It Looks Impossible
Senator Dirksen, in a tailcoat and with a top hat labelled 'Senator Dirksen' flying off, leaps between two galloping elephants labelled 'Old Guard' and 'Eisenhower Republicans'. The cartoon argues that reconciling the party's two wings is a near-impossible balancing act, using the elephant-as-party emblem and speed lines to show the straddle.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- February 17, 1955
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Eisenhower Administration
- Leader
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Theme
- Elections and party politics
- Event
- 1955 Republican Party Rift
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives, Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743198 (NAID 5743198).
Text on the object
3 cols - Thurs. Feb- 17th SENATOR DIRKSEN "OLD GUARD" EISENHOWER REPUBLICANS JIM BERRYMAN WASHINGTON STAR IT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE!
