Cartoon, Political

Title:

John Sununu's Last Freebie

Object Name:

Cartoon, Political

Object ID:

2018.014

Creator:

Jim Borgman (b. 1954)

Place of Origin:

Cincinnati, OH

Date:

1991

Description:

Political cartoon, "John Sununu's Last Freebie." Drawn by Jim Borgman, 1991, for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Pen and ink on paper. Depicts President George H. W. Bush saying goodbye to John H. Sununu, who is seated on a bus, holding a one-way ticket back to New Hampshire. Signed, upper left, "JIM BORGMAN / CINCINNATI / ENQUIRER ©1991". Signed on mat, "AYUH... / GOING BACK TO MY NECK OF THE WOODS. / TO RICHARD with BEST WISHES, / JIM BORGMAN". Mounted, matted, and framed.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-10 W-15.2 inches

Provenance:

Presented to the donor by the artist.

New Hampshire Governor John H. Sununu (b. 1939) helped Vice President George H. W. Bush (b. 1924) win the New Hampshire primary in 1988. Appointed Chief of Staff by President Bush, Sununu eventually became a liability for the Bush administration. Sununu's use of campaign funds left from his gubernatorial race for private expenses and a series of personally and politically embarrassing episodes over the use of military aircraft, private jets, and a White House limousine on government, political and personal business, the subject of this cartoon, eventually led to his resignation on December 4, 1991.

Born in Cincinnati, OH, in 1954, Jim Borgman attended Kenyon College, graduating in 1976. He became the Cincinnati Enquirer's editorial cartoonist in 1976. Since 1980, his cartoons have been nationally syndicated, at first by King Features Syndicate, and starting in 2007, by Universal Press Syndicate. In 2008, he took a voluntary buyout offered by Enquirer parent Gannett Company. Borgman continues to work on Zits with fellow cartoonist Jerry Scott. Scott pitched the idea of a cartoon about a teenager and the strip debuted in July, 1997, with Borgman cartooning and Scott writing. "Zits" is syndicated in over 1500 newspapers around the world and is translated into nine languages. Borgman has won the Pulitzer Prize, National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award, and Reuben Award for his work.

Credit Line:

Gift of Richard E. Schade

People:

Sununu, John H. (1939- ), Bush, George H. W. (1924-2018)

Subjects:

Presidents, Bus travel, Bus stations, Bus drivers, Cartoons (Commentary)