Mère l'Oie d'aujourd'hui
1904
Imagine a presidential candidate dressed as a shepherdess—that's the scene in this 1904 political cartoon attacking Alton B. Parker. Sitting on a rock labeled 'Esopus' (his hometown in New York), Parker wears a floral dress and holds a 'Gold Standard' staff, trying to herd sheep labeled 'Gold Democrat' into a pen promising 'Four Years of Clover.' The title 'Mother Goose to date' is a savage burn, implying Parker's conservative economic policies were just childish fairy tales for blind followers. It captures the 1904 election where Parker, a conservative judge, lost in a landslide to Theodore Roosevelt, with critics painting him as out of touch.