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Friday March 27, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 27, 2020

Doug Ford has risen to the coronavirus challenge

Coronavirus cartoons

As the spread of COVID-19 has utterly transformed life as we know it, it has also emerged as the most profound test of political leadership in a generation or more.

Of course, the pandemic is, first and foremost, a health crisis. In the global response, doctors and public health authorities have been foregrounded, and rightfully so. But it is also a crisis of public confidence and so it is appropriate to look at the crisis through the lens of the political leadership as well.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, having gotten Brexit done, now faces an even greater challenge. He has been forced to pivot from an initial anachronistic approach of herd immunity (i.e., letting the virus run amok) to proper suppression and mitigation efforts as in the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was voted out of office last month, but while a new government has been unable to form, the former doctor-turned-politician has, quite literally, risen to the role of caretaker government. On St. Patrick’s Day, he delivered a national address that marked the high watermark of his premiership.

The pandemic has forced Angela Merkel, long averse to televised displays of leadership, into doing precisely that. And in so doing proving why she continues to be primus inter pares among world leaders.

March 13, 2020

As for Donald Trump, there is only one word: disaster.

Here at home, Canadian leaders, at all orders of government, have acted on the advice of scientists, doctors and public health experts, as they bloody well should. And for that we can, as a people, be grateful.

From Prime Minister Trudeau to our premiers and mayors, the performances of our leaders have been commendable.

But perhaps the biggest success has been the commanding performance of Ontario Premier Doug Ford. It was not even two weeks ago that Ford was embroiled in a kerfuffle over manufacturing defects with new provincial licence plates; today, it seems hard to imagine a scandal with smaller stakes. And a protracted dispute with the teacher’s unions had dragged his government’s approval rating underwater. Now, in his daily briefings about the province’s response to COVID-19, he is modelling leadership in real time.

Series: Young Doug Ford

As the crisis has deepened, Ford is exemplifying the tenets of good crisis communication. He has been transparent and forthcoming, hosting daily briefings which may seem routine, but are in fact distinguished by attention to small details.

The premier begins promptly on time, wearing a suit and tie. He has been honest and plainspoken about the scale and severity of the challenge before us. He has delegated and empowered his bench of ministers, including Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott and Finance Minister Rod Phillips. He has put aside partisan considerations.

He is working hand in hand with his federal counterparts. And, for a man whose political career has been defined by animosity towards the mainstream media, this week’s explicit recognition of their essential role marked a turning point. (Continued: Toronto Star)



 

Thursday March 12, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 12, 2020

As virus outbreak spreads, schools face a dilemma

When the new coronavirus surfaced at Saint Raphael Academy after a school group returned from a trip to Italy, officials decided to close the Rhode Island Catholic high school for two weeks.

February 4, 2020

Instead of cancelling classes, the school in Pawtucket instituted “virtual days” where students are expected to work from home, check for assignments through an online portal and occasionally chat with teachers.

A few miles away, a public charter school also closed after a teacher who attended the same Italy trip awaited test results. But at Achievement First, the two days off were treated like snow days — no special assignments and no expectation that kids keep up their schoolwork.

As more schools across the United States close their doors because of the coronavirus, they are confronted with a dilemma in weighing whether to shut down and move classes online, which could leave behind the many students who don’t have computers, home internet access or parents with flexible work schedules. As the closures accelerate, children at some schools, like Saint Raphael, will be able to continue some form of learning, while children at schools with fewer technological or other resources, may simply miss out.

September 3, 2013

The deep technological and wealth gap that exists nationwide between poor and affluent students has made the coronavirus outbreak even more challenging for school officials, who are wrestling with not only health and safety decisions but also questions about the ethics of school closures.

These deliberations have been playing out in schools all around the country during the outbreak, from urban districts in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles to rural ones in Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

“If we shut down for a week or two weeks, and some of the kids can do it but some can’t, what do you do?” said Edward Albert, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools. “There are some places that don’t even have phone service.”

Although widespread closures are a new development in the United States, they are already a reality in nations that have been hit harder by the virus. The United Nations’ education agency, UNESCO, says nearly 300 million children in 22 countries on three continents were being affected by school closures last week. In response, it has begun supporting online learning programs. (PBS) 

Meanwhile, Ontario’s elementary teachers are set to resume contract talks with the government on Wednesday, but they’re warning that if bargaining doesn’t produce an agreement, the union will resume job action after March break. (CBC)


 

Friday March 6, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 6, 2020

Biden’s older voters are showing up. Sanders’ young voters aren’t

March 3, 2020

Super Tuesday was not so super for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. He lost most of the states up for grabs, and it’s quite possible that he’ll end up with fewer delegates on the evening than chief rival former Vice President Joe Biden. 

Sanders’ struggles reflect an inability to connect with older voters, while at the same time failing to generate large youth turnout.

We saw a very familiar age gap across the Super Tuesday states. Sanders crushed it with younger voters. Looking across all the contests with an exit poll, Sanders won an astounding 61% to Biden’s 17% among voters under 30 years old. He even beat Biden by 20 points (43% to 23%) among those between 30 years old and 44 years old.

January 20, 2016

Sanders, however, struggled mightily with older voters. Biden won by 22 points (42% to 20%) with voters 45 years old to 64 years old. With senior citizens (those 65 years and older), Sanders managed to come in third with 15% (behind Biden’s 48% and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s 19%).

Now you might be tempted to look at those numbers and see that Sanders won those under 45 years old by more than he lost those 45 years and older.

The problem for Sanders is the under 45 group make up a smaller piece of the pie. In no Super Tuesday state with an exit poll did those under 45 years old make up more than 42% of voters. Those under 45 years old were just 35% of the electorate in the median state.

The lack of younger voters in the electorate is, of course, usually the case. Those under 45 years old make up the minority of Democratic primary voters in 2016 as well. Sanders’ theory of the case, though, is his that candidacy can generate youth turnout.

A look at the results on Tuesday night suggests that he failed to do so.

The lack of strong youth turnout didn’t stop Sanders from his big win Nevada earlier this month. Unfortunately for Sanders, he did 4 points, 6 points and 7 points worse on Super Tuesday compared to Nevada among those 18-29 years old, 30-44 years old and 45-64 years old respectively. He actually did 3 points better among seniors on Super Tuesday than in Nevada, but Biden more than compensated for that by doing 19 points better with those 65 years and older.

Indeed, Biden did better in every age category on Tuesday compared to Nevada as he became the clear alternative to Sanders.

Going forward, the math is simple enough for Sanders. He’s either gotta win more votes from those voters who regularly turn out, or he’ll need to bring more young people to the polls. Failure to do so will result in a Biden nomination. (CNN)

The challenges of getting a caricature right. Below, shown using an iPad, captures the struggle I had drawing Bernie Sanders for the March 6, 2020 editorial cartoon. It’s maybe the 6th or 7th time I’ve ever drawn him, and despite he may have reached the final chapter of his political life (post Super Tuesday 2020), I think it’s my best drawing of him.

 

Wednesday February 5, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 5, 2020

Peter MacKay is becoming his own biggest obstacle to winning the Conservative leadership

Peter MacKay Cartoon Gallery

It seems increasingly that the greatest threat to Peter MacKay’s leadership bid is Peter MacKay.

The presumed front-runner in the campaign to replace Andrew Scheer as Conservative leader has stumbled more than once in recent days.

Peter MacKay’s team tried to portray their man in a sympathetic light, inviting CTV into a child advocacy centre that helps victims of abuse – an organization the candidate co-chairs.

MacKay talked about the new level of understanding, compassion and civility he has divined since leaving politics. “I’d like to do politics a little differently,” he said.

The reporter asked him if he felt that a tweet sent out by his account at the weekend, which criticized Justin Trudeau for using $875 in Liberal party donations for yoga sessions, was evidence of a new civility. He agreed it was not and said he had not had the opportunity to vet the tweet before it was sent out, at which point his media handlers shut down the interview while the cameras were still rolling.

It turned a good news story into a bad one and pointed to a lack of leadership. MacKay has more experience than anyone on his team and should have insisted on finishing the interview, even if the heat was rising.

The missteps add propellant to the smouldering anyone-but-MacKay campaign that is building inside the party. I have spoken to a number of influential and vocal Conservatives who offer a variation of the following – MacKay is a good guy but he cannot be leader; he is not that competent, not that bright and he doesn’t do the work. (National Post)

The Inking Process

 

Drawing the Federal Leaders

A little video summary of the 2019 Federal Election, with a step-by-step process of drawing each leader, all to relaxing ambient music and Graeme’s non stop blather. Enjoy!

And here is a gallery of editorial cartoons drawn during the 2019 election campaign period:

August 30, 2019
September 5, 2019
September 7, 2019
September 10, 2019
September 11, 2019
September 12, 2019
September 12, 2019
September 17, 2019
September 18, 2019
September 19, 2019
September 20, 2019
September 21, 2019
September 24, 2019
September 26, 2019
September 28, 2019
October 1, 2019
October 2, 2019
October 3, 2019
October 4, 2019
October 5, 2019
Social Media Donkey
October 8, 2019
October 9, 2019
October 11, 2019
October 12, 2019
October 16, 2019
October 17, 2019
October 18, 2019
Drawing the Leaders YouTube
October 19, 2019