Obama: The joke-proof candidate
Where's the comedic take?
Barack Obama may have inspired millions with his promise of change, said Bill Carter in The New York Times, but he’s brought nothing but despair to the hardworking Americans who write jokes for late-night talk shows. From Letterman to Leno to the smart alecks of basic cable, political satirists are reporting that Obama is a hard man to be funny about. The fact that TV writers are mostly a left-leaning bunch doesn’t explain it; they had no problem mocking Al Gore’s woodenness or Bill Clinton’s womanizing. The problem, say the writers, is that, so far, “there is no comedic ‘take’” on Obama. He isn’t stupid. He doesn’t mangle the English language. And he isn’t old like John McCain—who, until Obama gives the comics something to joke about, will likely have to shoulder the brunt of their mockery.
The “elephant in the room” here is race, said Noam Sheiber in The New Republic Online. Writers are walking on eggshells when it comes to Obama, “for fear of being thought racist, or of crossing some line of political correctness.” Given the hair-trigger climate of American race relations, it’s hard to blame the writers for their caution. Still, since when is any candidate “above ridicule”? The irony, said Maureen Dowd in The New York Times, is that this hands-off approach may end up hurting Obama. No candidate wants to be a laughingstock, of course, but you don’t want to be seen as humorless and dull. If word gets around that Barack Obama is the candidate nobody ever jokes about, “it might infect his campaign with an airless quality.” The last thing America wants is four years of a president you’re not allowed to make fun of.
So let’s get on with it, said Joel Stein in the Los Angeles Times. The notion that Obama does not lend himself to ridicule is, well, ridiculous. First, there’s his grating earnestness—he’s the kind of perennially upbeat do-gooder “who not only talked you into showing up for Hands Across America but afterward insisted it was awesome.” If that’s not lowbrow enough, why not get on him for being effete? Are we really to believe that the nation’s finest comedic minds can think of nothing to say about a “manorexic” natty dresser with a 37 bowling average whose favorite food is arugula? Toss into the mix the fact that Obama’s ears stick out like Alfred E. Neuman’s and there’s surely more than enough material to guarantee a level satirical playing field. To paraphrase the man himself, “I believe comedic change is possible.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published