The cartoon titled "The Midterm Game" is depicting the jumbled mess of the upcoming midterm election. The cartoonist, Pat Oliphant, is demonstrating the fact that the Midterm elections are only a game for both political parties. Oliphant demonstrates that neither the democrats or the republicans have the country's best interest in mind, they are focused on winning the game.

Oliphant draws a string of what seems to be a never ending chaotic game leading back to Square 1. On Square 1 stands a large Dick Cheney, towering over George Bush. Bush is asking Cheney if the republicans will be able to take over in the upcoming election to finish destroying the country as they started to do in the first place. Bush stands significantly smaller than Cheney, calling him "Uncle Dick". Oliphant draws him to be significantly smaller to portray the fact that Cheney ran the Bush administration and Bush rarely did anything himself. Off to the side, two tiny figures discuss how the midterm election could result in a road to redemption for the Bush administration.

The string leading up to Square one is a crowded, jumbled mess filled with characters running to be elected. Oliphant illustrates corruption as some characters are punching each other as they run. Others among the characters fall off the path completely due to the corruption and exhaustion. Oliphant is suggesting that through all the corruption and exhaustion, the country is still back to Square 1. Oliphant depicts the lack of progress made in the last few years while taking stabs at the Bush administration. In the upcoming midterm election, Republicans will try to regain power. In the current government, not only is the President a Democrat but the Democrats also control Congress and the House. Oliphant is clearly predicting a shift in power as Republicans may regain some control in Congress. Oliphant is clearly stating that if the midterm elections do hand power over to the Republicans, the country will be back to Square 1. The next step in the midterm game that is predicted in the cartoon is the Republicans destroy of the Health Care system before collecting huge sums of money from anonymous donors.

The cartoon is portraying the country in a negative manner saying the election is but a game. The game itself may stand in the way of many of the country's best interests but Oliphant is stating that the basis of politics is winning. The many tiny characters depict the long, difficult road to get all the way back to Square 1. The cartoon is attempting to sway the population away from handing the power back to the Republicans as well as criticizing the Bush administration for all of its' faults.

The cartoon is from the New York Times section in Pat Oliphant's Cartoon of the Day. Oliphant is a highly renowned political cartoonist who draws for the New York Times. He has one a number of awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, for his works. The link to the cartoon is http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/po/.