9.05.2008

A Visual Guide to the Election

In the most recent edition of The Objective Standard, Craig Biddle explains in his article McBama vs. America, how the presidential "candidates are indistinguishable in terms of fundamentals," and how their core morality -- that of self-sacrifice as the ideal -- is the same one at the foundation of all the bloody totalitarian regimes in history. This is a great article and a must read.

However, if you'd like a short and easy visual guide when trying to decide how (or whether) to cast your vote, I'm here to help.

Based on a pithy comment Burgess Laughlin left on a Rule of Reason post, I give you my handy 2008 Election Reference to help you remember the key differences between the candidates:

A Visual Guide to the Election

Update: See other election-related art here. Also, welcome to readers from various forums (Conservative Punk, Objectivism Online) and other blogs (Noodlefood, Rule of Reason, etc.)!

Update # 2: I just posted two modified versions on CafePress, so if you're eager to buy a t-shirt or coffee mug, here's your chance! Also, see the updated version here.

Buy a t-shirt or coffee mug at CafePress!

13 comments:

SN said...

Good visual guide.

Hope you don't mind, but I had some fun trying out a variation of my own.

Stuart K. Hayashi said...

So in this ridiculous presidential election, the "choice" we are given is . . . self-sacrificial collectivism or self-sacrificial collectivism.

This reminds me of something Ellsworth Toohey has said:

"We've fixed the coin. Heads -- collectivism, and tails -- collectivism. Fight the doctrine which slaughters the individual with the doctrine which slaughters the individual. . . . Offer poison as food and poison as the antidote. . . . Observe the state of the world as of the present moment."

Renee Katz said...

Haha, I think I like softwarenerd's better than the original.

C. August said...

Funny one, softwarenerd. I wondered if anyone was going to start making other versions. Though I wonder if you could explain your thinking behind it a bit more? This could be Monday-morning-need-coffee slowness, but I'm having trouble identifying your fundamental point or comparison/contrast between McCain and Hillary.

The key to the cartoon I posted was that it shows that McCain and Obama are promoting the same statist, socialist politics with slightly different superficial emphases. The core ethics driving both is self-sacrifice; only the name of the altar is different.

What I liked so much about Burgess' original comment, and why I wanted to put it into visual form, was that it cuts right to the chase and exposes the supposed differences between the candidates as irrelevant or even non-existent.

C. August said...

Thanks for the Toohey quote, Stuart. I had forgotten that one, but it just perfect.

brendan said...

C -- love the cartoon. In fact, would you be willing to maybe make it available on a t-shirt? Perhaps on cafepress.com?

If so, I can guarantee you'll get at least an order for a t-shirt and a coffee mug from your efforts. And that they'll be on conspicuous display here in Georgia :-)

SN said...

"Though I wonder if you could explain your thinking behind it a bit more?"

In his convention speech, McCain spoke about his experience in a Vietnamese prison. He claimed that fellow prisoners helped him stay alive. Now, he sees the real world as being just like that prison, where we all must help each other get along, and where service is a great virtue.

C. August said...

Ah! Thanks for the clarification.

So McCain sees the world as a prison, and Hillary sees it as a malevolent jungle where we are all savages and must band together in a village to scrape out a meager survival. What wonderful senses of life!

I'd guess that Obama sees the world from the point of view of the proletarian struggle. I wonder what drives Biden? I know virtually nothing about him.

DSB111 said...

Is this image copyrighted? It's pretty much genius. I'm writing an article for a school paper about why McCain and Obama are the same, and I'd love to use the image with your permission (and of course, with credit given to you in the caption).

C. August said...

Kris, yes the content of the cartoon is copyrighted, as is everything on this blog. However, with proper attribution, I have no issue with you using it.

In fact, you might want to take a look at these updated versions that might work better for your needs.

C. August said...

I forgot to mention that if you're looking for a great analysis of how McCain and Obama are essentially the same, I hope you'll read Craig Biddle's article in The Objective Standard. I linked to it in the post.

And for a great satirical analysis, read John Obama and Barack McCain: Two Very Different Men.

Uly said...

Been participating in some 'photoshop politics' at www.freeulysses.com.

Figured I can't post images in the comments, so drop by and check it out. You can click the tag: photoshop-politics

There's also a great media contact list on the home page right now. Contact them if you have not been happy with the level of investigative reporting they've done this election season.

FreeUlysses

Andy said...

nice visual guide liked it a lot thanks for sharing..