Matt Wuerker's Best of 2023
I like to think cartoons are a valuable and unique vehicle for political opinion, but of course I do — I’m a cartoonist. The idea that grown-ups like me get to lob their opinions around in the form of silly drawings does seem surprising. It’s really a bit infantile if you think about it. It’s the kind of misbehavior you might expect from crayon-wielding first-graders, nonetheless, we cartoonists get to, too. In fact, it’s something we’ve been doing for centuries — thank you Mr. Hogarth, Mssr. Daumier, Mr. Herblock and others. It remains a potent way to express one’s opinion, even in the era of memes and TikTok.
I am very fortunate to get to post mine here on POLITICO.
Cartoons provide a snapshot of the march of folly that more serious types refer to as “politics.” Ideally, they capture the absurdity of a moment, illuminate some low-hanging hypocrisy, or call out some head-slapping stupidity. Taken together they can serve as an amusing chronicle of our kooky times. In that spirit I offer up a selection of my own cartoon efforts from 2023.
