Life — February 5, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis 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.