1 '; ( Page 81 The Orlonl Sopt. 3D, 1981' m ~ QkJ~~~~·~~~~~~~~-~~l.~~ heard from only sporadically until 1974. S'y Dan Smith After Lhe Nixon collapse and Ford's seeming inconsistency, Heagan was a strong- cont.ender for the 1976 Repuhlican All president.s, wheLher seasoned Washington veLerans or u~'1 nomination. Yet Ford's incumbency proved too powerful. Reagan tried newcomers, 'inherit a curious occupational circumstance In b(J(~ume a t.wo-t.ime loser in Lhe presidnnl.iul sweepsl.akes. Lheir ascent Lo the Oval Office. In many ways this peculiar inheritance c()uld be consider~~ an With Ford's subsequent defeat to Jimmy Carter, Reagan became occupaLional hazard. I<;ven under Lhe besL of conditions Lhe reclpJen[. a Republican rallying point. for the'80 election. This sit.uation served seldom finds Lhe J'esulLs complimentary. Lo increase his poliLical esteem,as well as the suspicions of many. The mysterious inheritance in quesUon is Lhe full scrutmy of Lhe carLoonisLs. naLion's 170 political carLoonists. This brought him Lo the aUenLion of the nation's syndicated Unlike their fellow journalists, cartoonists rarely respect. the cllrl.oonisLs, who suddenly found themselves faced with the reality "honeymoon" granLed most presidential newcomers by.the press. of having to take Ronald Reagan seriously. The moment the podium is mounted and the'oath echoed, It. becomr!s As early as 1978, the unofficial presidential campaigns hegan. "open season." . The most obvioUs question regarding candidate Reagan wns his There are,however, exceptions to every rule, as H.onald Hcugan age. Second was his poor track record as a presidential contender. seems to be proving. Not only has he escaped the slings and ar~o.ws Most cartoonists quickly pounced on these weaknesses, suffered by his predecessors, but for all appearances he has paclflCd presenting Reagan as a semi-senile, geriatric-Lype complete with a cqnsiderable port.ion of the cartooning community. cane, shawl and enough wrinkles to sha'me a prune. In terms of politil~al cal·tooning the Heagan experience IS UnI9-ue. In addition to his old adversary, Conrad, Reagan was nuw thE His rise t.o political prominence is in many ways a RepublIcan victim of cartooning heavyweights like Pat Oliphant and Jeff Cinderella story. MacNelly. Reagan's climb from "Death Valley Days" to governor of Oliphant, formerly of the Washington SLar, is the most' widely With the elections now history and President Reagan a reality, California in 1966 left. many cartoonists amazed, if not. aghasl .. syndicated cartoonist in Lhe nation. He is known to colleagues as cartoonists are still presented with ~ series of problems in. at· This was readily reflect.ed in various. d~rictio~s of Rea.gan as a the "assasin" because of the go-for-the-throat techriique he employs tempt.ing t.o get the Reagan persona down on paper. For one thmg, gunslinging Hollywood cowboy, squll1tmg hiS way mto the inhis work. he is not an easy subject to render. governor's office in whal many of his crrt.lcs considered the greatest. Rarely an advocate of subLelety, Oliphant was quick to pounce Unlike Richard Nixon or Jimmy Carter, Reagan has no truly acting job of his career. on Heagan's external weaknesses. Even his most acidic renderings distinguishing features to exaggerate. In fact, most cartoonists of Heagan were "kid gloves" treatment when compared t.o his grucl.gingly admit that in spite of his age, Reagan is still a very hundling of Jimmy Carter. good-looking individual. In some cases, Oliphant would express his disdain for boLh The mass of wrinkles and bottles of Geritol have slowly given . candidates by depicting them Logether as a pair of moronic, quiLe way to the pompadour hairdo. In fact, the Reagan caricature has inescapable, apparil.ions tormenting thp nation's volers. actually grown younger since the election. Another problem hindering the cartoonists' interpretations is the structure of the Reagan administration. As he did during his governorship, Reagan has reinstituted the "corporate" ad­ ministration .. Through this, chairman Ronald delegates all tasks to underlings, Lhus avoiding any possibiIityof direct political flak. Bush, Haig, Weinberger and Watt have had the dubious distinction of being Reagan trouble-shooters as well as trdublemakers. The resulting barrage of controversy from irate editors and cartoonists is thus aimed at "Ronnie's raiders" and not Ronnie himself. Another factor not be overlooked is Reagan's relationship with the public and press. As every good actor knows, the press is the mirror Lhrough which the public sees. To many, Reagan is a charismatic breath of fresh air to a Washington dulled by the insecurities of Nixon and the blandness of In the '80 election, it seemed for every illustrated jab Reagan Ford and Carter. received, Carter would get a roundhouse punch. IL was simply a case . Keeping up good media relations is an excellent insurance policy of Reagan being the lesser of two political evils. and a vital part of Reagan's overall strategy. It may not eliminate At the forefront of Reagan's iIIust.rating anLagonists was car­ This seemed Lo be an unintentional but quite evident trend criticism, but it might tone it down. toonist. Paul Conrad. of t he Los Angeles Times. Conrad never tired followed by Lhe majority of cartoonisls. As previously mentioned, there are exceptions to the rules. Many of reminding t.he public of the "aeling" governor's Hollywood root.s. Jeff MacNelly, the number-two syndicated cartoonist., is as editorial cartoonists are keeping a critical eye on our nation's chief This led to many scalhing inlerpret.ations of Reagan's gubernat.orial different from Pat OliphanL as cursing is from laughter. executive. Regardless of the current public sentiment surrounding administration. His style ,employs subtle humor and a whimsical approach the Reagan persona, it must be remembered that trends in editorial Conrad has had a historical interest in Reagan, having surveyed which suggest politics should not be taken too seriously. illustration can change' as suddenly as the nearest public opinion his political career from ils earliest beginnings. This gives him a He portrays Reagan throughout the campaign as the con man poll. definite advantage in his editorial interpretations; an advantage candidale saddled with Lhe absurdities of repUblican campaign How long President Reagan's extended media "honeymoon" which unfortunately, his colleagues lack. rheLoric. Seldom did MacNelly prey upon Reagan's age or physical continues is anybody's guess. With the unstable state of world and Conrad's fondness for skewering the Reagan persona has not condition. national affairs, his fall from grace could be a week or several diminished over the yeal·s. Now as president.. Reagan offers h.im an . By elecLion eve, MacNelly was depicting Reagan as a snickering, months away. even more tempting targeL squint.-eyed sharper who seemingly knew what the final outcnme . In any case, and by whatever means should a crack appear in this With t.wo terms as governor and an abortive presidential can­ would be, but wasn't talking. AI" the same time, CarLer fumbled, administration's popUlarity, it won't be due to any weakness in the didacy (1968), Reagan slipped quietly into political limbo and was sput.t.ered and shrank right off the editorial page. Reagan persona. Likeit or not. it is a forceto be reckoned with. WE'VE CORNERED Craduates: :.i -_--'!!!!!! THE MARKET ON KEGS seeing is Believing. AT The future It's happenIng at Lawrence Isn't so far away... Livermore National Laboratory... At Lawrence Livermore We're looking for people with creative KORNER MARKET National Laboratory, minds. People who can take the Initiative, we can see tile future. j I who can assume responsibility on 1455 CHESTNUT ST.OR CALL 342-4668 Not. through crystal several projects and who don·t want to . balls, but through the perform the same job year after year. programs we are We encourage our people to expand and working on every day. explore their own interests. YOU can literally shape your own career! 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