Laugh at Obama? Yes, We Can… Well, Maybe.

Holy hell, we are finally going to have a president that we can be excited about. Even Bush called the victory “uplifting.” And one staunch McCain supporter I know admitted that even though Obama wasn’t his choice, he’s excited for the country, and proud to be an American. Tuesday was a night that I’m sure all of us will remember as long as we live.

But enough gushing. Already, Obama (who wasted absolutely no time celebrating) is hard at work choosing his cabinet, and the pundits and journalists are examining his every step. One question that’s come to the fore recently has been about political humor—how will we be able to ridicule a President Obama? Are Colbert, Stewart, Leno and Letterman all out of a job? Well, no, but I mean, maybe. The evidence suggests that in trying to mock Barack, comedians are going to have some real trouble.

These guys never knew how good they had it for the past decade. We may not remember it now that he’s become a stout, lovable advocate of the environment and generally worshiped genius, but in 2000, Gore was an easy target—a robot with no emotion or facial expression. Plus, Tipper Gore. ‘Nuff said. Then John Kerry came along, with the Ketchup maiden by his side, and no one could let up about his three Purple Hearts (and to his own detriment, neither could he). Plus, through it all, beginning in 2000, the “liberal elite media” (thank you, Palin) had George W. Bush—a gift that God handed them on a silver platter. There was the pretzel incident, and there were the monkey faces, and there were the countless verbal mistakes (“misunderestimated,” anyone?) that came to be known as “Bush-isms.” This guy has practically been a stand-up comedian, albeit unintentionally.

Of course, there’s a long tradition of ridiculing politicians that goes back to before 2000. Bill Clinton? Even before the Lewinsky scandal, he was a figure as mocked as he was adored. And before him there was Dukakis, with that infamous photo in the army tank. The laughs came easy with these guys.

But a President Obama presents a problem, because, well—he just doesn’t really do anything wrong. He doesn’t embarrass himself. He speaks eloquently. He went to Columbia, then Harvard Law School. After college, he spent years toiling for others. He doesn’t have sexual dalliances a la Clinton, Spitzer, or Edwards. Instead, he has a beautiful wife and two lovely daughters. And he’s buying them a puppy.

And, in case you hadn’t noticed, he’s black. As Jimmy Kimmel told Maureen Dowd, “there’s a weird reverse racism going on” that has spared Obama from ridicule so far. Indeed, when all the comedians on late night television are white (and they gave Conan’s Late Night spot to Jimmy Fallon? How about Chris Rock, or anyone else who’s actually funny?), there’s certainly a fear, incited by political correctness, that we need to walk on eggshells. Remember how awkward it was when Ludacris wrote that new rap song in which he boasted that Obama would “paint the White House black, and I’m sure that’s got ‘em terrified!” Obama’s camp couldn’t have possibly distanced their candidate from the video quicker.

Maybe with the political correctness bug so rampant, this presidency will actually give comedy back to the many hilarious, talented black comedians who are so forgotten by most mainstream television. If the white guys are afraid to joke about Obama, and feel (unfortunately) that they don’t have license to ridicule anything relating to his blackness, it could be a chance to see some great black comedians surge to popularity.

Forgetting the racial tension, there are still some areas that comics could, and will, desperately try to expose. There’s that bit in his first memoir, in which he candidly revealed his use of “a little blow” in college. These are some new times, huh? Times in which a guy who admitted to doing coke can get elected. And then there’s the liability of his own name (we elected a president who shares a middle name with a fascist dictator we just executed?), but these seem more like things that should make us impressed he was still able to gain the presidency. They should inspire admiration, rather than ridicule.

Another option (the only one, right now) is to tease him for how perfect he seems to be—you know, like: ‘The guy’s a law school professor, brilliant orator, and he can swish three pointers, too! What is he, Superman?’ But that can only last so long. Once we’ve laughed at how great he is, all we can really do is celebrate that greatness, and broadcast our pride at having elected him. And that pride isn’t really so funny; it’s serious, and wonderful.

Political humor is always a slippery slope, and undoubtedly the ‘funny guys’ will work hard to come up with clever ways to taunt the 44th president. But they’re going to have a tough time of it, unless he gives them fodder for jokes by faltering terribly in the early months of his presidency. I don’t see that happening.

[UPDATE, 7/23/09]

“…unless he… falter[s] terribly in the early months of his presidency. I don’t see that happening.”

Oops. My bad.

~ by DBR on November 14, 2008.