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.

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

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Question

    qmQFU/76A4G25//GudIdoMY8ov31e0bSu6oNmP6vPw1eivQaEpX6ObKRMFnNwqTE6mdQBCrg6YNSQWWAmmEULhidgcyquZ0dZ76EOKos4clZqUAqeK238MDLSLX5fW+RBAJfIT+L8cAW37nGmCjqz5rDO8AnVpwPGtTaI3GcMnfDScl72zRsk+6Jv1L4f9eRl/Ttgr6nBx+fBQf8onh1rhtA/UuUT6Wp4UIRkmHlwYSCwgFxlSB2HvaV1Yt+vfo6lnqJVmpnpfsWJizuJKLPHtnsz8V+5DidJ+0bGA==
  2. Question

    Xbz0ernjZZLHLEKA3hYTOMTqNE1wYTJg06njPKEpvGk7NoRF5YxXLLgHXtNc+U1SkACkQm+PDtRPJHCXnmtkKOC8io/eTuny86MowjUrqHEznsKCHGvQ3+rB9VjhBAxB9Vxh0Ba+7pJFIzgynvr+k6QDd3MIWheBvDE3IIldDhs/yZyASHGbSBMv/69S6ZMBr22o8YTBE3Febga3I+YxYw==
  3. Question

    hIcyhPmjmd562My2hlC+hsaeqk95gIbeIJCXt7QsC2bx3k+0uYhT3bBV9q1Btj9AJF5J6shw7K0iZ77nr1rTr749PcQBD4Mu5SVTKPZ7zvdn2RuDOpgyGwMYYlsiUaNznIurURSPu3PP1VCLk2yjrSgOI2Dgw6VB+Z58r21mKh7NFaz3dhA9HjjJCHcsg2Ilaj4Gzpr7f2QKdDw8+xLj8LrtdSMY5dYYBDW2m/VOv1ZSHH3RQxB7NlB7TKsTpxKCDxr30vqGd1ds/4piCpHM4A==