In the spirit of Herblock

I recall that when Richard Nixon was sworn in as President in 1969, the brutal Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herblock, who always depicted Nixon with dark jowls, gave Nixon a clean shave. Stephen Hess confirms my recollection, noting that Herblock drew a barbershop with a sign, “THIS SHOP GIVES EVERY NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES A FREE SHAVE.” In the spirit of Herblock, we salute Minnesota’s Senator Amy Klobuchar, depicted in the photo below in the reenacted swearing in with Vice President Cheney.

Senator Klobuchar is the daughter of a former Minneapolis newspaper columnist who was a local institution. I appeared in court on a case against her when she was a first-year attorney at a large Minneapolis law firm. When she identified herself for the record, the judge’s court reporter asked if she would spell her name for him. The judge exploded at the court reporter, “Good God, man, don’t you read the newspaper?” She has reached high office while adding luster to her name in her own right.

I don’t think I’ve had anything good to say about Minnesota Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison since I started writing about him here this past June. He made history today by becoming the first Muslim Congressman. Over the past few weeks, as he has, in my view, been wrongly challenged by Dennis Prager and misused by Rep. Virgil Goode, Rep. Ellison has exhibited great poise. He has distinguished himself by invoking the high ground of the United States Constitution. In the photo above with Speaker Pelosi and his wife Kim, Rep. Ellison reenacts his swearing in using Thomas Jefferson’s two-volume Koran, borrowed for the event from the Library of Congress. Congratulations to Rep. Ellison on this historic day.
PAUL adds: Well said, Scott, and I hope your grace period lasts longer than Herblock’s did.
JOHN adds: But not much longer. I think Herblock’s lasted around two weeks.
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