By: Dave Astor An
Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial cartoon that was never printed ended up getting widely circulated.
"More people saw the cartoon than if it had actually run in the paper, [so] it probably had a lot more impact," said Mike Luckovich, whose drawing showed Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue standing next to a flag that said "I'm With Stupid." Perdue was elected partly on a platform to push for a return to a more Confederate-oriented state flag.
How did more people see the cartoon? It ran briefly by mistake on the
AJC Web site (see the
April 16 story on this site). Then it was shown on another site (
http://www.georgiareporter.com). Then at least three local TV stations did reports about the cartoon. Then a poster-sized version of the cartoon was displayed in the state legislature.
Luckovich ended up receiving several dozen e-mails, with about 70% critical of the cartoon -- which was slated to run in
AJC's April 15 edition before being pulled.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Luckovich is distributed by Creators Syndicate to about 160 papers. His Perdue cartoon was not syndicated nationally.
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