I guess that I always admired Winston Churchill, especially the wit in his books, as one of those rare individuals who made his mark on the 20th century, in both good ways and of course in horrible ways (he is after all a staunch representative of what the mentality and concept of Empire embodies). But no matter how one attempts to size him up he was a rather dynamic character in a way that McCain and Bush are but pathetic epigons.

Churchill also became famous for being taken prisoner during the Boer War, but unlike McCain the indomitable Sir Winston managed to escape, returning home at a young age to be celebrated as a national hero. Unlike John McCain or our President (for some reason Bush has some delusion of thinking himself to be Sir Winston like—merely think about Churchill in terms of the military where he was in three wars on three different continents—Bush the grounded wingless pilot hiding out in the reserves so as to avoid combat—in this sense Bush is more of an actor than Reagan) Churchill had a plethora of talents—he could in fact drink, as well as express his mind with such a degree of credibility and clarity so as to win himself a Nobel Prize in literature and he wasn't really a slouch with a paint brush either (Churchill was in fact that embodiment of the artist that Hitler had dreamed of becoming in his youth)—yet these were things of leisure, things done in the background of a rather long and impressive career as a statesman and yet done with such a passion so as to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature seems to describe to me the kind of character we are speaking of when it comes to Churchill.

When Churchill gave his speech at the start of the Battle of Britain it was to embolden the hearts and minds of the English people to not yield; his tiny island of England after all stood all alone to face off against a military giant that in a mere 35 days had conquered Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Poland and nearly took England too after the near fatal defeat at Dunkirk—it was a true testament of will during that Battle of Britain where an out gunned and out manned British army as well as the entire population of England used their wits and guts to stave off defeat and for 5 years Sir Winston was truly the voice of the British empire—in this sense of defending the British Isles from invasion it would seem that our present leadership and the good POW McCain have more in common with Churchill's opponent—the twisted and perverted Adolph Hitler.

I agree with Brodner 100% in his depiction of McCain and his brief description of the US and American leadership in regards to our involvement in Iraq (as that of a fantasy)—especially McCain's thinking in regards to Iraq and Vietnam (for McCain it may well be a chance to get even).

Brodner has made an excellent caricature to boot. I think that using a small film such as was made on the New Yorker as an excellent aid to expressing the ideas contained in a work of art—maybe that will catch on. Because it was really amazing to watch Brodner think with his pencil.

Thanks K and R for the interesting responses. Churchill was an inspiring figure. I think we wish McCain were and we wish he were right on the war. He's just not. And the longer this goes, the more stubborn he will seem. Just like . . . can we think of who that might be? Not Churchill, f'sure.

NOT!

"I do not admit...that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America, or the black people of Australia...by the fact that a stronger race, a higher grade race...has come in and taken its place" [to Palestine Royal Commission, 1937]