Doonesbury's mockery of Romney's missionary work for the Mormon Church

Trudeau in 2012: Courtesy of wikipedia.com.

I've long been a fan of Gary Trudeau's comic strip, Doonesbury, but lately I've been deeply offended by the strip's series (Oct. 8 - present) mocking the youthful Mitt Romney's thirty months as a Mormon misionary in France. This is none other than religious bigotry at its worst.

In mocking Romney's missionary efforts, Trudeau has borrowed in detail the Obama camp's  attacks on the Republican nominee's character, charging him with flip-flopping, insincerity, etc.. (Evidently, Obama supporters have forgotten their candidate's sudden lunge to the center immediately after he received the Democratic nomination in 08.)

Character attacks have become par for the course in the political arena - recall the Obama camp's strategy for defeating Hillary Clinton in the 08 primary and further back, the swift-boating of John Kerry.

Nevertheless, the license to slander one's opponent in the political arena does not justify mocking and ridiculing a candidate's religious practices. Gary Trudeau has clearly crossed the line this time around, and his fans should call him to account.