Bob Dylan’s on the road again, playing more dates on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. Hope springs eternal that God will allow for the possibility that both Mr. Dylan and I will remain alive long enough for our paths to cross at some local concert hall sometime soon. I’m currently writing something about some … Continue reading Dylan, Doonesbury, and Me
Category: Long Strange Trip
“But Duane! He Won the Election!”: Political Symbolism and the First Ten Days of the Carter Administration.
Our last look at Doonesbury in the Carter years ended just after Jimmy Carter’s inauguration, with Zonker and his friend Nemo the Begonia discussing the new president’s political navieté. Nemo saw Carter’s campaign stump-speech touchstone about wanting to lead a government that was as unselfish and kind as the American people as a sign of … Continue reading “But Duane! He Won the Election!”: Political Symbolism and the First Ten Days of the Carter Administration.
“Cronies, Retreads, and Tokens”: Jimmy Carter Goes to Washington
Something I’ve returned to as I’ve examined Doonesbury during the Carter years is Jimmy Carter’s self-presentation as an “outsider,” an alternative to the lies and corruption that had soured many Americans’ faith in government after the twin crises of Vietnam and Watergate. The story of B.J. Eddy – the Head Tulip from the White House … Continue reading “Cronies, Retreads, and Tokens”: Jimmy Carter Goes to Washington
BJ Eddy Gets the Ax: Doonesbury in the Carter Years, Part VI
Recently, I wrote about how Garry Trudeau felt frustrated with his writing about the 1976 elections, much of which focused not on the presidential race, but on Ginny Slade’s Congressional campaign. That story had a lot of moving parts, some new, many of which became permanent fixtures of the strip: the introduction of Lacey and … Continue reading BJ Eddy Gets the Ax: Doonesbury in the Carter Years, Part VI
“Out Back, Catchin’ Frogs”: Jimmy Carter Meets the Policy Establishment.
When Democratic domestic policy advisor Arthur Rumsey and his foreign-affairs counterpart, Sutton, came to brief candidate Jimmy Carter before the 1976 debates, Miss Lillian Carter, the family matriarch, made it clear that she – and as an extension the campaign – was leery of their Establishment credentials: decent folks didn’t need experts to tell them … Continue reading “Out Back, Catchin’ Frogs”: Jimmy Carter Meets the Policy Establishment.
“Then You Admit He’s Shrewd”: Miss Lillian, Amy’s Lemonade Stand, and Jimmy Carter’s Southern Populism. (Doonesbury and the Carter Years, Part IV)
During the 1970s, the Walden College football team’s huddle was a frequent site of political debate and a forum for one of Doonesbury’s central characters to express his personal brand of Republican politics. On 10 October 1976, Walden’s star quarterback B.D. used the huddle to solicit donations for his favorite charity, the Young Republican Club. … Continue reading “Then You Admit He’s Shrewd”: Miss Lillian, Amy’s Lemonade Stand, and Jimmy Carter’s Southern Populism. (Doonesbury and the Carter Years, Part IV)
“Is This an Ethnically-Pure Neighborhood?”: Jimmy Carter on the Campaign Trail
On 13 October 1976, Lacey Davenport, a “little old lady” the “Republicans [were] running” in a California Congressional contest, gave an informal press conference over tea at her tastefully-appointed home. A reporter asked a follow-up question to an inquiry about her relationship with her husband, Dick: “Lacey, have you ever looked at other men with … Continue reading “Is This an Ethnically-Pure Neighborhood?”: Jimmy Carter on the Campaign Trail
“I Can’t Change the Teachings of Christ!”: Hunter Thompson, Playboy, and the Moral Ambiguities of Jimmy Carter.
This is Part II of our look at how Doonesbury covered the Carter presidency. Last time, I discussed how Garry Trudeau addressed some of the political and economic questions that faced Americans as they approached the 1976 election: between the hangovers of a final defeat in Vietnam and the resignation of Richard Nixon on the … Continue reading “I Can’t Change the Teachings of Christ!”: Hunter Thompson, Playboy, and the Moral Ambiguities of Jimmy Carter.
“Sickening Acts of Total Insanity” : Hunter Thompson, Duke and Garry Trudeau (The Gonzo Chronicles, Part X)
Since reanimating this project, I’ve focused on Duke’s time abroad, first as a colonial administrator in American Samoa and then as American ambassador to China, examining his symbolic role in Doonesbury. Beyond his original appearance as a caricature of Hunter S. Thompson, Duke personifies the selfishness, cynicism, and greed that increasingly defined American culture as, … Continue reading “Sickening Acts of Total Insanity” : Hunter Thompson, Duke and Garry Trudeau (The Gonzo Chronicles, Part X)
“Have a Nice Day, John Mitchell”: Kent State and the Cartoon Activism of Garry Trudeau
Last week marked the 52nd anniversary of the Kent State massacre. Garry Trudeau’s strips about the tragedy (which happened about six months before Doonesbury debuted) marked an important step in his early development as a cartoonist. For the first time, Trudeau engaged in a style of activist cartooning that was explicitly political, intentionally devoid of … Continue reading “Have a Nice Day, John Mitchell”: Kent State and the Cartoon Activism of Garry Trudeau
Reading Doonesbury 