Posts Tagged ‘The Onion’

Christian Toto

Comedy Cowards: The Onion Attacks Obama’s Critics

by Christian Toto

The Onion is at it again.

Rather than trying to spoof, mock or even gently tease President Barack Obama–the man who actually holds the highest office in the land–the paper is targeting the administration’s out-of-power critics.

The Onion’s latest Obama humor article taunts those who note how a leader who rails against the rich routinely enjoys the perks that come with his wealth, power and status:

Obama Criticized For Living In Lavish Mansion While Most Americans Struggle To Make Ends Meet

WASHINGTON—Over the past three years, as the sluggish economy has forced many Americans to tighten their belts, President Obama has reportedly enjoyed a lavish personal lifestyle, residing with his family in a 132-room house staffed by a 24-hour security detail, five full-time chefs, and a live-in maid service.

In recent weeks, many of the president’s critics have seized upon the issue, arguing that anyone who sleeps in a sprawling six-level neoclassical mansion covering 18 acres of Washington, D.C.’s most valuable real estate is clearly out of touch with the lives of ordinary citizens.

You see, those silly Obama critics will attack poor Barack on just about any charge. So we should simply ignore them, right?

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Christian Toto

The Onion Forgets Mission, Protects Obama as 2012 Election Beckons

by Christian Toto

You would think a humor publication would find plenty to mock about Barack Obama.

After all, then-Sen. Barack Obama campaigned in 2008 alongside Greek columns and promised his election would be the moment “when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal …” And let’s not forget the plethora of broken campaign promises, battalions of straw men and class warfare that have come to define the last three years.


Instead, The Onion serves up faux news stories like this:

Obama Openly Asks Nation Why on Earth He Would Want to Serve for Another Term

Yes, the media narrative regarding Obama has officially arrived at a newspaper dedicated to political satire. Liberal humorists would rather protect their own than make us laugh and speak truth to power.

PITTSBURGH—Citing three years of exhausting partisan politics, constant gridlock in Congress, and an overall feeling that the entire nation has “completely lost it,” President Barack Obama openly asked a campaign-rally crowd Tuesday why he’d want to serve another term as president of “this godforsaken country.”

“My fellow Americans, I come to you today to ask, why?” Obama said to 1,200 people gathered inside a gymnasium at Taylor Allderdice High School. “Why can’t our congressional leaders work together to create jobs? Why can’t Wall Street ever be held accountable? And most important, why on God’s green earth would I voluntarily subject myself to this nonsense for another four years?”

Didn’t Obama campaign as a non-partisan healer who would rise above congressional gridlock? And didn’t he enjoy a Democratic Congress for his first two years in office that allowed him to pass virtually anything he pleased?

Now, here come the delusional talking points that could have been uttered by Bill Press or any other reality-challenged liberal pundit.

“I have a pen and some paper right here,” Obama said Wednesday morning at a town hall meeting in Ohio. “Let’s list the pros and cons of being president. Con: There are people out there who literally want to shoot you dead. Con: We live in a country seriously considering a Newt Gingrich White House. Con: You can help 40 million Americans receive health care, sign legislation that regulates a financial system run amok, give the order to kill Osama bin Laden, help topple Muammar Qaddafi’s tyrannical regime without losing the life of one American soldier, end the war in Iraq, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, stave off a second Great Depression, take out more than 30 top al- Qaeda leaders, and somehow everyone still calls you the next Jimmy Carter.”

And what’s the video link currently at the bottom of the story page: Did the media treat Bachmann unfairly because she’s an insane woman?

Expect much, much more of this as the presidential elections come into sharper focus.

Big Hollywood

‘The Onion’ Targets Obama’s Teleprompter Reliance

by Big Hollywood

Amazing what you can do with a cup of truth mixed with a dash of exaggeration….  We’ve been pretty hard on “The Onion,” and deservedly so, but some credit is due here for their decision to target an obvious Obama weak spot, his reliance on a teleprompter:


Obama’s Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

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Michael Wilson

Glenn Beck, CNN, John Nolte, the Canadians and Me

by Michael Wilson

John Nolte, the Editor-in-Chief of Big Hollywood emailed me last night and asked if I had any interest in doing a piece about The Onion wishing Glenn Beck dead in this video. At first, I thought maybe it was a job for Wolf Blitzer, but then remembered that Glenn is “somewhat” reviled at CNN and they might not fact-check a bit on him. But I felt compelled to write for two reasons: the first is that Glenn and I have a mutual friend who frequently says “the answer to bad speech is more speech,” the second is that John’s request immediately reminded me of a phone call I received from the Canadian Broadcasting Company a few years back. (Bet you didn’t think I could work everything from the headline into one paragraph, did you?)

Glenn_Beck Foxnews

After I made “Michael Moore Hates America,” I spent several years (and still occasionally) doing interviews for the press on movie stuff. They’d always call me, because, you know, I’m a crazy, angry right-wing nut job and I’d made the only “conservative” documentary any of them had ever heard of. Something controversial would happen in the world of cinema, my phone would ring for a few days and then I’d go back to my life. In one episode, I received a call from the CBC. They wanted to know if I could do a satellite interview with them on an evening news talk show. The topic was the about-to-be-released film “Death of a President” where President George W. Bush was digitally assassinated. (more…)

Big Hollywood

‘The Onion’: Tragic News — Glenn Beck Not Dead

by Big Hollywood


Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck

Wow. Going after Glenn Beck. What iconoclasts! How brave! How ballsy! How against the grain! How counter-culture!

If “The Onion” is so desperate to be liked by the establishment, why not just send certificates for free ice cream, or something? (more…)

Christian Toto

Cowardly ‘Onion’ Ignores Obama, Ridicules Reagan’s Alzheimers

by Christian Toto

It’s bad enough that one of the snarkiest comedy outlets around, The Onion, can’t seem to find anything funny about President Barack Obama. But the faux newspaper hit a new low this week by insulting former President Ronald Reagan’s Alzheimer’s Disease and his economic record in one nasty twofer.

the-onion-logo

Week after week The Onion bends over backward not to satirize The One. That’s keeping in line with most of today’s cowardly comics, from David Letterman to Bill Maher.

Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” has shown some interest in pursuing the president’s comic potential, but it comes in fits and starts. But The Onion’s latest attempt at humor is both vicious and wrongheaded. (more…)

Christian Toto

Onion Ignores Obama, Slams Rush

by Christian Toto

The Onion can’t find anything funny about President Barack Obama or his presidency yet. But it quickly jumped on the Democratic Talking Points bandwagon this week with a sour assault on talk show giant Rush Limbaugh.

The humor publication has been tap dancing wildly to avoid any articles that could so much as pierce the skin of the new president. But they took off the gloves when it came time to mock Limbaugh in the newest edition, now available everywhere.

To say the “Rush Limbaugh Returns” infographic isn’t funny is to be kind. It’s cruel and assumes both the worst about Limbaugh and his legion of fans. Humor needs to be based on a kernel of truth to work, but only a rabid left winger would think the material here is knee slapper stuff.

Here’s a sample of the faux incendiary comments Limbaugh has made, according to the publication:

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Christian Toto

The Onion Can’t Bear to Mock The One

by Christian Toto

America’s Finest News Source has some explaining to do.

The Onion , the usually biting comic weekly, just can’t bring itself to mock President Barack Obama. The One has been in office for more than a month now, and the last four Onion issues have tip-toed around anything remotely tough on the Commander-in-Chief. It’s hardly a shock, since most comics in toto seem to have a hands off approach to the new president. But The Onion? (more…)