of racism row over chimp cartoon sparks debate

Racism row over chimp cartoon sparks debate: Some say cartoon posted at New York Post is racist, others say it's misunderstood.

Reactions are as varied as they are strong to Tuesday's New York Post cartoon that depicted the police shooting of a chimpanzee. Two police officers, one with a smoking gun, are near the chimp's bullet-pierced body. "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," one officer says.

The Post's Sean Delonas used a typical editorial cartoon trope of linking two current news stories: the shooting of a chimp after it mauled a Connecticut woman and President Obama's signing of the stimulus bill.

But soon after the issue hit newsstands, the Rev. Al Sharpton -- and other black opinion makers like CNN's Roland Martin -- blasted the cartoon as an attack on Obama's skin color and African-Americans in general.

Click here to see the original the Delonas cartoon at New York Post.