We're Eating More Beets!

G. B. Trudeau had a long standing practice of having one of the people he skewers in his "Doonesbury" cartoons quoted on the back cover of the paperback collections. For "We're Eating More Beets!" the honor once again goes to George Bush, then Vice President, who admits that when it comes to Trudeau he wants to "go up and kick the hell out of him." This is actually one of the more subdued comments provided by one of Trudeau's targets. What is interesting is that the cartoonist gets in another shot at this particular topic. The cover design, which lampoons the style of "USA Today," which was creating a "new" type of journalism back in 1987-88 when these strips were originally published in the nations less colorful newspapers, includes all sorts of tidbits such as "We're eating less popcorn" and "We're happier, dying later." On the little bit of the back cover where the west coast is displayed, we learn that "Only 21.1 percent of 17-year-olds know someone who has passed math" and "78.3 percent of divorced women say Goerge Bush reminds them of their first husband." Ouch.George Bush pops up as a target several times in this collection, what with the appearance of his long-lost evil twin Skippy and the calculated move to the center after winning the primaries, but the classic bit here is the existential romp "Waiting for Mario," which compares New York Governor Mario Cuomo's reluctance to declare his candidacy with the Samuel Beckett play "Waiting for Godot." I know this one was probably over the heads of a lot of people, but I got it and it is wicked harsh, to coin a phrase. Democratic candidates Gary Hart, Albert Gore, Prince of the Tennessee Valley, and Dick Gephardt (the man has no eyebrows), take body blows as well. Other bits this time around has Lacey Davenport going on a first date with Jeremy Cavendish, a prison riot at the minimum security prison when Phil Slackmeyer and the other white collar convicts cannot access their brokers, and Uncle Duke ends up in restraints when he over medicates.. Meanwhile, another mother challenges Joanie's raising of Jeff, Zonker takes down Margaret Thatcher in the House of Lords, and Comandante Less-Than-Zero takes early retirement. In the end we come back to Bush's candidacy and the effort to be his own man because, after all, it is an election year and all "Doonesbury" fans know how much fun that can be. Even with the sub-par Uncle Duke strips, which go no where, "We're Eating More Beets!" is one of the better "Doonesbury" collections.