Twisted Terror Scares

Cartoonists relentlessly rip politicos for exploiting terror scares for short-term political gain. (Case in finger-point: Vice President Dick Cheney saying this month that antiwar Connecticut voters might encourage “Al Qaeda types.”) But would it be heresy to concede that each new airport incident gives us ideological ammunition too? We gleefully used the liquid carry-on ban to take off on election politics, war and peace, healthcare, even right-wing bottle-blonds.

On second thought, maybe it’s not quite the same thing. After all, while we take heartfelt potshots at power, Cheney is a powerful hotshot only a heart monitor away from the presidency. — Joel Pett

Joel Pett is the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of the Lexington Herald-Leader. His work also appears in USA Today.