Image via Complex Original
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Political cartoons have a long history of informing the American people, revealing scandals, and shifting public opinion. Most importantly, drawings of famous presidents with big noses and big ears are always hilarious. These caricatures have a knack for combining the finest elements of illustration with the filthiest bits of locker-room humor —they strive for audacity, and hope for laughter.
Image: Bryant Arnold, 2011
Check out The 10 Most Hilarious Presidential Cartoons.
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10. I’m With Stupid
Though it’s no laughing matter, we can’t help but crack-up at this picture of our nerdy president Barack Obama getting bullied by a red-headed Republican.
By Pat Bagley, Published in the Salt Lake Tribune, August 9, 2011
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9. Party in My Pants
Like many men, George W. Bush was controlled by his Dick. Cheney, that is.
By Grant Snider, ca. 2001-2009
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8. Yo Mama
Following Bill Clinton’s impeachment, Hilary began making more of the decisions.
By Chip Bok, Published in the Akron Beacon Journal, 1997
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7. Pick-Up Line
Elected president following the Feminist Movement of the 1970s, Ronald Reagan responded like any good conservative.
By Paul Berge, ca. 1983
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6. Blonde Joke
Jimmy Carter is the only president to ever be interviewed by Playboy magazine, which quoted him as admitting, “I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times.” Apparently, he had hobbies other than peanut farming.
By Paul Conrad, Published in the Los Angeles Times, 1976
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5. Dick Joke
The poster boy for presidential scandal, Richard Nixon took comfort in his National Security-blanket.
Published in The Ally, no. 28, ca. 1969-1974
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4. One-liner
With his dreamy face and seemingly charmed life, John F. Kennedy left cartoonists with little to laugh at. Nice hair, pretty boy.
By David Levine, Published in The New York Review of Books, April 23, 1970
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3. Fat Joke
This caricature of Theodore Roosevelt (our 26th President) from an early-twentieth-century issue of London’s Punch magazine reminds us that Americans have been the subject of fat jokes for over 100 years.
By Edward Tennyson Reed, Published in Punch, ca. 1901-1909
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2. Ugly Tree
Abe was known for being honest, not handsome. His unusual height and bony face were constantly made fun of, as we see in this cartoon following his re-election, captioned “Long Abraham Lincoln A Little Longer.” Sometimes the simplest jokes last the longest.
By Frank Bellew, Published in Harper’s Weekly, November 26, 1864
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1. Classic Comedy
Despite all of the mythology about George Washington, we know one thing for sure —our first President slept around.
By Frank Modell, Published in The New Yorker, June 3, 1967