Presidential Pyrotechnics

Ways to spend July Fourth: Go to the Esplanade in Boston to watch the Pops concert and subsequent fireworks. Or debate the actions of our presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain. Why not do both? That’s what Bob and Susannah, plus a neutral cat, do on their Independence Day in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!

$3.59 a gallon?

Gas prices are going up, folks, and two presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, have proposed a solution: a gas-tax holiday. But, Susannah wants to know, what about more environmentally-friendly alternatives? Read more — including Bob’s response and an homage to my own greater Boston MBTA — in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!

Wal-Mart makes Obama ‘Scream’

Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, has lost the Pennsylvania primary to his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, after Obama called certain red-state voters “bitter” to a San Francisco audience. What can Obama do to mend relations with this demographic group? As he explains to Susannah, Bob has some ideas — which include visiting a certain blue-state nemesis — in the latest episode of “Running Gags”!

Susannah shaves her head for Tibet

In the latest installment of my political cartoon “Running Gags,” Susannah gets her head shaved as a sign of solidarity with the Tibetan protestors of the China Summer Olympics. Others who did this in real life include over 40 people in Harvard Square on Wednesday.

Obama’s courageous response

Sen. Barack Obama has addressed the controversial comments of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright — who presided over Obama’s wedding and baptized the couple’s two children — with a thoughtful speech in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Bob and Susannah reflect on the speech in the latest “Running Gags”!

McCain: Springtime of GOP’s discontent

Arizona Sen. John McCain has won the Republican presidential nomination for 2008. Does he have what it takes to mobilize the GOP base? Bob and Susannah discuss in the latest “Running Gags”!

Spring training — the political version

Hey there, all you snowbound New Englanders. Want something to take your mind off winter? Your Boston Red Sox are in spring training in Florida. Want something else to take your mind off winter? Democratic presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton are duelling it out in another warm-weather locale — Texas, site of Thursday’s debate. Bob and Susannah discuss these two different kinds of spring training — baseball vs. political — in a vacation-themed “Running Gags”!

Merci to my muse for the idea.

Hillary’s place in history

Hillary Clinton Cartoon, originally uploaded by oppositefields.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York “won” the Florida Democratic presidential primary, debated rival Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois on Thursday, and is now preparing for the Feb. 5 primaries. What is Clinton’s role in history as, potentially, our first female president? How greatly does her negative side affect Americans’ decisions on whether or not to vote for her? Susannah and Bob discuss in the latest “Running Gags”!

Merci to my muse for suggesting the background effect.

Frames of reference: YouTube, Kucinich

What should our candidates for president in 2008 use as the basis for their decisions? Should it be the Bible, as a YouTube questioner suggested during this week’s GOP debate? Should it be the U.S. Constitution, which Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) cited for his health-care policy? Can it be both? Bob and Susannah discuss …

Give Peace (and Al Gore) a Chance

Former vice president Al Gore, who made headlines last year for his Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” has won the Nobel Peace Prize. My comic-strip characters, liberal Susannah and conservative Bob (plus a neutral cat), assess the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s choice in the latest episode of “Running Gags,” which I drew for the America Online Elections Blog from Oct. 2006 to Sept. 2007.