Friday we ran a political cartoon by Nate Beeler in the opinion section illustrating the Keystone pipeline debacle.

Pictured was the pipeline tied in a noose. President Barack Obama stood to the side with an American citizen holding a sign, reading “Need Job.” A word bubble floated above, saying, “Is that supposed to be for me or you?”

We received a few phone calls Friday afternoon from people expressing anger and confusion as to why we chose to run it. In their complaints, they implied a racist linkage to lynching.

To these objectors, we are sorry.

We understand why the cartoon may have seemed offensive, but we didn’t see it that way. That’s not our purpose here.

The opinion page exists to express diversity and differing opinions; however, we would never run a cartoon that openly expressed a racist opinion.

We ran it to elicit a real message — the political judgement present in the news.

President Obama denied a permit for a $7 billion oil pipeline last Wednesday, which could have created a lot of jobs.

Republicans were upset with his decision. The noose was meant to represent the effects of his decision on both parties, on those who need jobs and on President Obama’s reputation.

Any other perceived messages weren’t purposely intended by this cartoon.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.