By Greg Smith
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, Oct. 16, 1999; 1:30 a.m. EDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa –– For editorial cartoonists considering who the next president should be, Texas Gov. George W. Bush would win the draw – literally.

Some cartoonists say Bush, the son of a former president, would be easier to caricature than Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic candidate.

"Trying to draw Al Gore is like trying to breathe life into a piece of used carpet," said Steve Benson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist at The Arizona Republic. "He doesn't have much going for him."

For Benson, as well as Brian Duffy of The Des Moines Register, Bush, the Republican presidential front-runner, would be more fun to sketch.

"There are a lot of characteristics that his father had that I could just borrow and use for him – just squash the face down a little bit, put pointy ears on and change the hair style," he said.

"He's probably the one that if cartoonists had to vote for, would be not just better for your country, but better for our profession," said Duffy, the only cartoonist in the country to have his work featured on the front page every day.

Though their comments are lighthearted, some of the nation's leading editorial cartoonists are gathering at the University of Iowa for a symposium, called "Drawing the Line: Political Cartooning Under Pressure," which ends today.

According to John Soloski, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Iowa, editorial cartoonists are going the way of the typewriter at many newspapers across the nation.

The symposium, held in conjunction with the journalism school's 75th anniversary celebration, is "to really draw attention to what could be an endangered species in American journalism," he said.

Fewer than 150 editorial cartoonists work full-time at U.S. newspapers and the number shrinks every year, he said.

Fewer newspapers, competition on the Internet and other sources are responsible, some cartoonists said.

"It's not a dying profession, but there are fewer cartoonists than there were. One of the first places executives go to cut staff is editorial cartoonists, or when one retires or leaves, they're not replaced. I think that's really sad," said John Sherffius of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

"I think we are seen (as) more of a luxury than a necessity," Benson said.

Political cartoonists say their goal each day is to promote thought, reaction and debate.

Or, as Benson says, "The editorial cartoonist's primary goal is to throw the first punch in a bar fight and stand back and watch everybody else swing in."

Joel Pett, cartoonist at The Lexington Herald-Leader, said too many editors underestimate the power of a political cartoon.

"Editorial cartoons are sort of the newspaper equivalent of a sound bite – they're great," said Pett, immediate past president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists.

"It's amazing how many newspapers have a lot of ponderous editorials and columns – and I read them and I like them – but hardly any cartoons. I think that's a real mistake," he said.

Soloski agreed: "There's probably no part of a daily newspaper that day in and day out draws as much reader reaction as the editorial cartoon."

Sherffius can attest to that.

Last year, when St. Louis Cardinals' slugger Mark McGwire acknowledged he used androstenedione, Sherffius drew cartoons condemning use of the drug.

"I tried not to condemn him. For instance, I didn't draw him with big breasts or anything like that," he said. "But I must say, every time I've done anything criticizing 'andro,' I've gotten a number of calls and letters – probably the angriest response since I've been here – from people who said I was picking on Mark McGwire."