Thinking about art & politics at the Portland Zoo

The lion is such a great specimen and holds his head like President Obama holds his head during his White House press conferences to convey seriousness of purpose, integrity, and vision. The pose is mesmerizing and may lead to Mr. Obama's re-election despite certain disparities between promises made and actual performance.  

Thinking more about the lion: if the lion was a piece of art, he would be the painting in the Louvre which those who love art just have to see. But instead of being disappointed, as those who love art are so often disappointed at seeing, for instance, Leonardo's Mona Lisa, so underwhelmingly tiny behind its cage of security, the lion is a being that a viewer can conceivably believe he might look at forever.

There's certainly no disappointment either when seeing the polar bears, monkeys, elephant, leopards, giraffes or the gazelles with whom the giraffes share space, as not one of these creatures have alienated their base.