Governor Rips Herald Cartoon As Racist
Gov. Deval Patrick is criticizing a Boston Herald editorial cartoon meant to satirize the Secret Service after an intruder made it deep into the White House.
The cartoon shows a man taking a bath watching President Obama brush his teeth. The man says "Have you tried the new watermelon flavored toothpaste?" The caption reads: "White House invader got farther than originally thought."
Patrick, the state's first black governor, called the editorial "offensive" and "stupid" and said he "hopes there comes a day we can expect a different kind of sensitivity than we saw in this cartoon."
Both the Herald and the cartoonist, Jerry Holbert, have apologized.
Holbert said he got the idea after finding "kids Colgate watermelon flavor" toothpaste in his home bathroom. He says he was "completely naive or innocent to any racial connotations."