The NYT reports that comedians are having trouble coming up with jokes about Barack Obama. Why? Well, for one, it's hard to get a handle on some personal characteristic they can mock. For another, a number of comedy writers actually want him to win, so they're going easy on him. And for another, they're afraid of being politically incorrect. Excerpt:
Of course, the question of race is also mentioned as one reason Mr. Obama has proved to be so elusive a target for satire."Anything that has even a whiff of being racist, no one is going to laugh," said Rob Burnett, an executive producer for Mr. Letterman. "The audience is not going to allow anyone to do that."
That last reason is going to make it hard to criticize a President Obama. Remember when the Clintons got their heads handed to them by the left for their perfectly legitimate primary-season criticism of Obama, which got dubbed racist? As Man from K Street has said in the comboxes here, when President Lightworker shows that he is a mere mortal, anyone taking critical note of that is going to be body-slammed by liberal militants for their racism.
I think Marc Ambinder speaks wisdom when he warns us all to quit being so "outraged" about every little thing. I don't think the Obama-is-a-Muslim New Yorker cover is outrageous, but I do think it's unfunny, and I recoil at anything that perpetuates the Obama-is-a-Muslim meme.
That said, is it really all that hard to come up with material on Barack Obama? It seems to me the Obama Messiah idea is ripe for comedic exploitation.
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It will be interesting to see what happens if Obama becomes President. Satirizing, mocking, and criticizing the foibles of a President Obama will probably present a unique challenge for comedians, but it will especially present a challenge to to politically correct liberals of the sort who usually speak up for freedom of speech.
Will Obama have the courage to stand up to those who engage in gotcha racial politics, such as the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons. Based on his campaign rhetoric, yes. Based on his years as a member of Trinity Church, no.
Astorian, the Letterman show does the best Bush satire: "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches."
He shows two video clips of past U.S. Presidents saying something inspiring, followed by a clip of George W. Bush saying something lame, mangling the language, or otherwise engaging in a Bushism. It's pretty bad when a POTUS can be satirized just by showing a clip of him talking.
The metrosexual is one tack to take.
I do like the the Obamessiah idea. You could have a lot of fun with that. Puffy clouds floating around the set, angelic lighting. He's in a robe, like someone here said, and he's some kind of a guru/enlightened one. He's also preternaturally poised and perfect. His followers hang on his every word and print and sell T-shirts with his sayings faster than he can say them. These are tossed to screaming fans audible off-stage.
Heh, he's a hard target, to be sure. Give him time. He's in his media honeymoon. If he gets elected, it won't last. He'll do something silly sooner or later, and they'll get him. It'll be his come-uppance. And of course his adoring fans will only adore him more, ironically.
As far as racism, well, that's easy enough. Give one these retiring night show host's slot to a black comedian. He'll have to tone things down a little bit for network TV, but some of their commentary is seriously hilarious. If a black man can get the Democratic nomination, a Black man can get his own network or prime time Comedy Central slot. They have nothing stopping them from eviscerating him. It's fair to make fun of your own.
They did a piece in NYT about the lapel pin issue. One designer suggested that Obama walk around with lapels torn off, just to avoid the whole issue of the flag pin. Another designer said the whole issue reminded him of Office Space, and says Obama should show up to his next media appearance wearing fifty different patriotic lapel pins. That would be funny on nightly comedy, too.
From AoSHQ:
Barack Obama took his wife and children to see a talent show agent. The agent asked Senator Obama what the family act was.
Senator Obama explained that his family represented the opportunity for change, the ability of people to improve their lives through hardwork, that children can reach their potential even at the cost of ten to fifteen thousand dollars per year in music lessons and summer camps, that families can struggle to eat healthy foods, such as fresh fruit and leafy greens, and, that all this can happen despite being limited to speaking in one language.
The agent sat back, decided he would never smoke again, order healthier foods that contained zero transfats, begin saving a percentage of his income, donate to charity, and invest in that RosettaStone package he'd seen advertised on television, and asked Senator Obama what the name of his act was.
"The Aristocrats"
[hee-hee]
This is a Huge diaster that this unknowledged president is doing.If this keeps up nthis country is going strait down the crap hole and i'm not kidding.
If anyone has any questions please e-mail me at kb14000@aol.com
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