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Lest you think that doing five publishable drawings a week is a cush job, try it yourself. You need not only artistic talent but also familiarity with public issues, a finely tuned satirical sense, writing skill -- try describing the Bush Iraq policy in a cartoon bubble -- and most of all a good sense of humor. Because no matter how barbed the message, it should be in good humor, not mean.

One of the nation's best-known cartoonists, Doug Marlette, lives in Hillsborough and draws for the Tallahassee Democrat as the home paper for his syndicated service to about 200 papers. He blames the troubles of his craft on a "corporatization" of newspapers that, he says, targets cartoonists as easy hits to reduce expenses. The threat of the guillotine in turn causes cartoonists to pull their punches to avoid controversy and please their publishers.

"They're doing everything they can to make (cartoons) less interesting," Marlette said. "They look like IRS forms. It's just oatmeal. It's boring. Editors look at it and say, 'We don't need this,' and it becomes kind of self-fulfilling."

Last week, a Chicago Tribune editor told National Public Radio that he can satisfy his political cartoon needs by buying nationally syndicated drawings and use the cartoonist's salary to hire an investigative reporter or city hall reporter. Problem is, syndicated cartoons deal with national and international topics only and don't reflect the localness that binds a newspaper to its audience.

"We think that there is a value to having this form of commentary -- and that's what a cartoon is -- directed at subjects that are particular to our readers," The N&O's Ford said. "We think it makes sense for us to have a cartoonist on our staff who is part of our team of local commentators. He's able to stay in touch with local issues, the local personalities, he's able to go see things for himself, soak up the local flavor and put his own special touch on these things."

So, the next time Powell makes you mad, be glad. Love him or hate him, there are not enough of his breed around.

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