Walt Handelsman's Jan. 11 cartoon captured the irony of President Barack Obama's embracing the use of Super PACs while simultaneously crusading against them.

To some readers, the image of President Obama cheerfully utilizing Super PACs may reinforce an unfair criticism that his decision to accept Super PAC money is hypocritical. In fact, for the president to do otherwise would have been foolhardy.

President Obama has often spoken for the average American in denouncing Super PACs as a mechanism for allowing corporations and wealthy individuals to purchase undue and unlimited electoral influence. It is obvious that the Citizens United decision, a product of the Supreme Court's conservative wing, is now forcing Mr. Obama's hand, creating a reality in which he too must utilize the Super PACs.

To clarify the circumstances of this situation, I would add one detail to Mr. Handelsman's otherwise wry cartoon. The character offering bags of money to Mr. Obama could have been tagged "Super PACs: A Necessary New Reality."

Paula K. Himeles, Baltimore