Bush comments draw cries of foul; do satirists have different rules?

Cocaine, alcohol abuse strips were dropped by some papers, edited by others

By Lee Salem

Some ten or so newspaper editors called to object to the Doonesbury sequence that ran the week prior to the last election. One editor called the material “libelous.” Another claimed it wasn’t “fair.” Another wanted to know why it had been scheduled so close to the election.

So when Rena Pederson, this journal’s respected editor, called to ask for a comment from Garry Trudeau (who declined because of the time demands of the strip and his duties as campaign manager of the Duke2000 effort), I accepted the task.

Timing is everything

After 30 years of Doonesbury, a little history:

• In 1972 a character in the strip called George McCovern “a psychopathic jellyfish.”
• In 1980 the strip explored Ronald Reagan’s brain.
• In 1984 the strip had Vice President Bush “put his manhood in a trust.”
• In 1988 Peggy Noonan declared in the strip that the election was over and that Vice President Bush had won.
• In 1996 a character claimed that President Clinton’s was “the most ethically challenged White House in a century.”

The reference in each instance occurred the week just prior to the election.

Some time back, when Trudeau addressed the ASNE and was asked why he timed such commentary to run before an election, he answered, in essence, “When else would you run it? In the summer, when few are paying attention? A week after the election?”

A question of standards

I’m not being flippant here or unaware of newspapers’ editorial requirements. But please bear in mind that we don’t think Doonesbury should be held to the same standards to which you hold reporters or even most op/ed commentators.

Satire has different standards and different rules. We believe the First Amendment supports that contention, though we realize there are newspaper editors who disagree.

If satire is held to the same standards you hold reporters or commentators, then satire would not be able to exist on newspaper pages. Now some might say that is a good thing, but I would strongly disagree. Newspapers need the extra sparks that only satire can provide.

As for the specific week in question, keep in mind that the remarks about Governor Bush were made by Uncle Duke, a character well-known for his, well, pharmaceutical excesses.

Garry commented to one reporter: “Setting aside the important contextual aspect (it’s coming from Duke, who overstates everything), there were only two issues. Has Bush suffered from alcohol abuse, and has he ever used cocaine?

“Bush admits to the former, and won’t deny the latter, saying only that he denies drug use from the mid-’70s on.

“About his early years, he will only say, ‘When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible,’ a Zen-like, content-free assertion. What should we conclude about such a carefully bracketed denial?

“At some point, common sense has to take over: If he’s never used cocaine, why won’t he deny it outright? What would it cost him, since he’s happy to issue denials on other personal issues (e.g. adultery)?

“Here’s why this matters: Last year, in Tulia, Texas, 40 African-Americans, or 12 percent of that town’s black population, were arrested for selling small amounts of cocaine.

“Some of those later convicted were given sentences ranging from 20 years to more than 300 years. Apparently, none of them was entitled to be ‘young and irresponsible.’ ”

Go easy? Not likely

In the above-mentioned session before the ASNE, Trudeau explained that asking a satirist to be fair was like asking a defensive back in the NFL to go easy. Not only is it not going to happen, it can’t happen. Such a requirement would be a form of death to both.

For 30 years Doonesbury has provided a level of satire, insight and humor unmatched by any other comic strip.

That the strip is still being challenged by newspapers shows we have a long way to go to justify its raison d’etre. But it also shows that Doonesbury continues to do what it does so well.

(Doonesbury was first published on Oct. 26, 1970 and now appears in more than 1400 newspapers.)

Salem is the editor of Universal Press Syndicate, where he has been employed for 26 years.