December 05, 2003

HOWARD DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

Cartoonists Bill Leak and Michael Leunig are both HDS cases. The illness has ravaged Leunig’s mind.

As for Bill, well, take a look at this. Spot the errors, cricket fans. Latham allegedly “plays with a straight bat”, a phrase usually denoting a defensive or at least cautious batsman, yet he has hit every delivery bowled by John Howard for six. Or has he? As Peter Costello prepares to deliver the second over, Latham is facing him -- meaning Latham’s unseen batting partner (Kevin Rudd? Carmen Lawrence?) must be the Gilchrist-like scorer. Leak’s metaphor further collapses: if Howard is representing Australia (he’s wearing the baggy green cap) who else can Latham be playing for but Australia’s opponents?

And why, if Latham is the straight-batted type, is he not holding his bat straight? It’s clearly angled to the right. The gap between bat and pat is enormous. No wonder Howard hasn’t placed any slips; this guy is looking to get clean bowled.

Posted by Tim Blair at December 5, 2003 10:27 PM
Comments

At the time of illustration, Howard was about to move Vanstone into first, second and third slip.

Posted by: LD at December 5, 2003 at 11:15 PM

And Alexander Downer at fine leg (remember the fishnet stockings?)

Posted by: tim at December 5, 2003 at 11:32 PM

INCOMPREHENSIBLE -adj.- that which cannot be understood --also see: LEUNIG

Posted by: Richard at December 6, 2003 at 01:23 AM

Leunig talks to snakes, our brave boys fought in World War Two so he'd have the right to.

As for Howard, Leunig was merely commenting on his ability to transform into a deadly yellow fog through black magic. Sometimes he appears at question time clad entirly in catskin, to placate his dark master.

The shoe: I don't understand the shoe.

Posted by: Amos at December 6, 2003 at 02:54 AM

Slips? Clean bowled? Fine leg? What the hell are you people talking about?

Posted by: Dave S. at December 6, 2003 at 07:02 AM