'Call me Senator': Funniest political ad of 2010?
The director of the comedy classic "Airplane" pokes fun at Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in a new TV spot
The video: In a rare instance of an intentionally funny political ad, David Zucker, director of the 1980 classic comedy Airplane, takes aim at Democratic California Sen. Barbara Boxer. The satirical ad — created for Right Change, a 527 organization that supports fiscally responsible candidates — pillories the now-infamous moment in June 2009 when Boxer asked an Army brigadier general to call her "Senator" and not "Ma'am" during a committee hearing; it concludes with her gleefully signing a $900 billion stimulus bill.
The reaction: Zucker, a former Democrat who once supported Boxer, has offered this video as an "apology" to her critics, says Jim Galloway at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It's not as funny as Airplane," but "it'll do." It will more than do, says Rick Moran at American Thinker. This is "easily one of the funniest ads made this campaign season." Eagle-eyed viewers will notice Clint Howard, brother of Happy Days star Ron and a "recent 'out of the closet' Hollywood conservative," portraying the senator sitting next to the Boxer character. Watch for yourself:
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