NYer, WTF?

I like to think of myself as a transplanted cosmopolitan sort, always ready to smirk at some martini wit. Among said wittiness are the cartoons from the New Yorker. I usually think I get these cartoons, I smile just a skosh, maybe mutter a "heh," and move on.

But I am completely at a loss with this cartoon. (I tried forever to link it, but I gave up.)

Can anyone tell me what's so funny about this? Seriously? Am I that dense? Is this high-brow wit? Or is it just so completely out there that the editors thought they would throw it in and see what people make of it? I'm fully prepared to be humbled, so tell tell tell.

Oh, and I was reading this article by Jeffrey Rosen about Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings when I stumbled across the cartoon. Interesting and worth a read. The modern Supreme Court confirmation process post-Bork won't ever be worth anything.