As unkind as Herblock could be, syndicated cartoonist Oliphant really takes the gloves off, in "Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture From the Bush Years," a roundup of the artist's wonderfully wicked political cartoons and sculpture from the past decade or so at the Stanford in Washington Art Gallery. Now 77, the artist shows no sign of mellowing, as evidenced by renderings of both President Bushes and many others.

It's treatment that can only be called vicious, whether he's depicting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a leather-clad dominatrix with a whip or as a squawking, toothy bird. But what's perhaps most interesting about Oliphant is that, despite his penchant for the ruthless, he loses nothing when, on rare occasion, he goes soft on us.

His Dec. 27, 2006, "Gerald Ford Remembered" is a case in point. Gone from this affectionate, and deeply poignant, memorial to the man who had died the day before is the bandage on the forehead Oliphant traditionally drew in to make fun of Ford's reputation for clumsiness.

Even with the barb removed, the sharp edge of true portraiture remains.

--Michael O'Sullivan (June 6, 2008)