This cover illustration depicts the two leading candidates for the 1936 presidential election, and the animals traditionally associated with their political parties, representing their differing approaches to the economic crisis of the Great Depression. The Democrat, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is portrayed as a scholar, tightly holding the reins of a galloping donkey and carrying blueprints for an ideal society; the Republican, challenger Alf Landon, is portrayed as a businessman, comfortably seated on a flashy elephant and steadily maintaining the lead.