Political cartoon 'uproar'

On ZBM TV news last night, two government senators took offense to a political cartoon in the daily which accompanied an article about popularity ratings of politicians, because the Premier was depicted in overalls and holding a clipboard, while two other politicians were shown in ties (the fourth, was in shirt and Bermuda shorts).

The claims varied from being offensive, inappropriate and potentially racist.

And because stupidity knows no bounds, it was politicians from *both* sides of the aisle who took offense.

One thing that I've understood as politicians is that you ought to have a thick skin or you'll never survive in that atmosphere. Yet, whenever it comes to things as simple as political cartoons, politicians act as if they were shown hanging from a tree or something equally nefarious.

It's overalls. God.

I don't have the archive to go through but it would be safe to presume that each of the individual cartoon images were pulled from separate cartoons drawn up in the recent past. The one of the Premier must have been from one where he was getting down to work, while the others may be of some business-type meeting.

And even so. If you, as a politician, are taking offense to a depiction of the Premier, or any politician, wearing garb that shows him as working (I think carpenter, but it could be bricklayer or painter or plumber), then you need to get a damn grip.

Hell, we need more carpenter/plumber/electrician types in Parliament in the first place, and less strutting suits. People willing to get down in the trenches instead of preaching silly things like political cartoons. Shame on them.