Hillary's Mad Magazine Metaphor

No sooner had I vowed to ignore all American politics unless cartoon characters were directly involved, than Hillary Clinton dared to compare President Bush to Mad Magazine's cartoon mascot, Alfred E. Neuman. "I sometimes feel Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington," said the Senator during a speech in Colorado. Clinton later invoked Neuman's catch phrase, "What, Me Worry?" to great comic effect.

Republican reaction has been swift.

"If Bush is Alfred E. Neuman, your husband was Larry Flynt," roared Rush Limbaugh. (On his show, Limbaugh neglects to explain why he opts for the Larry Flynt comparison, rather than referencing the obvious cartoon character to make his point. The lascivious Pepe Le Pew or Foghorn Leghorn would have been more appropriate choices for a cartoon-based Bill Clinton metaphor.)

President Bush himself fired back, comparing Hillary to "Lucy" from Charles Schultz' Peanuts. "Much like Lucy, Senator Clinton is an annoying, bossy loudmouth," Bush said. "And she's always pulling the football away at the last second--only in her case, the football is the truth."

"Bush is Like Comic Book Idiot," read the headline in the Telegraph UK .

"At a time when President Bush and most elected officials are focused on the security of our nation, Mrs. Clinton chooses cartoon metaphors which utterly lack any cultural currency," charged Steven Stabile, chief GOP curator for the Cartoon Art Museum.

"Not only does Hillary Clinton obviously read Mag Magazine, she bathes nightly in the blood of Christian babies," alleged fellow Senator Rick Santorum.

It should be mentioned that Mad Magazine is great these days. Peter Kuper, Drew Friedman, Peter Bagge are doing art, and the writing is funny and excellent.

In order to qualify this post for our popular Cartoon Sexuality category, I am obliged to include this link as proof that there are probably people out there who are sexually attracted to Alfred E. Neuman, despite what Hillary Clinton may think.

Comments

[diego]

I always, I say I always saw Bill Clinton as a smooth Foghorn Leghorn.

[conrad]

I agree with Diego. Foghorn Leghorn was President; I think SPY Magazine called it after he was elected. "Comically dishonest but mostly harmless cartoon chicken" about covers the guy.

"Don't do it! I'LL GET BLAMED!"

Oh, and it's Alfred E. Neuman. No Dubbya there either.

[hornsofthedevil]

apparaently she has never looked at her daughter objectively:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/hazard5/alfredz.gif

[Reverend Loveshade]

Were any cartoons characters harmed in the making of this page? I hope not.

Yes, President Clinton was Foghorn Leghorn. That was verified by a special covert investigation conducted by Fox News and PETA. But while George Dubya Bush and Alfred E. Neuman may be distant cousins, they are not the same person.

Alfred E. Neuman is known for saying, "What me worry?" and other very clever things.

George W. Bush isn't.