Last week Sacramento Bee staff editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman launched a campaign for governor of California with a fictional character named Joe King.
Jack tells me, “I wanted to create a character who could comment ecumenically on both Brown and Kashkari. I’ll have the ability to comment real time on video when issues pop up, in addition to doing a continuous story line. I expect to post him once or twice per week until the election. He’s a cross between a bunch of different politicians, and will strive to be forcefully vague. For the future. For the past. And beyond.”
The project is an effort by Jack to “broaden my portfolio across multiple platforms” meaning he’s branching out beyond cartooning. Already he writes editorials and a Sunday column. The campaign is also supported by The Bee which provides a videographer to shoot and help edit the video.
This has happened before. I recall during the heyday of the Peanuts comic strip craze, there was a push to make Snoopy (the beagle) President. And before that, it was Pogo Possum (from the Pogo comic strip). Nothing too exciting here.
I remember voting for Bill the Cat….the comic strip character, not the Clinton.
Pat Paulsen (the Smothers Brothers Show):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SXKYk1bMpI