Document 31-3: David Horsey, Character (1996)

Cartoonist Questions the Politics of Character

DAVID HORSEY, Character (1996)

Bill Clinton’s presidency was distracted by self-inflicted crises seized upon by his detractors as signs of moral failure. Opponents focused on Clinton’s marital infidelities, particularly his intimate relations with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. This liaison nearly brought down his presidency when the House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment, but Clinton was acquitted by the Senate. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey comments on the character issue in a cartoon published during the 1996 presidential election, which Clinton easily won with nearly half the popular vote.

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Source: “Character,” Hearst Newspapers, LLC/Seattle P-I.

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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