Editing 204: America

{{comic
| number    =204
| date      =January 1, 2007
| title     =America
| image     =america.png
| titletext =The younger folk in the audience think this is a joke.
}}

==Explanation==
On April 20, 1979, U.S. President {{w|Jimmy Carter}} was allegedly "{{w|Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident|attacked by a giant swimming rabbit}}" while solo-fishing on a boat in his hometown. The reality is a little more nuanced: According to Carter, the rabbit had actually been chased into the water by some hounds and swam near his boat. Carter splashed some water on it to compel the rabbit not to come any closer.

Nevertheless, the newspapers ate it up, reveling in the ridiculous notion that anyone would feel threatened by a rabbit (considered by some to be small, harmless herbivores){{cn}}, with respected paper ''{{w|The Washington Post}}'' putting the story "President Attacked by Rabbit" on the front page. Since the White House refused to release the photograph, the paper created a cartoon parody of the rabbit, calling it PAWS, in reference to the blockbuster film ''{{w|Jaws (film)|JAWS}},'' about a killer shark. Carter's opponents used it as fodder for their arguments that Carter's presidency was weak and ineffectual, and basically, the whole thing was blown way out of proportion by the American media, as so often happens with goofy events such as this.

This comic treats the Killer Rabbit attack as a dark day for the United States and uses the phrase "America Must Never Forget," which usually applies to days like the {{w|Attack on Pearl Harbor|Pearl Harbor attack}} or {{w|September 11 attacks|9/11}}.  It essentially claims that, for the entire history of the United States (which starts with the signing of the {{w|United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence}}), it is the only event worth remembering.

The rabbit incident is also referenced in [[1688: Map Age Guide]].

The title text is an assumption that the event has not been remembered in the way the comic jokes that it should have been, and as a result, younger readers will think he is kidding when he says Carter was attacked by a rabbit.

==Transcript==
:[A timeline with only three ticks with years noted. Each tick is labeled with a line going to the tick. The second tick is much closer to the last on the right and has its year written below the line. The other two have it above the line and vice versa with the labels. Below in the middle there is a caption.]
:1776
::Declaration of independence
:1979
::Jimmy Carter attacked by giant swimming rabbit.
:2007
::Present day

:[Caption:]
:America must never forget.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]   <!-- Jimmy Carter -->
[[Category:Animals]]   <!-- Rabbit -->