Project Wonderful Banner

Thursday, February 21, 2008

That damned smirk

What's Mallard raving about today?

Smirks, President Bush, Hillary Clinton, The Media.

I wonder why the media spotlighted demonstrably false rumors that Barack Obama was educated at a Madrassa for weeks while President Bush's torture policies go virtually unnoticed.

I wonder why the media spotlighted Hillary Clinton's laugh for weeks while President Bush's illegal wiretapping of American citizens goes virtually unnoticed.

I wonder why the media spotlighted John Edwards haircut for weeks while the fact that President Bush's White House illegally deleted millions of emails goes virtually unnoticed.

Hey, this is fun!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Last panel: Most overused sentence ever. It's always the exact same punchline when Noseworthy's involved. Did all the alcohol kill the memory part of Tinsley's brain or something?

And I can't really remember the media covering anybody smirking, much less Bush.

Now I want to see what Tinsley's idea of a journalism school is.

bjorn black said...

I believe this is Tinsley's attempt at a "running gag."

The gag being that Mallard did not actually go to journalism school, and yet we are supposed to use this information to make fun of his boss.

Anonymous said...

Well, to be fair, his boss WAS stupid enough to let Mallard be on TV.

Michael Foley said...

Wait a minute - Mallard wasn't properly educated before becoming a journalist?! It explains so much, yet I'm not completely shocked.

BillyWitchDoctor said...

Incredibly, I can understand Tinsley's point in this strip. You see, through Tinsley's own brand of "booze goggles," Hillary Ave Satani Clinton rides a broom, breathes fire, and wears a necklace made from the eyeballs of children.

As for this perceived unfairness of the press: George Dubya Bush's behavioral problems have long gone far beyond "smirking" (or the inability to pronounce such terribly complex words as "nuclear"). For one thing, he can't keep his paws off foreign dignitaries, giving surprise "neck massages" and grabbing at the sleeves of people he shouldn't be touching at all, except perhaps to shake hands. I'm surprised he stops short of relieving himself on the carpets.

Worse, everything he manages to drawl out of his mouth--no matter how astonishingly idiotic it may be--drips with the sneering contempt for everything and everyone that can only come from a member of the Silver Spoon crowd. (His own father said he was born on third base but thinks he hit a home run.)

So what is it that makes Hillary such a monster? What has she done to compare with that clownish performance? Oh, right--she has the gall to run for office. You damned woman!

Hey, Tinny: If Hillary has such an arrogant smirk...why haven't you drawn it yet?

ajm said...

Tinsley wouldn't last five minutes in a journalism school. Or five SECONDS as a reporter in an actual newsroom.

Matt Ramone said...

Seriously, why is anyone with any kind of education beyond "functionally literate" considered to be some smarmy know-it-all? From what I can see the only smug asshole in the room is that damn duck.

rewinn said...

Since Mallard got hired without the required educational background ... is he supposed to be some sort of affirmative-action hire?

Anonymous said...

Actually, yes. Wikipedia has a copy of the first MF, where he was hired for being an "Amphibious American."

Anonymous said...

I'm sure we've been over this, but does Tinny realize Mallard is avian, not amphibian?

Atjnkkyq -- The sound Mallard's beak makes whenever he tries to pry it out of his own semipermanent smirk.

Anonymous said...

Wow.

Tinsley does not know what a duck is.

My mind is blown.

Marion Delgado said...

Actually, Mallard is right, as usual. Sorry, libs.

I remember that! No matter what prestigious media source you went to - from someblog.blogspot.com to the "Skate-r-Die Zine" over in Palo Alto - you got continuous coverage of Bush's smirk.

I can't say for SURE I saw a headline on the front page of the New York Times that said "Bush: Smirks!" - but it would stand to reason, wouldn't it?

Anonymous said...

OK, I'm sorry, but I need to ask for a reality check here.

Could I be the only one to have never heard a reference to the "Bush smirk" in the media...

...while at the same time having heard near-constant harping on Clinton's mannerisms (if not a "smirk", per se, certainly her "laugh", etc)?

Michael Foley said...

NLC: Me neither. Maybe it would be true if you consider Jon Stewart as a part of "the media".