Political Cartoon #3

I was not able to find the artist of this cartoon, but I liked it so...
The key subjects in the cartoon are Mitt Romney and his bride, the Republican Elephant. Mitt Romney represents Mitt Romney, and the Republican Elephant represents the people of the GOP who are looking for some one who can beat Obama next year.
The artist used caricature to make fun of Romney, exaggerating his large head and facial features. He also uses satire, simply trying to make the cartoon funny enough to grab people's attention.
The cartoon deals with Romney who has been so stable and high in the Republican field's polls, yet he is often discribed as "dull". Republicans are married to Romney, dependent on his stability and recognition level to beat Obama. But at the same time, Republicans are wanting to find someone else who can take his place at the top and can win. The artist seems to be looking at Romney from the other side of the isle.

Obama Update - What are his chances?

     According to Gallup.com, President Obama had an approval rating of 65% just a few months into his term.  But just two months later, his approval rating had dropped by ten  points and has been falling since. His approval rating has only risen above 50% once, for about one week, in the past two years. Compared to President Bush at this point in his first term, Obama is averaging 10-15% below. Obama now sits at a 42% approval. It is, however, debatable whether certain circumstances allowed Bush's approval to inflate.
     Gallup poles show that Obama is not going to have it easy durig the comming election. Within the large republican field, there are two candidates who have a serious chance to beat Obama in 2012; Romney and Gingrich. Gallup has not yet conducted any poles putting Obama and Gingrich against each other, but they have done this with Romney. In the most recent trial heat, 47% of people said they would vote for Obama if he was running against Romney, but 47% were on Romney's side; dead even. The numbers change weekly, but recently Romney has been on top more often then not.
     Based on the current numbers, as well as the past trends and events, I give Obama a 48% chance of being re-elected. This is of right now, but this could change tomorrow if a large event/change occured within the Republican field.  

Mitt Romney - Can he win? Pros and Cons-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9L9A1IMTQo&feature=player_detailpage

      The video linked above, besides being quite funny, shows how some people view Mitt Romney as a possible nominee for president. One reason why Romney would have trouble beating Obama if he was the GOP candidate is the fact that he has flip-floped on seemingly many issues. Because of this, many feel like they cant trust anything Romney says in a debate or interview, or at least not for long. The video above gives the impression that Romney doesn't know what he is talking about, or doesn't care enough to know what he needs to. Romney is viewed by many as inconsistant because of the few instances of flip-flopping, even if they were not that big of a deal when they occured.
      One good reason why Romney could win, at least the nomination, is that he is the only GOP candidate that has been consistance in his support base. Those who supported Romney four years ago still support him now and most likely will until the end. He has held strong at around 25% in the polls for months, while others have risen and fallen again, varying from 2% to 30%. Until last month, Romney was always on top. Now that Gingrich is on top, Romney needs to determine if Gingrich is another short-term riser or if he needs to do something to bring him down.

Political Cartoon #2

-This cartoon was drawn by the well known cartoon artist Mike Luckovich.
-The two men sitting in the love-seat represent the people of the voting population, who are tired of watching the many "flavor-of-the-month" Republican nominees rise and fall. Why they are sitting in a love-seat I dont know. The very big-screen TV on the wall shows an image of Newt Gingrich  speak, as if during a debate.
-Luckovich uses several techniques to get his point across. First he uses exaggeration to make Gingrich's caricature look strange and even scary (the size of Newt's head is often the subject of much ridicule). He uses some satire and comedy in the voice-bubble of the two men watching the TV.
-The cartoon deals with Newt's tendency to talk. During debates, Gingrich often talks past his time limit, and he has much to talk about. But the real issue is that voters have seen four or five of the many Republican nominees rise in the polls and then fall back down again due to personal or other problems. Gingrich is the latest to do this, and the general feelings are that he too is just another flavor-of-the-month.
-The cartoonist is simply trying to show the feelings that many people have towards Gingrich and the election as a whole on the GOP side. He doesn't really have, or strongly show a point-of-view, but he may feel the same way as the people in his work.