With unrest in the streets of Egypt spilling onto the internet, it’s become apparent that tweets and videos can be more powerful than any protest sign. This recent CG animated short by The Magic Box, titled Elections in Egypt, illstrates how a segment of the Egyptian population feels about their elections.

As Pulitzer-prize winning animator Mark Fiore proves, animation can be a powerful tool in the political arena, and the Palistinian Hamas organization is hoping it can break steel bars. Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is offered in a trade for hundreds of jailed Palestinians, using emotion and key-frames to make their point.

The talented folks at JibJab have officially elevated the US President to superhero status. Premiering at the 2009 Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner, the 2-minute animated short He’s Barack Obama reportedly stole the show in front of Obama himself. And according to an interview on CBS, President Obama was “laughing at all the right spots.”Enjoy the short below, and then head over to the blog to see how they pulled it all together – primarily with After Effects.

According to an article at UPI.com, The City University of New York is now offering a course about Comedy Central’s animated series South Park. The course is titled South Park and Political Correctness. It whiffs of gimmickery, but anything to get butts in seats, I suppose. I for one wouldn’t complain if my homework assignment was to Tivo Comedy Central on Wednesday nights.

How the hell does the South Park team do it? Less than 24 hours after Obama took the stage in Grant Park, Comedy Central was broadcasting About Last Night, a new episode sending up the recent run-up to the US presidential election. Well, according to the South Park blog, the crew did pull an all-nighter bringing the show to life, but that’s still a ridiculous turn-around for a half-hour show. I’m assuming they took a gamble and assumed Obama was going to win – and built elements of the episode that didn’t involve the two speeches we all watched. With this type of incredible speed, maybe Matt and Trey should be on Obama’s transition committee. Here’s a clip from the show.