Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Paul Conrad dies at 86

In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, Conrad compared his favorite target to then-president George W. Bush.

“I felt two ways about Nixon. First, how did an idiot like that become president,” said Conrad, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native. “And, secondly, how soon can we get rid of him. Almost the same thing applies to Bush.”

One of Conrad's final images showed Bush as Sisyphus, rolling a huge boulder labeled “Iraq” up a hill.

Democratic politicians weren't safe from his barbs either.

After Jimmy Carter admitted that at times he had “lusted in his heart,” Conrad drew him mentally undressing the Statue of Liberty.

Conrad's drawings were anything but busy or complex. They were always a single panel and often a single figure, rendered in sharp, long lines that made his subjects look bony and sometimes sinister. He rarely used dialogue and kept words to a minimum.

And despite the humor in a lot of his work, Conrad's style had a seriousness that other cartoonists lacked.

As narrator in a PBS documentary on Conrad, Tom Brokaw said: “Every line he draws cries out to the powers that be, 'We're watching you.'”

In addition to David, Paul Conrad is survived by another son, two daughters, and his wife of more than 60 years, Kay.

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