Aside from having access to the nuclear codes, one of the other benefits of being president of the United States is that a major publication will enlist cartoonists to analyze the seemingly meaningless doodles you leave on the margins of White House stationery.
The Washington Post put together a fascinating interactive in which they asked cartoonists to analyze the doodles of current and past presidents — without knowing which commander in chief penned each "artwork."
President Obama, whose drawing of Senators Harry Reid, Dianne Feinstein, and Ted Kennedy appears on the top row in the center column in the image above, "shows a natural ability at caricature," according to one of the Post's cartoonists. Meanwhile, one artist deduced that President Nixon's sketches of horses and cowboys are "the work of someone who sees the world in stereotypes."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Harding, however, may win the award for the most abstract doodles. This is "like toppled art deco," said one cartoonist, while another said his harsh geometric scribbles look like "they were inked by a 13-year-old child of a bitter divorce."
Check out the full interactive at The Washington Post to see how all the presidents' marginalia stacks up.
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump lambasts crime, but his administration is cutting gun violence preventionThe Explainer The DOJ has canceled at least $500 million in public safety grants
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
