Prime Examples
Newcastle Herald
Saturday March 4, 2006
JOHN Howard is the ultimate survivor in Australian politics. Like his hero Menzies he's withstood all comers, and in an era where the media live in a permanent frenzy of analysis. It takes rare skill to rise above this ruthless daily gauntlet, and he's not only prevailed but thrived.
Predecessors like Hawke or Fraser aged visibly in the job but not Howard. Looking back over the past 10 years of cartoons reveals only two signs of wear and tear. His hair is now a wispy remnant of its former glory, and his teeth have been ground down. Not surprising, considering he's survived three hair-raising, nail-biting elections.In many ways he's a cartoonist's nightmare, a man lacking any definable physical feature, other than being slightly bald and slightly short, and a personality that can be described as a charisma-free zone. This isn't a lot to work with.Politicians like Keating, Latham, and Hanson were God's gift to cartoonists. Living caricatures of themselves who stuck in our minds like three inch nails. Yet Howard, armed only with funny eyebrows and a pair of glasses perched on a head shaped like a golf ball, has achieved a level of public awareness they could only dream of.I occasionally greet audiences to discuss media topics, and usually start by cartooning a politician. If I draw a pair of spectacles in the middle of a blank sheet then voices immediately say "John Howard". Like the Nike symbol, he enjoys instant brand recognition. A notoriety helped rather than hindered by a daily spray of cartoons in national newspapers.I drew "Little Johnny" as Lazarus for 10 years, and as PM for another 10. Something tells me he might have a third decade still to go.
© 2006 Newcastle Herald