Mallard ruffles feathers of Obama fans

A cartoon duck has been skewering Barack Obama lately, and Obama partisans don't think it's funny.

The "Mallard Fillmore" strip by Bruce Tinsley has been lambasting Obama for flip-flopping, his celebrity image and other ills perceived by Republicans. N&O readers don't think it's fair that the partisan strips run on the comics page with non-political cartoons. Better to put it on the op-ed page with "Doonesbury," they say. Or don't run it.

 "When Mallard Fillmore continually - week in and week out - demeans and ridicules Barack Obama ... its placement in your comics pages implicitly frames those sentiments as mainstream humor - and not political opinion in the same way as Doonesbury or your editorial cartoon are called out as political opinion," wrote Peter Orton, of Hillsborough.

Judith Fertitta, of Durham, writes: "Can't you see how tremendously unfair this is - in this election year -  to allow one-sided attacks on only the Democratic presidential candidate?"

This is an ongoing controversy that's bothered readers since we introduced the Fillmore strip last year. Here's a column I wrote in January.

It's a tougher question now because of the election season context, and I agree that the complainants have a good point. Debra Boyette, features editor who oversees comics, says individual strips are alway up for review, and you can leave your opinion at forums.triangle.com or e-mail us directly at comics@newsobserver.com.