CSULB alumnus draws the line in Washington

"Life is too damn short to do something you don't like," Cal State Long Beach alumnus, and well known political cartoonist Dick Wright said. Wright came to the university Tuesday to visit his old stomping ground.

It was at CSULB that Wright planted the seed of his political career.

Wright did his first cartoons for the Daily Forty-Niner. As did other well known political cartoonists such as Steve Greenburg, Bill Schorr, and Scott Stantis.

Wright attended CSULB in the early '70s. Pursuing a major in engineering, he ended up with a major in finance.

"I came to Long Beach to get an engineering degree, but I just couldn't get past calculus," Wright said.

Wright said he fell into this line of work accidentally through his beginning at CSULB. He then went on to work for the San Diego Union in 1974 as a political cartoonist.

From that point Wright worked hard carving a niche for himself in the highly-competitive newspaper world of political cartooning, driving himself to excellence.

"You've got to work hard all the time, good enough is not good enough," Wright said, stressing that there is no substitute for excellence and that mediocrity is the norm.

Wright now works for The Providence Journal, but his conservative political cartoons can be found in about 300 papers nationwide.

Living in Providence, Rhode Island, the Southern Californian native has spent a great amount of time rubbing shoulders with the Washington, D.C. political elite that he has spent his lifetime satirizing.

"Talking with these politicians is great, they are very amiable," Wright said.

He said he has had many politicians call up and want a copy of their satirical portrayal.

In his own career, Wright said he has realized the reward for all of the hard work and long hours he has put in.

"This is a great job. It's taken a long time to get to the point of freedom of not having to deal with a lot of editors, but it's great now," Wright said. Mostly due to the fact that he now has more time to pursue golf.

"I can draw in the morning and go play during the day," he said.