Frontrunners

There’s a very good chance Herman Cain will drop out of this race within the next few hours. If that happens, I don’t know if this cartoon will stay completely relevant for very long.
Still, it’s more about Newt Gingrich’s recent and surprising surge to the lead in the Republican nomination for President. It’s surprising because the guy left the House in disgrace in the ’90s, after being the first Speaker reprimanded for ethics violations in the body’s then-208 year history, and recently has made a point of advocating for child labor. It really reminds me of a bit from the early-’90s satirical TV series Dinosaurs, where the evil Vice-President of the WeSaySo Corporation, who routinely ate people he didn’t like, said, “Sure, kids love working! It’s like a game to them! And because they’re so much smaller, you can fit more of them in a tight space!”
Gingrich really owes his sudden popularity mainly to just how inept his competition is. You’ve got Rick Perry, who can’t remember a list three items long. You’ve got the above-mentioned Herman Cain, with his addiction to the number nine and extramarital affairs (whether consensual or not). You’ve got Mitt Romney, who seems to be from another planet and is apparently studying the human concept of “opinions” by holding multiple, contradictory views on just about every topic. You’ve got Michele Bachmann, whom I’m pretty sure is legitimately insane, and Rick Santorum, whose last name is “Santorum.” Jon Huntsman seems to be the most electable of the bunch, but he worked for Obama, so I guess he’s out, and that leaves perennial crazy old codger Ron Paul, who in this group doesn’t seem all that crazy after all.
The shot in this drawing is very similar to an earlier drawing I did on a different topic, and I was a little hesitant to go ahead with it because of that, but I think it looks different enough, now that it’s finished. The perspective on the track came out a little wonky, but other than that, I’m happy with it.
Tags: footrace, GOP, Herman Cain, looking like a fool, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, pants on the ground, Presidential Primary, race, racetrack, Republican, Republican Presidential nomination, Republican primary, Republicans, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, runner, running, three-legged race, track
December 3rd, 2011 at 1:14 pm
Brilliant!
December 3rd, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Amazing. Great job.
December 3rd, 2011 at 5:45 pm
I have to say that the 3 legged Romney is perfect!
December 4th, 2011 at 12:10 am
It’s a shame you couldn’t easily modify it to have Cain running after a woman, but in the opposite direction.
Reminds me a little of an animated gif of a Nintendo, Mario-based game (super smash brothers?) called “The Republican Presidential Race”. It’s a multiplayer deal where your avatar balances on top of a ball inside of a circle. You try to bounce one-another out and be the last one in the circle. In the gif I’m thinking of, 4 players start. Three immediately ball-walk themselves out of the ring. The 4th player doesn’t move at all and is crowned the winner by default.
December 4th, 2011 at 2:06 am
That actually would’ve been really clever, Tim.
I have seen the gif you’re talking about. Funny, funny stuff!
December 5th, 2011 at 2:30 am
Not sure what Bachmann could have been. Maybe a crazy spectator hurling garbage at the other runners?
December 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Tim, I’d love to see that GIF, can you provide a link?
January 2nd, 2012 at 4:28 am
ahaha, Rick shot himself in the feet. That makes a lot of sense.