Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau
- October 26, 2008
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About Doonesbury
G.B. Trudeau’s Doonesbury is currently in its thirty-ninth year, tracking its eighth presidential administration. Trudeau maintains his studio in New York and his Web presence at www.doonesbury.com.
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© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate - All Rights Reserved.
Comments (29) Jump to Comments Form
UncaAlby said, 8 months ago
Hey, now that’s funny!
Apropos, as well. Obama doesn’t know a thing about being president, but he agrees with you about taxing the rich.
UncaAlby said, 8 months ago
Just one more thing I have to mention before I go off to do more important things –
You remember what I complaining about with people voting without knowing anything about what they’re voting about? Well, I just found out that my daughter – who I convinced to register – thought that Obama was Governor of Illinois.
Oy vay.
She wasn’t going to vote at first, and I had to go open my big mouth.
Grokenstein said, 8 months ago
I live in a country where it’s considered TOTALLY AWESOME DOOD that people are being hit up on the street to register to vote, who have had every opportunity to register by normal means but have simply not bothered. I’m sure they will vote intelligently and have a firm grasp of the issues.
Some of these voters are elderly folks who will be voting for the very first time, having completely ignored the process until now. One, prominently featured on my local news, will be voting for her candidate on the basis of their mutual skin color. This is also considered TOTALLY AWESOME by the talking heads on TV.
Is she racist or not racist?
jnik23260 said, 8 months ago
Wasn’t that G.W. Bush’s qualification for head of Iraqi banking (or pretty much anything else)?
stpatme said, 8 months ago
Stow it Unc. Obama is vastly more qualified than Caribou Barbie, who’s so stupid she thinks the Vice President is, “IN CHARGE OF the Senate!!!”
ejcapulet said, 8 months ago
I’ll go with UncaAlby on this one. It’s the president who has the power and needs the qualifications - the VP is just backup so whining about the VP is pretty pointless. Being the VP means you get on-the-job training without being as much of a target.
NebulousRikulau
said,
8 months ago
Well, remember all the rumors about how VP Cheney makes all the decisions and P Bush just signs the paperwork.
(I have no links handy, and some wouldn’t believe anyway, so I’ll just say that they’re rumors.)
James7344 said, 8 months ago
Neither of them fills me with confidence.
However, the president doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist, so long as he is smart enough to hire the right cabinet members and stay out of their way. And listen to them sometimes.
doctortoon said, 8 months ago
I just want the election to be OVER & DONE WITH!!!
mivins said, 8 months ago
Good ol’ common sense! You betcha.
ironflange said, 8 months ago
John Nance Garner described the office of the vice presidency as being “not worth a bucket of warm piss.” That pretty well sums it up, but it’s too bad nobody ever mentioned this to Cheney.
P.S. Hey, Unca, wouldn’t you have more fun with the “Mallard Fillmore” crowd?
longtimecomicsfan said, 8 months ago
Gee, should we apply the same standards to picking a VP as to our selection of a plumber?
The hilarious part is that after a week’s run of Doonesbury characters refusing to answer questions a la Sarah Palin, I just watched John McCain flat-out refuse to answer a question about Rush Limbaugh on Meet the Press.
Life truly does imitate art.
LameRandomName said, 8 months ago
Un-Freaking Believeable.
Barack Obama decides to do a neighborhood walk, ends up talking to a guy who was simply playing football in his yard with his kids; and gets asked a question that gives him the opportunity to insert his foot in his mouth up past his knees.
And now, the poor guy who did nothing more than ask a perfectly reasonable question gets to be personally attacked by a CARTOONIST.
This must be what people are talking about when they discuss meanspiritedness and the Politics of Personal Destruction.
Dypak said, 8 months ago
I have to agree with you Unc, you need to follow your own advice.
Those arent just rumors, Cheney makes top level policy decisions, on both diplomatic and domestic issues. This isnt just a nmatter if someone abusing his Constitutional authority, it is assuming control of our government. And if McCain/Palin get elected you can count on this policy continuing.
Dypak said, 8 months ago
LameRandomName says, “And now, the poor guy who did nothing more than ask a perfectly reasonable question gets to be personally attacked by a CARTOONIST.”
Don’t forget LRN that it was John McCain who brought the plumber up and thrust him to the forefront. Everyone else had already gone on to the next big zero news story when McCain decided to dredge up old What’s his name the plumber during the debate.
foxglove16
said,
8 months ago
Well Lame, it turns out the guy was lying, he’s not licensed and he’s in no position to buy any business, let alone one that nets, not grosses, $250K. He would actually get a tax break under Obama. After all the deductions and loopholes are used, the upper 1% pay 9% of their income in taxes. The middle and working class pays 17% of their income on taxes. Is it socialism to expect the ultra rich to fork up as much as the rest of us?
bell3rose1a said, 8 months ago
Who the hell is this Joe the Plumber guy anyway?!The guy’s got a gold plated wrench.
Eugeno
said,
8 months ago
Good on y’ Unc! We all need a good chuckle nown’en - re taxing the rich - only a fair share - does it seem fair that someone who ‘makes’ $400k/annum pays 10% or less, when someone else, who ‘earns’ $75k/annum pays 20%, or more? - even if the absolute number of dollars is greater in the former instance? After all - that 20% represents a much bigger proportion than the 10%. Besides, cutting taxes for the rich is sort of ‘double-dipping’ anyway, cuz they’re the ones who largely benefit from buying the Treasury instruments that are generated by the Fed to loan the gov’t money it has to borrow to make up the difference in reduced revenue, because the interest on those T’Notes, Bonds and Bills are paid by … the taxpayer … go figger. No wonder Forbe’s ‘flat-tax’ made no headway - no wiggle room, at all.
But, let’s remember that no matter who’s elected, neither will have any authority, or control, or oversight of the Federal Reserve System, which is the source of this problem we’ve got … nor will Congress - absolutely none. It always interesting to watch Congress put on a show of calling the Chairman of the FedRes to D.C. to explain the ‘crisis’, but never issue any orders or instructions to said Chairman to ‘fix’ the problem. And by now the Fed ‘leadership’ is so inept, and has allowed so much shady ‘leverage derivative’ speculation to happen, that it’s likely to collapse of it’s own weight. The Fed has outlived its usefulness, anyway … if it ever had any - except to make the already filthy rich, obscenely rich.
LameRandomName said, 8 months ago
Dypak -
Not true at all. Barack’s people were already savaging him that VERY day, kept at it and are STILL at it.
Unless you plan to tel me that I was having an extended hallucination and I never actually heard/saw any of it.
foxglove16 -
a) He wasn’t lying, he was asking a question.
b) He doesn’t HAVE to have a license. The only time you need one is when you are pulling a construction permit and if you are working for a company that already employs at least one Licensed master; then HE pulls the permits. If you had ever worked in construction or plumbing, and I have done both; you would have known that.
c) Whether or not he is in a position to buy his partner’s business is between him and his partner. I doubt that they will be consulting you for YOUR personal approval of any arrangements they make.
d) Barack’s $250k is NOT “Net”, it’s AGI. Adjusted GROSS Income.
e) The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 percent of the income but pay 37 percent of the income tax. The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent—those below the median income level—now earn 13 percent of the income but pay just 3 percent of the taxes.
f) As long as you’re reciting Obama’s talking points, perhaps you could help me understand something… How can he give 95% of working Americans a tax CUT when the bottom third of Americans don’t pay Federal Tax in the first place?
psp101 said, 8 months ago
Can’t wait to see your humor when Obama brings back the draft:
http://blog.hillary-clintons-voice.com/is-a-military-draft-in-obamas-future-plans-2095
Machado said, 8 months ago
”Not true at all. Barack’s people were already savaging him that VERY day, kept at it and are STILL at it. “
Absolutely correct, and the Plumber has been ’Blacklisted” by the Obama supporting Plumber’s Union and can’t find a job now…
Today they destroy a plumber in Ohio, tomorrow they’ll come for you….
http://bellsouthpwp.net/m/i/mixmach/joeplumberweb.jpg
Tukla Ratte said, 8 months ago
“The top 10 percent pay 68 percent of the tab.”
So? How much of the income do they make? How often do they have to decide between eating and paying for heat? Idiot.
Hugh B. Hayve said, 8 months ago
HAHAHA! Listen to yourselves! Them’s fightin words! One posts a bunch of made-up numbers as fact and another points to someones blog as proof of political policy. It’s The Misguided Vs. The Uninformed….who will win? Stay tuned folks! (gotta luv how UncaAlby instigates these arguments and then sits back and watches the fireworks, good job Unca!)
Susan001 said, 8 months ago
[Hugh], you’re crediting the wrong person. It’s GARRY who inspires such heated discussions. He’s one tough cookie!
Hugh B. Hayve said, 8 months ago
Really everywhere you go on this site that a comic might have any political connotation, there you’ll find heated debate. Nothing wrong with that..until things get silly..and on this comics site..silliness will not be tolerated!
cfortunato
said,
8 months ago
Joe the Plumber got a ton of media attention because JOHN McCAIN decided to make him the central subject of a National Presidential Debate. Not Obama. McCain.
And Joe the Plumber’s name isn’t Joe; he isn’t a plumber; and his taxes would go DOWN under Obama’s plan. And so would all the other plumbers. DAMNED few plumbers NET more than $250,000 a year.
The question is: Why doesn’t John McCain think Joe the Plumber should get a tax break? Why does call it “socialism” to cut Joe the Plumber’s taxes?
LameRandomName said, 8 months ago
tukla -
I must have misunderstood you. You APPEAR to be
saying that it’s OK to take whatever you want
from someone else’s wallet simply because they
had the bad judgment to be successful. But that
can’t be right… That’s what muggers do. So
clearly I must have misunderstood. I’m sure
you’ll forgive me of course. After all, as you
pointed out; I’m an idiot.
Hugh -
Made up numbers? Gee, I didn’t know the IRS made
up their statistics. Thank you for clarifying
that for me.
Fortunato -
a) Joe the Plumber was ALREADY all over the media BEFORE McCain began talking about him. He was
being completely savaged by Barack’s people, both
the paid ones and the unpaid ones for FOUR DAYS before the evening of the third debate.
It’s bad enough that an innocent man was attacked and his reputation assassinated. You don’t need to add insult to injury by rewriting history while it’s still occurring. Please try to keep in mind that I wasn’t away from the planet that week, I wasn’t in a coma and I wasn’t vacationing in Tibet. So please… Don’t waste your time telling me what I didn’t see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears.
b) Joe the plumber’s name IS Joe. Samuel JOSEPH Wurzelbacher.
c) He IS a plumber. And your contention that he isn’t is, quite frankly; too silly for words.
d) You claim that his taxes would go down under Obama. For someone whose statements make it clear that he doesn’t know what Joe does for a living, it seems unlikely that you possess sufficient knowledge of his personal finances to make that sort of assessment.
e) Your claim that “all the other plumbers” would have their taxes go down under Obama is flawed in TWO ways. First, you just got done claiming that Joe ISN’T a plumber, so your claim about “all the OTHER Plumbers” is, prima facie; ludicrous. Second, as I have already pointed out; you offer no evidence that you possess sufficient knowledge of Joe’s personal finances to determine what his tax situation would be under ANY tax plan. Your claim only becomes more unsupportable when you apply it to “all” plumbers. Furthermore, I worked many years in my younger days as a carpenter, and later as a plumber. I can tell that a great many tradespeople will be affected by Obama’s plan. I don’t mean that guy who frames houses for $9.00/hr and drinks his money up on the weekend. I’m talking about the guy who gives THAT guy his job. In the late 90’s I employed three workers doing commercial video systems that sold for 30-60 thousand dollars each. I mead well under six figures by the time I was done paying my bills, but I CAN tell you that under Obama’s plan I would have been absolutely RAPED and would have most likely needed to fire one of my three people. But, you’ve never run a business, so I wouldn’t expect that you would think about how low a figure 250k is to a small business.
My Doctor knows…
If Obama is elected and gets his tax plan implemented, I’ll be looking for a new doctor; because his practice will no longer be profitable.
In fact, I would be enourmously surprised if your knowledge and understanding of Barack’s tax plan is more sophisticated than; “95% of workers will get a tax cut!”
And I am STILL waiting for someone to explain to me how 95% of workers will get a tax cut when 1/3 of them don’t even PAY federal taxes to begin with.
But I guess it’s MY fault, as one of the people in the top 25% of incomes; I’m just a greedy bastard who doesn’t want to give up MY hard earned money to support someone else?
Well you know what? GUILTY AS CHARGED. Because I DON’T want to give you my money. There’s a good chance that I pay more in Local, State & Federal taxes than you MAKE in a year and I happen to think that’s enough. If you want more money, get a better job. Twenty years ago I was making $5.15/hour in a plastic factory and I’m a disabled veteran, so if I can do it; what’s YOUR excuse?
LameRandomName said, 8 months ago
Oh, almost forgot to mention…
The average tax rate for the top 50% of Taxpayers? 13.98%
The average tax rate for the bottom 50% of taxpayers? 3.01%
The average tax rate for the top 5% of Taxpayers, the very people that Obama wants to hit with MORE taxes? 20.68%
The average tax rate for the top 10%? 18.86%
The top 25%? 15.95%
Hmmm….
Top 05% - 20.68%
Top 10% - 18.86%
Top 25% - 15.95%
Top 50% - 13.98%
Bottom 50% - 3.01%
Can you at LEAST stop pretending that this is about making taxes fair? I’m not asking that you go so far as to admit that it’s about making them MORE UNFAIR; but at least stop pretending that low income taxpayers are getting screwed. They are getting the EXACT same benefits of US citizenship that other citizens are paying MUCH more for.
mark walton
said,
8 months ago
Brilliant.