Life, 1920-02-05 · page 12 of 52
Life — February 5, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American presidential ambitions through two main elements: **Left side:** A rejected presidential applicant withdraws, admitting he'd be a poor choice—satirizing the vanity of candidates who overestimate their fitness for office. **Right side:** A comic strip titled "Day in the Life of an American Citizen in Mexico" depicts slapstick scenes of an American tourist being repeatedly knocked around—suggesting Americans abroad are undignified or prone to comic mishaps. **Bottom cartoon:** Shows a car accident with the caption "You can't fool me by putting that blanket on, mister—I know what kind of car ya got," mocking someone attempting to disguise their vehicle's shabby condition. The overall theme satirizes American pretension: candidates overestimating themselves, tourists abroad making fools of themselves, and people deceiving themselves about reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
212 Our Presidential Department PPLICATIONS for President still continue to pour in. It would be unfair, however, not to admit that some of our ap- 4 plicants have thought better of a fad it. One gentleman writes: / 2“ Please withdraw my appli- cation for the presidency. I have been thinking it over, and have concluded that I can do better work on a more permanent basis in my own home town. If I became President I should un- doubtedly be widely advertised. A lot of people would get the impression that I was really a big man; after a while they would learn the fatal truth, and I would be worse off than I was before. corrected OY eanorts, “ Of course I realize that I ought not to look at this matter from a purely selfish standpoint. If I can do my country any good by being President, T should, I think, be willing to make the sacrifice. But I doubt it very much. I am no orator; everything I write is short and to the point; I have had a thorough business training, and the only thing that really interests me is to CAPRA OY GeNtEnmET FoR ADECATION win Bawurrs produce practical results for the great- est number in the shortest space of time. “T wouldn't do. I realize that now, and am only glad that I came to my senses in time.” We have received a great many in- quiries as to how we expect to elect our candidate for President after we CAPNRED BY OMBOTS Felt ASSEOATING yarrt Sueer GoreRnnen T. have made the final selection. This is — a matter that we feel we cannot be toc open about. It is quite possible, of course, that our candidate may not be elected. But it must be remembered that this great “YOU CAN’T FOOL ME BY PUTTING THAT BLANKET ON, MISTER. I KNOW WHAT KIND OF A CAR YA GOT” DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN CITIZEN IN MEXICO movement is something entirely new, and it may take time to bring about the full result. The idea of having a Presi- dent elected by a popular vote is a startling innovation. But we believe that in time its value will be understood by everybody. If you think, therefore, that you would like to be Presi- dent, send in your application at once, or name somebody you think would do, Here, for example, are a number of recommendations from men who themselves are too modest to run personally: “What's the matter with George Harvey? We believe it would keep him quiet for a while, and this would cer- tainly be a help.” “T trust you will not think me overbold in advocating the name of Burleson for the important office of President. At first sight this may not seem to be a wise choice. But the great point is this: Mr. Burleson would be unfair to everybody. As the office of President offers such a vari- ous field in which to be unfair, his efforts in one direction comicbooks.com