I'm belated in getting to this editorial cartoon from David Horsey earlier in the week. As with his usual fare, his artistic talent in the genre of editorial cartoons is impressive, his use of caricatures, effective. The rub is the caricature he uses to portray the stereotypical "family values" conservative clan. Bluntly, the caricature is offensive.

Behold the obese, not so bright looking, conservative family unit. The husband's garish facial features fight a fearsome battle with his bulging tum-tum for the most disturbing aspect of his appearance. The wife's girth complements the blank stare in her eye; frumpy hair and uninspiring wardrobe provide added effect. Meanwhile, the nose-picking, flat-topped twerp adds a touch of ambiance to the life of the naive rubes. Quaint.

Yes, editorial cartoons are supposed to thrive on hyperbole. Horsey is master of the art form, and generally a visual pleasure well deserving of his Pulitzer Prize. But this caricature falls lock step into the distorted view many members of the MSM have of conservative, Evangelical families. It's simply incorrect, as much as some readers of the P-I would like to smugly believe its truth.

Let me offer my own family as a contrast. We're a conservative family, though we don't perfectly fit the stereotype of social conservatives. My wife is more libertarian in legislating the behavior of others and regular readers are familiar with my own politics. Yet, we vote largely Republican, consider ourselves conservative, and attend an Evangelical church (non-stereotypical as it may be). Yet, I think we don't, uh, match Horsey's vision.

Perhaps this is just a personal gripe, but I consistently find the picture painted in many corners of the media to be painfully inaccurate in understanding who conservatives are, let alone why they believe what they believe. I don't believe all Democrats are birkenstock-wearing, vegetarian-eating, transit-riding, hemp-loving peacenicks. Such an assumption would be obnoxious, in addition to being incorrect. It would seem fair if more members of the media could avoid the reverse of such false stereotypes for the other side of the political spectrum.

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Footnote: Long-time readers will recognize the link to my family picture comes from an alum of Sound Politics, Tim Goddard, who now has his own company in the wake of his work on Mike McGavick's campaign.