Paul Conrad
The three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist on his father, the future of the 'L.A. Times,' and
President Gerald Ford once joked, "Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Cry, and you've been the subject of a Paul Conrad cartoon." Ford knew this from personal experience, as a frequent target of Conrad's work in the Los Angeles Times. Since 1950, the staunch liberal has wielded his pen in defense of social justice, civil rights, and political responsibility, skewering presidents from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush with ferocity and aplomb.
He was brought to the Times by publisher Otis Chandler in 1964, and he worked there for three decades, bringing with him praise, prestige, lawsuits, death threats, and even a few personal phone calls from California's then-Governor Ronald Reagan and his wife, who tried unsuccessfully to grouse their way out of caricature. But his proudest achievement was making Nixon's "enemies list": a sure sign he was doing something right. When the Times reportedly pushed him out in 1993, it was just another in a series of self-emasculating moves, culminating dramatically this month with the forced resignation of editor Dean Baquet. But, even as his old employer continues to reel from declining circulation and rumors of a possible sale, Conrad is still going strong. Drawing Fire, a documentary tribute to Conrad, aired earlier this month on PBS, and he has just published his autobiography I, Con, on L.A.-based Angel City Press.
-Nikki Bazar
CityBeat: The Times is going through a lot of changes. What would you like to see happen there?
Paul Conrad: The problem with the L.A. Times is that all of the first-rate talent quit when they sold the paper to Tribune Co. It's a shame, because a paper being published in L.A. shouldn't be edited or whatever in Chicago. That's just silly. I hope they get it settled, although I don't know how they're going to. A newspaper's a funny thing; it's a very personal thing to each and every reader. It's necessary that they get talent that knows their way around town. They can't get a lot of these guys back, so now they'll have to make do with what they've got. It's sad, it really is.
What led to your departure from the L.A. Times in 1993?
I'm part of the liberal wing that they wanted done with. I would have continued drawing there, but not under the circumstances. I didn't want to just work for "somebody." There was all this talk about changing. The best paper in the nation other than The New York Times and The Washington Post, and they wanted to change it. And I kept thinking, "Change it to what?" But I couldn't get an answer, a logical answer. So I said, "Screw it." I had a marvelous payout, so I took it and ran. But to just watch a paper dissolving, imploding ... . They've changed it every way they could change it that I know of.
How did you feel about last year's firing of your successor, conservative cartoonist Michael Ramirez?
I was never so happy to see anybody go in my whole life. Best move they ever made. It was just tragic to be followed by that guy. He was one hell of a good artist and a good illustrator, but he wasn't a cartoonist, which was too bad. But that's the way it turned out, and they were stuck. He doesn't understand politics. I wouldn't have run five of his cartoons. They were marvelous drawings, but they didn't say anything and he had very little humor.
Your most recent cartoons reveal that you're pretty happy with the outcome of the November 7 elections. What are your hopes for the Democratic Party?
I'm surprised they're still alive. They went four years not having any chairmanship in the Congress, and the Republicans were more than happy to just count them out. I just thought that was sick. But, that's the way it's built. All I can hope is they won't get in any political fights internally. Pelosi is a good legislator, very good. I hope somehow they'll get a good presidential candidate in the next two years. Joe Biden might be good; he's been quiet for far too long. Obama is too young but, man, he's gonna be around, so don't write him off.
You've commented that George W. Bush has almost surpassed Nixon as our worst president. What else would Bush have to do to finally take the Number One spot?
Well, he could have nullified the Constitution, which he was working at. It's absolutely sinful what this guy did with these write-offs - Congress would pass laws and he'd OK them but then he'd say, "Well, they don't apply to me." Talk about a self-indulgent bastard. Congress is going to have to go back through and review what he's done. I mean, this guy was out for king; he had the wrong country. At least Nixon didn't go international on us. I don't know why Bush couldn't have gone out with his Congress, to tell you the truth. Or maybe they'll somehow get the idea to impeach the bastard. I think they oughta try Bush and Cheney. It really is necessary that at least the guys in charge be above-board.
I just don't know when and how we're going to get out of Iraq. I mean, they keep saying we need to put more troops in to get out. It's just nonsense. In Vietnam, we just up and left. Everyone was hollering about the domino theory and the rest of that crap, and it really didn't matter. That war was lost. We used the helicopters we had and got people out, and we didn't have to add troops to do it. This is a different situation, yes, but nevertheless we've got to just move out. A lot depends on the guts they got, and apparently nobody up there has any.
In Drawing Fire, it's mentioned that your father was fairly conservative, something you don't mention in your new book.
Yeah, I try and forget that. He was an ardent Republican, and I'll be damned if I know why. I tried to figure it out and I gave up. But he was a damn good father. He went without lunches while working on the Milwaukee railroad to buy me a train. How he managed through the Depression is beyond me.
How do you imagine the future of cartooning in the age of the Internet?
I don't know. I really don't. A cartoon has to be a sudden thing, a response. I'm not sure about this Internet stuff. I mean, you've got to hold a cartoon in your hands. I'm a newsman, and that's what it's about: newspapers. I still draw four cartoons a week that are syndicated by Tribune Media Services. I guess I'll just continue that until I drop it, which is not quite yet, because the bad guy is in there for two more years.
Published: 11/30/2006
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