(What's So Funny 'Bout) Hope, Change and Barack Obama? Apparently, Nothing
From Indecision 2008…
In the wake of the New Yorker's hilarious cover image
of black Muslim insurgents Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, the New
York Times interviewed a bunch of comedy writers from a number of talk
shows and stuff to talk about the proper way to make fun of the
Democratic presidential candidate.
The general consensus among them seems to be that you just can't make jokes about the guy, because there's just nothing funny about him…
Why? The reason cited by most of those involved in the
shows is that a fundamental factor is so far missing in Mr. Obama:
There is no comedic "take" on him, nothing easy to turn to for an easy
laugh, like allegations of Bill Clinton's womanizing, or President
Bush's goofy bumbling or Al Gore's robotic persona."The thing is, he's not buffoonish in any way," said Mike Barry, who
started writing political jokes for Johnny Carson's monologues in the
waning days of the Johnson administration and has lambasted every
presidential candidate since, most recently for Mr. Letterman. "He's
not a comical figure," Mr. Barry said.
Tell me about it! What's funny about a guy who travels across the
country making vague promises of "hope" and "change" and then turns
around and supports a bill designed to rob us our 4th Amendment rights at the behest of the least popular president in the Earth's history?
I just can't think of anything! Gah! It's so hard being a comedy writer these days!
Jon Stewart — popular host of a little show you may have heard of called You Wrote It, You Watch It
(amongst other less popular shows) – says that audiences seem less
than inclined to laugh at the self-important, Christ-like savior of
liberal idealism…
Despite audience resistance, Mr. Stewart contended, his
show had been able to develop a distinctive angle on Mr. Obama. Noting
that the senator seems to emphasize the historic nature of his quest,
Mr. Stewart said, "So far, our take is that he's positioning himself to
be on a coin."
Yeah. That or a cross.
Also…
A Shocking Revelation About John McCain's Latest Campaign Scandal Shocker
If Only a Republican Had Been President on 9/11
If Tila Tequila Runs for Office in 2010, Blame Barack Obama
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