Tuesday night's Daily Show took a serious look at presidential branding, and the possibility that the 2016 race will be between two established "brands," Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Correspondent Michael Che found at least one person excited about the return of "the Coke and Pepsi of politics," Republican strategist Chip Saltsman. Che played along: "Why would you want to shop for a president at Family Dollar," since you might get an "off-brand" commander-in-chief like Obama, he asked. "We tried our black-guy phase. It's over. Now we need to get back to what works."
NYU history professor Jonathan Zimmerman played devil's advocate, arguing that we don't need a name brand in the Oval Office. When Zimmerman says that a name doesn't matter, Che almost stumps him by asking if he'd vote for a candidate named Phillip Hitler. But Che did more than spitball name-brand politics — he also resurrected an old brand name, by trying to create a campaign for Lili Van Buren, "an offspring of a president so forgettable he wouldn't offend either the left or the right." Whoever wrote her stump speech deserves a raise. --Peter Weber
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.
-
7 drinks for every winter need possibleThe Week Recommends Including a variety of base spirits and a range of temperatures
-
'We have made it a crime for most refugees to want the American dream'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Was the Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down?Today's Big Question Multiple sources claim Russian anti-aircraft missile damaged passenger jet, leading to Christmas Day crash that killed at least 38
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setbackSpeed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump caseSpeed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdownSpeed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdownSpeed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdownSpeed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorismSpeed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about BidensSpeed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes chargesSpeed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
