is just facts and no opinions. Editorial cartoon are from the cartoonists point of view, and they can write or say whatever they want. They allow you to see other peoples point of views, and sometimes, they even can get you to change your point of view because you never saw the situation from that angle.When you read an editoral cartoon, you get to see somebodys opinion, and reasons why their opinion is valid. Like i said before, when you watch the news all you are getting is facts. They say "10,000 soldiers have died in Iraq". From the cartoonists point of view, there might be bombs going off that could be used for healthcare or our school system, but are just being wasted on trying to find something that isn't there." You would never imagine hearing something like this on the news. I think that when a person dies, cartoonists should never make fun of them. My thoughts are, "If somebody is not there to defend themselves, you should never talk about them." They are not to defend themselves, plus you should never make fun of dead people. I do not think that it is just bad luck, it is also very disrespectful.