Unzipping the news

As they say, clothes make the point. Cartoonists dress down politicians, air dirty laundry, find out who’s talking through his hat and who’s in whose pocket. We de-pant the clueless and clothes-less emperors, size up the real duds and needle them. But no matter how we tailor the message, when we go to work, we wear our politics on our sleeves (and occasionally, like Steve Sack’s Alberto Gonzales, we slip politicians up them). Of course, we’re not all cut from the same artistic cloth. Contrast Matt Davies’ simple, off-the-rack Iraq treatment with Pat Oliphant’s vintage garment-district detail and elegance. The naked truth is, most of us would give the shirt off our backs to draw like Oliphant.

— Joel Pett