On Tedisco and that cartoon yesteday

The NY Post’s controversial “chimpanzee” cartoon is still drawing heat…and comment.
Our story on the stimulus package’s influence in the 20th CD race this morning prompted this just in from our political cartoonist, Marquil:

Hey —

So I’m sitting here at the drawing board (aka dining room table) trying to come up with the appropriate analogy for Tedisco’s ignoring questions on how he would vote on the stimulus bill. So I reflexively start drawing the proverbial 800-lb. gorilla-in-the-room. I didn’t get too far before the appropriateness editor who keeps rooms in my prefrontal cortex (and often sleeps in) told me that, thanks to NY Post cartoonist Sean Delonas, all simian metaphors for the stimulus bill are now permanently off limits. Happily, the editor also said he would have scotched the cartoon anyway because the 800-lb gorilla is so hopelessly cliché and is the hallmark of a mediocre cartoonist.

For the record, and from my experience of having some of my more obnoxious cartoons published by the Post over the years, I don’t for a second believe the editors were unaware of the cartoon’s connotations. They have a long track record of pushing the boundaries of good taste in their choice of cartoons. I do, however, credit them for standing behind their cartoonist. That’s always nice to see.

Mark