The reaction around the world to the election of Democratic Senator Barack Obama as President is similar to how the world reacted to another charismatic Democratic President — John F. Kennedy, Jr. Is it just because some of his charisma comes across on the tube?
Probably not. Most likely it’s due to Obama being — like Kennedy — someone whose rhetoric seems heartfelt and is forward-looking — embracing the idea of America as proud and active part of a world community versus an America on guard against the world and going it alone.
So cartoonists throughout the world are now having a field day — most of them moved by Obama’s election and some others using it for more-pointed cartoonist messages.
First, here’s the world context via NBC News:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27562726#27562726" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
Some cartoons published abroad:
Another America
Patrick Chappatte, Le Temps, Switzerland
The New Guest
Dario Castillejos, Dario La Crisis
Obama Elected
Aislin, The Montreal Gazette
KKK After 11-4
Rainer Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland, Germany
President Obama
Paul Zanetti, Australia
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.