“I am Spartacus” will stick to Cory Booker

Cory Booker’s flub will stick, too. It is concise and memorable, and it captures a side of Booker that seems revealing. It says, “I am grandiose, self-inflating, and narcissistic.” Every candidate for President probably shares those features. So, obviously, does the current occupant. It’s just that most politicians don’t make them the centerpiece of their campaign rallies. Or high-profile Congressional hearings.

Charles Lipson
"Why some mistakes, like “I am Spartacus,” stick to politicians and others don’t"

"Political rule number 1: Don’t take a selfie with Bozo the Clown. Your opponents will use it forever in political ads.

"Political rule number 2: Don’t call yourself Spartacus. You will be ridiculed today, tomorrow, and forever.
"Somebody forgot rule number 2, and the man who forgot it, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), will pay a price.

"The junior senator from New Jersey is looking ever-more junior by the day. He is now the butt of every prankster with Photoshop and a picture of Kirk Douglas in a gladiator’s costume.

"True story. Today, when I Googled “Spartacus,” the search engine helpfully added a second word, “Booker.”

"Although the ridicule will fade, it will return every time Sen. Booker seeks the presidency, which will probably be for the rest of his life. Breathtakingly stupid comments like Booker’s “I am Spartacus” are like red wine spilled on a white carpet. You can mop and scrub them, but they don’t really disappear.

"Why do some mistakes like this live so long and others fade away so quickly?

The ones that live are those that reveal—and congeal—our deep-seated images of the person who made them. They do so succinctly, memorably. Their opponents know that and seize upon them. So do comedians and editorial cartoonists, unless they are unwilling to joke about a candidate they support (an all-too-common ailment these days).

"Consider a few Great Fumbles from recent U.S. political history." . . .

Tony Branco

All cartoons added by TD