Jane Harman: “I rise with sadness to note the passing of one of our Nation's preeminent cartoonists, Paul Conrad. Paul, who resided…”

“I rise with sadness to note the passing of one of our Nation's preeminent cartoonists, Paul Conrad. Paul, who resided with his wife, Kay, in Palos Verdes, California--formerly a part of my district--was a friend and a political genius. I was first elected to Congress in 1992, the so-called ``Year of the Woman.'' In that year, California elected two women Senators, and the number of women Members in the House doubled. Paul's cartoon was perfect, an outline of the State of California with a high heel down the left side. His career spanned more than 50 years and 11 Presidents. He was intensely proud of being on President Nixon's so-called ``enemies list.'' Reportedly, that meant more to him than the Pulitzers he was awarded. President Gerald Ford reportedly said, ``Laugh and the whole world laughs with you. Cry, and you've been the subject of a Paul Conrad cartoon.'' Born in 1924 in Iowa, a college dropout, Conrad's career began in Denver, where he won his first Pulitzer, but really took off when he moved to Los Angeles and sent shock waves through the then-staid Los Angeles Times, his home thereafter. Said L.A. Times editor Russ Stanton, ``Paul Conrad was simply the best ever.'' Right on.”