A reader said I was unfair to a Republican. That’s only the beginning of my biases

A Sacramento Bee reader took issue with my column about conflict-avoidant Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, who is running for the House of Representatives against Trump-wannabe Sheriff Scott Jones and Democratic hopeful Dr. Kermit Jones. The reader was upset about my “bias.”

The column focused on Kiley’s refusal to participate in an endorsement interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board and made the case that if Kiley was afraid to meet with me, a 61-year-old cartoonist with impeccable Minnesota manners, then perhaps he is not cut out for Congress.

The reader (a nice guy, I talked to him on the phone) sang Kiley’s praises. He compared him favorably to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, insisting that he’s a great orator, and then shared this personal observation about my appearance:

“By the way, you shouldn’t smile. I see a cross between Joe Biden and the Joker.”

Hey, come on, man! Listen! Look, folks, here’s the deal: I’ve spent $50,000 on my teeth over 17 years — at least. Consequently, I should look a little like Biden. I cop to that. But The Joker?

This exchange got me thinking about descriptive column writing and caricature.

As the reader demonstrated, no one, not even a devoted Kiley acolyte, is without bias.

We are all the sum total of our biases. One of my biases is that people running for Congress should not be afraid to take a couple of questions from people who don’t agree with them about everything. Congress is loaded with disagreements, even — heaven forbid — biases.

I know it’s difficult to believe, but I have voted for sane Republicans for major office. I twice voted for former Sen. Mark Hatfield and once for Sen. Bob Packwood, both of Oregon. They both demonstrated flexible thinking and the ability to compromise.

And I can assure you that they didn’t like the way I drew them.

When I sit down to draw someone, sure, I’m biased. But mostly I’m just trying to convey who they are, not permanently destroy their self-esteem. I also factor in a lot of intangible variables such as fun, outstanding features. Obviously, I’m hitting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s hair at every opportunity. I’m all over Vice President Kamala Harris’ smile. I’m attentive to clothing styles, too.

For example, former Assembly Speaker John Pérez is a big dude, and I drew him as such. When I started at The Bee, Pérez had his aide call me in for a meeting. This never happened in Oregon.

Getting over the presumptuousness of requiring a command performance, I decided to go, just for fun. I thought, man, this guy is gonna scream at me for drawing him as a big dude.

Nope. Perez was cordial and interesting, and we discussed a lot of things over the course of an hour. I was enjoying myself by the time he went in for the kill.

“Incidentally, you drew me in a green tie,” he said. “I never wear green ties.”

I assured him he would never be caught in a cartoon green tie again, and he wasn’t. Seemed like a reasonable request. His bias, I suppose.

In Oregon, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate complained to me that I drew her shorter than Hatfield. I drew her at full relative height after that.

I enjoyed drawing Gov. Jerry Brown, as I have enjoyed drawing him over the course of 48 years. He had changed in appearance (me too), and I am always looking for aging nuance in a caricature as well. The way I drew Biden in 2008 is vastly different from the way I draw him now.

I wrote to the reader who complained about my Kiley coverage and suggested he send his photograph for my personal analysis. He did.

I responded that he was a fine-looking fellow. The reader went to the University of Minnesota, so that’s a point in his favor. I’m biased.

I didn’t dig his tie much, though. It wasn’t green.