Political Cartoon

The claim of the cartoon is that the stimulus package may not be working fast enough or, if it is, that Americans must be patient. Supports offered for the claim are few in the cartoon. The main support offered is that the economic meltdown is potentially as deadly as jumping from an airplane without a parachute. At the same time, the artist sketches several different parachutes, one for each letter of the word "stimulus." By showing a number of different parachutes, the artist infers that the stimulus plan is multifaceted and involves different economic sectors. To cry "Faster!" To the parachutes is unnecessary as some have already inflated and others will eject in their own time. The warrant of the political cartoon is that Americans are extremely worried about the economic crisis but are too impatient to wait for the results of the stimulus plan. Also, the artist assumes that the stimulus package is already working because the first few parachutes have deployed and the remainder is about to deploy.

The backing of the warrant includes the drawing of different parachutes. If the artist only drew one parachute then the reader would infer that the stimulus package is monolithic. Instead, the artist portrays the stimulus package as being multifaceted and potentially saving jobs in multiple business sectors. The fear on the skydiver's face and the cry of "Faster! Faster!" are used to back the claim that Americans may be worried for nothing.

Possible rebuttals to the cartoon include the following. First, a reader might note that many of the parachutes appear not to be working or have yet to be deployed. Second, the artist does not show how close to the ground the jumper is. These two facts add doubt as to how effective and efficient the stimulus plan is. Opponents and critics of the existing stimulus plan are directly addressed and will also identify strongly with the skydiver.