Tow Post 1

The conflict in Syria is one of the biggest issues in current events.  Not only are such aspects as the death toll and the use of chemical weapons frightening, but also, Obama’s waffling on the topic adds to the discussion.  This inability to have certainty and to get anything done on this issue inspires this cartoon.  This cartoon is drawn by Henry Payne, a conservative Princeton alumni and cartoonist for the Detroit News.  In this cartoon he uses humor to comment on America’s role as the global police and Obama’s weakness in the matter.  He uses many aspects such as the fact that Obama, the driver, is signaling two different ways, right with the turn signal, but left with his hand.  This is a way of communicating how indecisive Obama is on the issue by stating that he is unsure of which way to go, and further, which political ideals to follow, the right with the route to war, or the left and peace.  Payne also adds the “Caution Student Driver” sticker as a way of showing that Obama is a relative neophyte in this issue having never dealt with anything like it in his five-year tenure.  Payne uses these aspects of humor as a way of communicating with his mainly conservative audience.  Since he knows that his audience has many of the same views as he does, Payne can go out on a limb and make Obama a topic of humorous intent.  This knowledge of his audience allows him to get his point across because he can cut straight to the point and joke about Obama’s asininity without having to beat around the bush.  He can directly insult Obama and can comment on his failures without having to soften it, resulting in a much more raw and specific cartoon.  All of these facts combine assist Payne in his delivery of the idea that Obama was failing his job by being indecisive, giving off a poor representation of the United States as a whole.

By Henry Payne