Political Humor – R.I.P.

Political Humor 1992-2008

With the election of Barack Obama, political humor has been dealt a cruel and fatal blow. The last 16 years have been a goldmine for comics and satirists who specialized in poking fun at the president of the United States.   Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades were easy pickings for comedians and from the moment Clinton uttered his infamous words, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman“, hardly a night went by without Leno and Letterman and a host of others, mocking the former president.

“Traffic was so bad I had to squeeze through spaces that were narrower than President Clinton’s definition of sex.“  -Letterman

And then of course, we had 8 glorious years of George W. Bush.   If comedians had the ability to create with their very hands a president who could supply them with an endless wealth of material, Bush would be that man.  From the moment he entered the oval office, Bush Stupidity Jokes became a growth industry.  There were no bounds to the man’s ability to twist and warp the English language into an incoherent, hilarious string of words and phrases.  How can we ever forget any of these Bushisms.

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.”

“They misunderestimated me.”

“Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”

“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”

Sigh…the man’s stupidity was truly a remarkable thing to behold.  And now, after 16 years of Clinton the womanizer and Bush the moron, we have Barack Obama – intelligent, articulate and a family man.  What will the late night comedians ever do to fill the void the Obama presidency has brought upon them?

Daniel Kurtzman of PoliticalHumor.about.com, wrote a great piece a number of weeks back titled Surviving the Obama Comedy Crisis.   He wrote, “If Bill Clinton was a full-employment act for political comedians, then George W. Bush was a welfare program.  But when Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, the era of easy presidential punch lines may be coming to a close. As it has been widely noted in humor circles, Obama remains a tough target.”

Sam Means, a writer for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, when asked how he’ll handle the sad situation, replied, “How do I plan to survive the Obama years? Law school.”

Well, if Means and his fellow writers and comedians can hang in there for the next four years, Rush Limbaugh might get his prayers answered and president Obama will fail and then…in 2012…Sarah Palin!

I have no doubt that after a few months of Palin in office, the Bush years will look as if they had been the Time of Enlightenment.

Won’t that be special.

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