How Insulated Can You Be?: ‘American Prospect’ Claims Obama Too Awesome For Comedic Ridicule
by Jeffrey JenaI was surfing the internet yesterday and came across an article about the current state of political comedy by Paul Waldman. The article “The Joke is on Us” was posted on the far-left website “The American Prospect.” The subtitle of the site is “liberal intelligence” which is, of course, an oxymoron. That aside, the premise of Mr. Waldman’s article is that there is a dearth of humor about Barack Obama. It reminds me of when Nixon was elected and New York Times film critic Pauline Kael being shocked because only one person she knew voted for him.
Mr. Waldman postulates that this lack of Obama material is because Obama is so cool, so intelligent, and so unflappable that he is immune to being made the butt of any jokes! He actually says, “…our current political leadership isn’t all that funny.” I assume he includes the Vice President in that statement – so apparently he and I hear different Joe Biden sound bites. I strongly doubt he has ever listened to Rush or Glen who daily skewer Obama, Reid and Pelosi.
Mr. Waldman, like Ms. Kael suffers from having a limited circle of exposure.
Before I get further into that, let me just say a big “thank you” to Mr. Waldman for reinforcing a concept that I have written about several times: Conservatives have a better sense of humor and are more willing to be self-deprecating than lefties. You see, my fellow right-wing nut jobs, in Walden World, Bush, Rush, Palin and anyone else who isn’t hastening the “Marxization” of America is a moron who should be belittled for their obvious lack of intellect. Leftist, on the other hand, never do anything foolish. All of their causes are above mocking. Let me illustrate:
Q. What do you call four feminists at a protest march?
A. That’s not funny you chauvinistic, racist right wing moron!
Anyway, Mr. Waldman claims two things that I find absolutely amazing. One is that the lack of “Obama” material the general public is exposed to isn’t the result of the ideology of the “mainstream” comics. He says:
There was an assumption that since they’re a bunch of liberals, the comedians wouldn’t go after Obama. But if comedy has an Obama problem, it doesn’t have much to do with ideology. The guy is just difficult to mock.
Can anyone name a major mainstream comic beside Dennis Miller who is conservative? How about a late night talk show host? Letterman? Leno? Fallon? Kimmel? Mr. Waldman points to Jon Stewart for doing a credible job of taking on Obama. When Stewart does take a jab at the President it is usually because Obama for not being ”progressive” enough! In Waldman World the only thing about Obama that’s funny is that he is such a centrist!
The second is that he doesn’t see any way to mock the President:
Politicians who make good targets for humor tend to have a personality feature or physical characteristic, like a particular accent or a distinctive set of gestures that are easily identifiable and thus can be exaggerated to make the politician look foolish, because exaggeration is what impressions and satire are built on.
Alright, you knuckle-dragging, mouth breathing right wingers; here is a quick comedy quiz. I know that none of you are as smart as Mr. Waldman, after all he works over at Soros’ funded Media Matters, but let’s see if you can name a physical trait of Mr. Obama’s we could mock. Anyone say “ears?” Those Dumbo-sized, suicide-door lookin’ Prince Charles mud flaps. Oh my! I said “mud” in a sentence referring to the President, that’s not funny! I must be a racist!
Now let’s turn our attention to personality features. “Arrogance” ring a bell, Mr. Waldman? How about stammering when off prompter? How about being oblivious to the economy while your wife spends millions on a vacation in Spain? How about trying to convince the American public that the cost of two first class tickets covers the cost of that vacation? In comedy this type of humor is known as “true story,” just the facts as they happened are funny.
Finally, Mr. Waldman asks:
“But what’s the joke about Obama?”
With the help of a few comic friends, I will give Mr. Waldman some samples which I am sure he won’t find funny. Feel free to add your own in the comments:
“What is the difference between Osama Bin Laden and Barack Hussein Obama? One is an anti-capitalist who hates America and wants to destroy Israel, and the other is hiding in Afghanistan.” –Mark Klein
“All during his campaign, Obama’s claim to fame was that he was a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. I was just on the South Side of Chicago – it ain’t too organized.” –Drew Hastings
“The new Obama economy game show: “American Idle.” –Sam Griesbaum
“If we could harness the wind generated by Obama’s ears and mouth we would have energy independence!” –Jeff Jena
“People were once comparing him (Obama) to Jesus Christ. On the economy he seems more like Moses; wandering around aimlessly, blaming everything on the Bush.” –Tim Slagle
“If you cast a ballot for Barack Obama are you voting Democrat or Demigod?” –Gregory Peterson
“He is called ‘Vice President Biden’ because the phrase “hot air balloon” was already taken.” –Mark Klein
“Obama inspired class envy: The original green job.” –Sam Griesbaum
Q. Why is Barack Obama running for office as a Democrat?
A. The Communist Party didn’t have enough voters. –Author Unknown
“In reaction to Iran launching a new missile and starting a nuclear reactor, President Obama is going to ratchet up the pressure. This time he is sending them a very strongly worded letter.” –Jeff Jena
Obama puts the “dip” in Diplomacy. –Sam Griesbaum
“Obama would have had an opinion on the gulf oil spill earlier but his prompter was in the shop.” –Jeff Jena
”President Obama announced $118 million in stimulus monies to increase high-speed Internet in Ohio. Presumably, so he can get all the bad news to us faster.” –Drew Hastings
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151 Comments
So a community organizer walks into a bar and yada, yada, yada, next thing you know he's President!
BH commenter Andrew Price tackled this very subject recently on his blog: http://commentarama.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-obam...
You may disagree with his conclusions but in his opinion, many people are afraid of being accused of racism:
–Before we can parody Obama for his policy failings and other flaws, we must mock his personality. But here’s the catch: you can’t do that without being accused of racism. If you point out that he sounds angry, you’re accused of perpetuating the “angry black man stereotype.” If you point out his Cyrano problem, you’re accused of perpetuating the “stupid black man stereotype.” If you point out his penchant for vacations and living the highlife on our dime, you’re accused of perpetuating the “lazy black man stereotype,” or worse. If you talk about his use of his kids as props, you would be accused of perpetuating the “bad black father stereotype.”–
So Obama, Biden, Pelosi, and Reid are all on Air Force One. Suddenly it malfunctions and crashes. Who survives? America.
You're absolutely right, Jeff. Most of the left went from "we're conquering America with The One" to "WTF happened to Barry?" in less than 18 mos. It's the MSM circle that's lagging behind because of the crowd they keep.
You've got to be kidding………….No comedic material? I've personally used Obama's "Austrian" quote as the punchline in a joke at least a hundred times (and that's just here). The list goes on and on……..How about the "suicidal" teleprompter. or corpseman, or 58 states, or "Syracuse", or the fact that my 5' 1" tall 90lbs sister throws a ball less like a girl than he does……………..I could go on for day's……………he's a punchline looking for a place to happen…
Hussein is a comedic treasure trove. If SNL had any real comedic writers they'd have material for the next decade.
My favorite Obama joke is this one.
President Obama is on his sixth vacation in less than two years as being President. Boy, I sure hope all those vacations don't affect his time to go golfing.
Obama too awesome for comedic ridicule?
Yep.
That's the word I'd use to describe him.
"Awesome!"
As in redneck jargon: "Bubba, did ja see that "awsome" splattered all over the road? Let's go back and run it over again!"
But certainly not awe inspiring.
Looking around at the general state of foreign and domestic agendas, I just don't find anything about the current regime funny.
You darn well know that Obama isn't doing well at all when you got MAD making in fun of him.
I agree– there's nothing funny about this presidency. BUT it's not credible to think that a president currently sitting on a Presidential Approval Index of -20 isn't ripe for some serious mocking. The fact that these people would try to sell the idea that there is nothing to joke about shows a lot about their mindset and the massive amount of delusional thinking going on.
Obama's pathetic first pitch at an All Star Game while wearing Mom jeans sure had me in stitches.
McDonalds has announced an addition to its menu: the Obama Happy Meal!
You order whatever you want to order off the menu and the guy standing behind you is forced to pay for it!
Happy Meal prizes include special Medicare/Medicaid payments, cash, and more but only customers in Nebraska, Vermont, Massachuseets, Connecticut, and Louisiana are eligible for these prizes.
Great article, but…..what *do* you call four feminists at a protest march?
Huc,
I like that.
I saw a similar version years ago.
It said: For a message from your CONgressman, press here."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
…..and David Letterman and Jon Stewart.
The biggest joke is on America, which is in the process of being "fundamentally transformed " She's dying and some truly sick people are laughing.
Q: What do you get when you cross a crooked politician with a crooked lawyer?
A: Barack Obama.
Thanks, Scott.
I was just about to go link to it myself. Great minds, tell ya. (Well, Andrew's great mind!)
O is a comedic gold-mine with his bloodless dithering, aloof disconnect from reality, and endless hypocracy, but he's a sacred cow to libs. The article itself shows that marxist comedians are embarrassed at their butt-kissing of a failing president.
SNL has dipped their toe in the water of mocking The Chosen One, but they don't have the nards to really engage on it.
I'm sorry.
In the second photo on this thread, he sure looks like Steve Erkel……….
Good one!
Yeah, I wanted to know, too!
I think Price is spot-on.
Though Obama's ideology certainly plays a part in the general reluctance to go after him, I believe it's more a wariness of the casualness with which the "racist" slur is thrown about in America, particularly by Obama's apologists and gatekeepers.
I said when he was elected that his skin color would armor him against the great majority of the criticism and ridicule that he would almost certainly be due as President. I've seen and heard very little to make me think differently.
Looks like Imam Obama learned the shuck and jive from his street corner organizing … Well he lied to enough people to get elected.
How many Hungarians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
As many as is reported by Media Matters.
That article was laughable. The author lost me when he claimed that Jon Stewart mocks the left as much as the right.
The Center for Disease Control recently stated that they would no longer use laboratory rats for research. They have decided to only use politicians and lawyers. The reasons are:
1. They are in abundant supply.
2. The lab technicians do not get nearly as attached to them.
and
3. There are some things a rat won't do.
There's something funny about Obama and his administration alright. It's just not "hahaha" funny.
Now let’s turn our attention to personality features. “Arrogance” ring a bell, Mr. Waldman?
Ding ding ding!
Will Ferrell got alot of attention for parodying George W. Bush as being falsely smug and arrogant, but if anything, Dubya was one of the most down-to-earth, self-deprecating Presidents we've ever had.
Obama on the other hand, exudes arrogance from every fiber of his being, yet in his entire political career he has accomplished nothing except get elected. Yet that's not ripe for parody? Come on.
I was thinking the same, myself……
Q: If Obama ever got the chance to sit down and negotiate with Osama Bin Laden, like the liberals want, then how would he break the ice?
A: He'd start with some common ground, like how they both know people who have bombed the Pentagon.
If it's the AP reporting, four becomes four hundred thousand.
A decent turnout. :: rimshot ::
I was offered a spot on the Obama cabinet and turned it down. I didn't want the mandatory spine removal surgery.
My guess: A shoal of asshat shrews?
This one made me laugh:
How many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
12
One to screw it in,
One to excoriate men for creating the need for illumination,
One to blame men for inventing such a faulty means of illumination,
One to suggest the whole "screwing" bit to be too "rape-like",
One to deconstruct the lightbulb itself as being phallic,
One to blame men for not changing the bulb,
One to blame men for trying to change the bulb instead of letting a woman do it,
One to blame men for creating a society that discourages women from changing light bulbs,
One to blame men for creating a society where women change too many light bulbs,
One to advocate that lightbulb changers should have wage parity with electricians,
One to alert the media that women are now "out-lightbulbing" men,
And one to just sit there taking pictures for her blog for photo-evidence that men are unnecessary.
Comedy used to be almost defined by some smart-aleck taking the starch out of a stuffed shirt. So it amazes me when people say Obama can't be ridiculed. He is the stereotypical college professor type, all nose-in-the-air smugness, using the same rhetorical tricks ("let me be clear", assessing every situation with two polar and extreme opposites to which all the morons adhere, and in which he alone sees a perfect middle ground, and so on). He's lazy and always taking vacations. He's easily riled by anyone contradicting him or pointing out his lies. He loves the perks of being rich, inviting people to swank dinners and having wild parties and flying off to New York for a hamburger at a moment's notice.
This is a man they can't find any humor about?
If they were in the least bit honest they'd admit that they can't ridicule him because they're in love with him. Love is blind to all flaws.
I would believe Obama could be made fun of if conservatives actually made funny jokes about him. Then again, that might be a problem with the comedians, not Obama.
Thanks for the link Scott.
What do you mean "you may disagree with his conclusions"?!! LOL!
Let me add too, that it's also a question of simply taking the path of least resistance. Whether the public at large see this as racist isn't what matters. What matters is that a sizable portion of the public will protest you for doing such a parody. Is it worth a little comedy to get protested, boycotted and possibly even sent death threats? Probably not. It's just easier to parody those around him.
Mmmm . .. the Liberal Cocoon . . . so warm, so comfy . . .
"Andrew's great mind!" — thanks Jaciscully! Sadly, it's a rental.
Obama to Secrect Service Agent:
Joe left to pee half an hour ago, where is he?
Agent:
It takes the VP 20min to decide if he wants the seat up or down.
Obama:
How can you pee with the seat up?
It's just my standard disclaimer. I'm just the messenger and I don't wanna get shot!
ROTFLMAO!
Excellent!
I don't know Scott, I think you hurt me feelings. You know I can't stand disagreements! ** sniff sniff**
Just kidding of course. If you disagree, feel free to speak up. I'm always curious about thoughtful counter-views.
Well yeah, those around him are parodies.
A correction – Kael was the movie critic for the New Yorker, and the story about Nixon's reelection is largely apocryphal, though based on a misquote (http://begonias.typepad.com/srubio/2004/12/kaelnixon_updat.html).
I'm sure it has the ring of truth, but I think we'd better check ourselves before we find ourselves guilty of "fake but accurate."
Can I be a racist homophobe who hides out under Bill Schultz''s bed even if I do agree with you?
Too bad its on the national stage.
Ed, That's all you ever see are parodies of the people around him as he plays the straight man. It's just safer because no one is going to get upset if parody Rham or Hillary or Biden (heck, Biden is a parody of himself already).
It's my understanding that those of us on the right are racist homophobes no matter what we believe, so sure, be my guest!
"Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile" – He's Gone Garcia & Hunter.
Last year, I whipped up (in about a half hour) a skit that they could do on Saturday Night Live because I could not believe that they wouldn't touch the subject: http://thehutch.com/?p=72
Yeah, my curiosity is piqued too. I'm going to be wondering about that one for the rest of the day.
Those Hungarians are a riot aren't they? Get them drunk then make fun of their goulash. Loads of fun.
Why doesn't President Obama go to church? Because his place of worship is a mirror.
Nah, the problem is you can't hear the funny jokes when your head is shoved up Obama's ass.
Good one.
Fake but accurate.
Obama exudes arrogance and a total lack of humor or humility. The liberal media called him cool, in reality he his cold and detached. They make a virtue out of his "uncommon" background and his "unorthodox" choices as an adult.
He praises the father he never knew. He is a calculating schemer and unable to connect to average Americans.
Even thought he jived his way into the presidency, entertainers and media still feel compelled to give him the "affirmative action" treatment because they are too afraid to cross certain lines.
Also Obama is not very interesting so there is not much to work with for comedians. He would be more interesting to psychotherapists, not comedians.
Q: What's the diffference between Michelle and Barack Obama?
A: Michelle has balls.
You don't even need to do jokes about Biden, he writes them himself. As an amateur comedian I wouldn't even touch him, there's no way I could ever top the material he comes out with.
Isn't that the truth. At one point I was keeping notes on his "Bidenisms" and they were truly stunning. The guy is a joke.
Get in line!!
I think my favorite is still the time he told a guy in a wheel chair to stand up and take a bow.
If SNL had writers like that more people would still be watching their show.
Andrew, so your mind is a rental? Is there a store for minds or does it work like Netflix and you send it back when you're done?
As you know, I took that SNL Writing Class at the Peoples Improv Theater in NYC and I have since moved on to Intermediate Sketch Writing.
Just to reiterate for other folks who might read this, I wrote an Obama press conference sketch in which he discusses all the ways BP has tried to stop the oil spill, ranging from real solutions to insane stuff (astral projection, etc.). But after the teacher said there was nothing in the dialogue to indicate specifically that it was Obama, I realized, "Man, he's right. Palin's easy. Hillary's easy. Bush, Gore, Kerry, Clinton, McCain, etc. are all easy. Obama just might take a little more work because his schtick isn't as obvious."
It's one thing to joke, "Hey, Obama's a Muslim!" Or, "Obama's a Socialist!" But it isn't necessarily funny. And everything you said that can be parodied, in terms of sketch, is based more on performance than on the written word.
Can anyone name a major mainstream comic beside Dennis Miller who is conservative?
Nick DePalo. He is not an "O" lover.
Bring a snorkel though, he has a water bed.
I like his blatant racism about Indians and Dunkin Donuts, or the one about his wife being hot. Those were classics.
Except less impressive….
…Funny, BigWorld comedians don't have a problem finding reasons to ridicule Bobo Obumbler……nyuk….
And my point in response was that the problem with parody is that first and foremost, parody involves exaggerating personal traits to make the person into a caricature — (otherwise, most of what you say comes across as just a criticism rather than a funny criticism). Which is what brought the point that you can't parody Obama because you can't attack his personal traits without being attacked for promoting racist stereotypes.
If you're still working on your parody and you get it done, let me know and we'll publish it.
( The brain came from U-Rent-It. It was sitting out-front, right next to the rental lawn-mowers and mini-tractors. It got a little wet, but it seems to work ok though.
)
…..See, now THAT's funny…..!……
It ain't water Bill has in his bed.
I also was offered a cabinet position but was ruled ineligible due to the fact I actually paid my Taxes.
And Obama would have no problem casting the first stone.
Now, let's be serious. It's not like having big ears makes a politician fair game for jokes. Why, just look at the even handed treatment Ross Perot received.
Hey how about a compromise here. We'll stop mocking Obarry, as soon as he and his minions stop mocking the United States and go live in Venezuela or Russia or Indonesia or Kenya (I bet he knows some folks there that could get 'em a good deal on real estate.
that caused a TRUE LOL! Thanks, that made my day.
I once got a message deleted (on another site) for making the joke that 18 months into his term, Obama still has been unable to find a suitable place of worship in D.C. – and I said "Oh there are no mosques in D.C.?"
Obama puts the "shank" in "Shank-a-potamus"
outstanding witty!
You call them two sets of newlyweds!
excelllent!
good point TJL! Thanks for reading BH
Scott, I was doing a very similar line in my act but it had become a little dated! Great minds…
Any joke that features O as the butt of it isn't funny to you, simply because your sense of humor was surgically removed at birth.
sweet, thanks for getting my back again Ed
Why thank you, good sir!
Rick, I stand corrected about the employer of Ms. Kael however the real quote is this: "I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don't know. They're outside my ken. But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them." NYT 12/28/1972 I believe I paraphrased this quote correctly. Your apology is accepted.
Some of the really great ones I've found were emailed to me by my Mexican-born, former Democratic classic liberal relative. This one's my favorite, though.
Gonorrhea Lectim – help stop this disease ….
This is very important we need to stop the spread of this disease.
Information about Gonorrhea Lectim
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. It's pronounced "Gonna re-elect 'em," and it is a terrible obamanation.
The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2008…but now most people, after having been infected for the past 1-2 years, are starting to realize how destructive this sickness is. It's sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called Votemout. You take the first dose in 2010 and the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it.
Several states are already on top of this, like Virginia, New Jersey , and Massachusetts, with many more
seeing the writing on the wall.
I was originally thinking 'Larry, Moe & Curly' but that's only three.
If you cheated when you did them, you still may be eligible.
This is the biggest opportunity of all time to get liberals' attention through humor. If Letterman and the like won't do political humor, so what? Rush and the others will and more people will tune in to them because people still do like political humor (and they might even hear some conservative concept they agree with … perish the thought).
I'll hold that apology for the moment, Jeffrey – as far as I can tell Kael was acknowledging her rather circumscribed milieu, especially as the full quote reads: "I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don't know. They're outside my ken. But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them." I'm not defending her cultural isolation – if the ongoing "culture war" persists, it's because so many people in such prominent positions can't even get to the point that Kael did, and acknowledge that they have no idea what people outside of Manhattan (or Beverly Hills, or Seattle, or Madison, WI, or San Francisco, or [insert urban centre here]) think.
I'm being a stickler because this quote has been floating around for years now, in countless inaccurate, paraphrased iterations, and since we're always on the left's case for playing fast and loose, I think we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.
And I'd also like people to remember that Kael, for all of her adherence to liberal dogma, was enough of an independent thinker to deviate pointedly from quite often. Really, she's worth reading, if you can get past her reputation as the darling of New Yorker subscribers.
When the mainstream doesn't think it can joke about a President, something's gone terribly awry within the body politic.
This guy is no sacred cow; he's a politician. Joking about politicians, next to baseball, used to be the second national pastime.
The unspoken rule seems to be that one does not joke about a deity, and since he's a deity among the MSM, it's considered bad form to poke fun at someone's religion.
This is one of the Left's most precious myths–that Obama is cool. It's right up there with Michelle Obama being sexy.
I came up with this one when grandma Obama passed away, I was so proud of myself! (Obviously, I'm not much of a comedian)
So anyway, you know how Obama's grandmother was your typical white person, afraid of teh scaaary blacks and whatnot. Apparently he wasn't lying. She swore she'd rather die than ever see a black man elected president, and when it looked like her black grandson would be elected, well, you know.
Hoax and change.
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