Editorial cartoonists have a tradition of drawing politicians in their underwear. President Clinton is often drawn with his pants around his ankles and boxer shorts with a pattern of little hearts. The same treatment is due for serial adulterer politicians like Newt Gingrich, Arnold Schwarzenegger and too many members of congress to list. Even Batman and Superman wear their underwear on top of their tights. As an editorial cartoonist, I cherish my right to draw anyone I want in their underwear.
Mitt Romney is a little different. He doesn’t seem to be an adulterer, and is certainly no superhero. As a devout Mormon, Romney is supposed to wear religious “garments” as his underwear, and I assume he does although he refuses to answer questions about his underwear. If Romney would talk about his underwear, I would be less motivated to draw him in his underwear; Romney’s “garment” silence interests me. Here are a couple of sample of cartoons with Romney wearing his Mormon “garments.” I have gotten a bit of flack from readers about drawing the mysterious underwear on Romney, but not as much as I expected, and I’ll keep drawing him this way at least until he talks about his underwear. Poor Bill Clinton will continue to be drawn in his underwear whether he talks about it or not.
