This picture is showing the Democratic base deserting Obama. Although he still has a large number of Democratic supporters, they have lost much of their enthusiasm. This could completely alter the outcome of the midterm elections.
In the picture, Obama, the front of the donkey, is trying to get the Democratic base, the back of the donkey, to go with him to the midterms. The Democratic base is sitting on a bench, refusing to go with him. His arms are crossed. This demonstrates the Democrats' stubbornness. Despite Obama’s efforts to excite the members of his party, they have remained unresponsive. His once loyal supporters are becoming anxious and skeptical.
Another interesting element of the picture is the fact that Obama is the head of the party, making all of the decisions, and expecting the base to blindly follow him. The base is simply supposed to follow wherever Obama leads it. This suggests that Obama may be partially responsible for their stubbornness. By simply asking, “Are you coming?” he is being insensitive to his base.
The cartoon stresses that Obama is nothing without his support. It demonstrates this by showing that he is only the front of the donkey without it. When elected into office, Obama had more than enough support. With his unpopular policies he has lost more than he could afford to lose. In both the 2004 and 2008 elections, it was the party with the most enthusiasm right before the election that won. Right now, the Republican Party has far more enthusiasm.
The speaker is trying to show his concern for the midterm election. Although he is criticizing both Obama and the entire Democratic Party, he doesn’t want them to lose. He is trying to show that if they don’t unite against the GOP, there is a chance they could lose the midterms. The tone is very critical, bringing to light the Democratic Party’s faults. They need to work together or else they are deserting Obama and setting him up to fail.
In the picture, Obama, the front of the donkey, is trying to get the Democratic base, the back of the donkey, to go with him to the midterms. The Democratic base is sitting on a bench, refusing to go with him. His arms are crossed. This demonstrates the Democrats' stubbornness. Despite Obama’s efforts to excite the members of his party, they have remained unresponsive. His once loyal supporters are becoming anxious and skeptical.
Another interesting element of the picture is the fact that Obama is the head of the party, making all of the decisions, and expecting the base to blindly follow him. The base is simply supposed to follow wherever Obama leads it. This suggests that Obama may be partially responsible for their stubbornness. By simply asking, “Are you coming?” he is being insensitive to his base.
The cartoon stresses that Obama is nothing without his support. It demonstrates this by showing that he is only the front of the donkey without it. When elected into office, Obama had more than enough support. With his unpopular policies he has lost more than he could afford to lose. In both the 2004 and 2008 elections, it was the party with the most enthusiasm right before the election that won. Right now, the Republican Party has far more enthusiasm.
The speaker is trying to show his concern for the midterm election. Although he is criticizing both Obama and the entire Democratic Party, he doesn’t want them to lose. He is trying to show that if they don’t unite against the GOP, there is a chance they could lose the midterms. The tone is very critical, bringing to light the Democratic Party’s faults. They need to work together or else they are deserting Obama and setting him up to fail.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/politicalcartoons/ig/Political-Cartoons/Democratic-Base.htm
ReplyDeleteMolly, you do a nice job capturing the rhetorical value of the cartoon’s details. In addition, this post is very well written. Thank you. Your analysis seems correct to me. Perhaps you could emphasize the fact that the “Dem Base” appears sluggish and unwilling to move. It does not appear to desert President Obama. Rather, it stubbornly refuses to follow. I wonder who the real target of the cartoon is?
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