GOP 2004: Cartoonists Comment on RNC From Near and Far

By: Dave Astor "To be or not to be there" is a question editorial cartoonists wrestle with every four years. Should they travel to the Republican and Democratic conventions, or comment on those gatherings from afar?

E&P talked to two cartoonists attending the Republican National Convention in New York City -- and they're glad they're in town. Also interviewed were four cartoonists who don't mind not being at the RNC.

One cartoonist currently in New York is Scott Stantis of The Birmingham (Ala.) News (Click for QuikCap) and Copley News Service. "I'm going to spend a lot of time talking to delegates and going to caucuses to get a grasp of what the rank-and-file is thinking," he said. Stantis is also walking Manhattan's streets to talk to protesters and observe the city.

All this will inspire five News cartoons this week, as well as a group of sketches for publication this Sunday and a color "cartoon essay" for the following Sunday. And Stantis -- who was drawing his weekly USA Today cartoon as he spoke with E&P late yesterday afternoon -- noted that convention material will also be fodder for his topical "Prickly City" comic distributed by Universal Press Syndicate.

The conservative Stantis did note he's having a harder time finding things to criticize at the RNC than he did at last month's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Boston. But he plans to take aim at aspects of the Republican platform and tweak the GOP for scheduling several "token moderates" as prime-time speakers.

Stantis said political conventions are more scripted and less spontaneous than they used to be, but still worth attending.

Agreeing with that sentiment is another cartoonist at the RNC. "There are very few instances where so many of the people we draw are gathered," said Rob Rogers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and United Media. "And you get to see the political process."

He's also getting to see other things, some of them silly. One experience involved standing in line trying to attend a RNC-connected bowling party in Manhattan. Rogers said Washington Post/Universal editorial cartoonist Tom Toles got into the event -- rumored to have been sponsored by an oil company -- but Rogers and Miami Herald/Tribune Media Services (TMS) humor columnist Dave Barry were among the journalists who didn't. "Dave Barry has so much clout, but this 20 year old at the door didn't know who he was," Rogers said.

Rogers was unsure if he was going to do a sketch about his near-bowling experience, but he did draw a cartoon of a reporter begging for spare change to help pay the $11 cost of a hotel drink. Another sketch showed a person telling Dick Cheney: "Welcome to New York. Go (bleep) yourself." The vice president replied: "I feel right at home here!" And a more serious Rogers cartoon showed President Bush as King Kong hanging from the World Trade Center as he tries to use 9/11 for political advantage.

The Post-Gazette staffer is doing a daily page of RNC sketches for publication Monday through Friday this week, and pulling some stand-alone cartoons out of those pages for syndication. Rogers is also gathering material for the October issue of Pittsburgh magazine.

Another reason Rogers enjoys attending political conventions is because they give him a rare opportunity to see other syndicated editorial cartoonists. Rogers has already run into five at the RNC, and believes there might be 20 or so attending.

Rogers and Stantis have covered virtually every DNC and RNC since 1988. The four other cartoonists interviewed -- Ann Telnaes of TMS, Mike Smith of the Las Vegas Sun and King Features Syndicate, John Branch of the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News and King, and Chuck Asay of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Creators Syndicate -- are not political convention-goers.

Branch acknowledged that it's "harder to get the vibe" of the RNC from afar, but an off-site cartoonist can still comment "on the substantial stuff such as policies and speeches." Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner based in Washington, D.C., added that attending a political convention doesn't provide "any more insight into the issues than the Internet, newspapers, or TV."

Smith said if the scripted political conventions were likely to yield "surprising news," there would be more incentive for cartoonists to attend. He added that being away from political conventions gives him a chance to get some perspective on the gatherings and see what other commentators are saying about them.

Asay prefers cartooning from afar in order to maintain his routine. "I get a better idea flow when I'm calm and in my usual surroundings," said The Gazette staffer. He added that political conventions are "mostly a week-long publicity thing for both parties. But they're fun and they focus people on the differences -- or perceived differences -- between the parties." So Asay plans to devote four or five of his seven cartoons this week to the RNC.

Telnaes said she's not sure how many RNC cartoons she'll draw because she doesn't want to duplicate what her peers are doing and there are many other important topics out there.

Branch will probably devote at least two of his five cartoons this week to the RNC -- "it's very fertile ground for ideas," he said -- but noted that there are also important local issues to comment on.

Smith does seven cartoons a week, including one for USA Today, and plans to devote most of them to the RNC this week. "Like all editorial cartoonists, I'm a political junkie," he said. "I'm interested in anything that has to do with politics. The conventions being too scripted is not an issue for me. They're the kind of thing editorial cartoonists live for."