Editor's Letter: Lighten up, fellas

last updated 8 January 2015

Perhaps you’ve noticed something missing from the current Republican presidential field. Republicans certainly have; with the primary season already well underway, 58 percent wish they didn’t have to settle on one of the candidates now running (see “Poll watch”). May I advance a theory on what they’re longing for, perhaps without realizing it? A sense of humor. Each of the GOP contenders has his virtues, but all are “incredibly unfunny,” John Dickerson pointed out this week in Slate.com. To be fair, Romney and his rivals occasionally elicit smiles with the zingers they aim at each other and Barack Obama. But most of the time, they’re a painfully earnest bunch. Their jokes are rare and sound forced. There’s none of that easy, self-deprecating wit that made Republicans adore Ronald Reagan, or Democrats carry a torch for John F. Kennedy for decades.

Consider how slyly Reagan tweaked the White House press corps. “It’s my job to solve all the country’s problems,” he told them, “and it’s your job to make sure no one finds out about it.” When he was rushed to the hospital after getting shot, in 1981, Reagan managed to whisper to the assembled doctors, “I hope you’re all Republicans.” JFK’s wit was no less disarming; when asked after his election what he hadn’t expected about his new responsibilities, he replied, “What surprised me most was that things were just as bad as we were saying during the presidential campaign.” Asked in 1962 how he felt about growing criticism of his administration, Kennedy ruefully said, “Well, I’m reading more and enjoying it less.” So lighten up, fellas: Humor humanizes. Make people laugh, and you’re halfway home to getting their votes.