For any Republicans out there fretting about their party’s field of presidential candidates, here’s a blast from the past.

This editorial cartoon ran in The Roanoke World-News on April 29, 1952, depicting Ohio Senator Robert Taft appearing before a group of GOP activists — and coming up short in their appraisal of his candidate skills.

Or at least his looks.

I can’t help but notice that the activists shown are all women — and their concern is mostly about Taft’s appearance, not his views on the issues of the day.

Of course, Taft came up short that year — losing out to Dwight Eisenhower, who went on to win the presidency. Taft represented the conservative wing of the party at the time; Eisenhower was considered more of a moderate.

In today’s climate, might Taft have fared better, even if he did apparently lack something in charisma?

And a final note: Am I the only one who thinks that poster image of Taft in the background looks a lot like Jimmy Carter?

– Dwayne Yancey