Well, Saturday Night Live had that one skit that made fun of how interviewers were not giving him very hard questions. Then they had that one commercial that mocked Clinton's "it's 3am and a phone is ringing." They made it be about Obama in office, having no clue what to do and calling up Hillary for advice. Not near as biting as any Bush joke, but that is all I've got.

SNL does make fun of Obama quite a bit (or did, during the election season... I haven't watched in a while). My favorite was this one where Obama ends up calling Hilary at 3 AM when an international crisis comes up.

The Onion has some pretty funny articles on Obama, too.

South Park has done satires of him (though, they satirize everyone).

I won't try to defend Letterman as a bastion of objectivity or anything, but the video you posted made a good point, I thought. Some conservatives act as if Obama's the first President to ever use a teleprompter. I've made similar points in private about the teleprompter "controversy," and I'm WAY to the right of Letterman.

I've seen a few comedians make fun of Obama (Simbad did it when I saw him live), but not as much as Bush. I don't think there's any conspiracy, or anything, but I see what you're saying. Part of is that there's simply not a whole lot to make fun of. Bush was a bad speaker, Clinton had his "backroom deals," Bush I was just funny, etc. I've heard the criticism before, but I also haven't heard any good suggestions for material. I'm not all that creative, but I can't think of anything all that funny to point at. I'm not excusing it, but I also can't really picture an Obama joke in my head.

Joe Biden, on the other hand, is different story...

I'm sure there's a vast left-wing conspiracy in here somewhere, but it's is due to the general state of American comedy too. I was reading someone (wish I could remember who) complain a while back that we have lots of comedy about politicians, but we haven't had any real satire for decades. He pointed out that comedians will rake a politician (especially a conservative, IMHO) over the coals for personal oddities or failings, but they won't make satire about what the guy is actually doing in office. I think this is probably true.

So, if this is your modus operandi (did I spell that right?), then what are you going to do with Obama? Though I can't stand his policies, I've got to hand it to the guy: there just aren't any personal rough edges in him for a comedian to grab on to.

If comedians ever do want to try satire again, though, there is plenty of Obama material there for them to go after. I've recommended the article in the link before. Hope that's OK.

I think I've seen Jimmy Kimmel make fun of him, but I can't remember any specifics. SNL and Conan go pretty hard on Biden - so it's not an immunity extended to the whole ticket. Still - the Biden bashing didn't really start on SNL until after the election was over. How convenient.

What others have said concerning Obama being harder to make fun of I think is true. I'm interested to see what SNL does in their new season. Now that Obama's approval ratings are in the range of normal (although one could argue dismal, considering where he came from), it might feel more right to make fun - there will be a populist sentiment to back the sharp end of the humor stick.

I would not call what SNL has done thus far with Obama making fun of him as much as I would call it simply impersonating him. I think there is an angle with the teleprompter issue - even if it isn't a big deal in reality - it is an angle that could be used. (For heaven's sake, Will Ferrel played President Bush as a cat playing with a ball of yarn, and we're concerned with truth in humor?)

I think that we could see SNL begin to set the tempo in a few months when their season debuts, unless something really embarrassing happens to Obama before then. Still late-night comics could be going after a myriad of things and they're simply not doing it.

I expect, perhaps, to see the first SNL cold open showcasing Obama trying to explain why his stimulus package isn't working and why unemployment has just hit 10%.

Actually, I have two examples from NPR.

Manders got "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" before I did.

The Capitol Steps also use him for material. (NPR-related because I only listen to their specials on the radio.)

They're not making fun of him for two reasons. 1) They love him. 2) He's black. I'm black... I can say that.

I love the jib jab video, wickle. It's still mostly about how people respond/think of him though. There is some stuff actually making fun of him, - the pirate thing, disregarding the mounting debt, writing checks, acting like he can fix everything...

Pretty good. I wonder if jez is right. Will the honeymoon period ever wear off for the late night comedians?

jez makes another really good point - it's not necessarily a good thing to make fun of people. In fact, I had to be careful about the wording of this post, because as I was writing it, I was concerned that it sounded like I wanted people to make fun of Obama. That's not true. I was trying to point out what I think looks like a glaring double standard.

I'd be happy if this was the beginning of a new trend - no more personal barbs and attacks on the president, any president. That would be great.

As far as Clinton, the jokes about his womanizing were possible before he was even elected. "Just put some ice on it."

I've heard several black comedians (before the election I believe and maybe right after) talk about the changes that would be made along the lines of food and lawn decorations.

SNL will no doubt kick in the jabs when he's been in a while. Did they start making fun of Bush right out of the gate or did it take a while for them to find things? I don't remember.

I'd be surprised if the tag team of Stewart?colbert haven't dug into him yet.

I humbly submit:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-2-2009/that-s-great-now-fix-the-economy

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-25-2009/cheney-predacted

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-june-24-2009/hard-corps

And while I don't know if these qualify as "Making fun" they do hold his feet to the fire. Will "research" Colbert for any clips.

A Fox Sports Radio guy went off on Obama yesterday for pretending to love baseball.

He noted that during the All Star game coverage, Obama (claiming to be a "huge" Whitesox fan) called the Whitesox stadium Comi"n"ski Field instead of Comisky Park.......no self-respecting Whitesox fan would get that wrong.

nhe,
that's pretty good. That sounds like the kind of thing they would get other presidents for.

Scott,
Re: the fly clips by Colbert and Stewart

With respect, are you serious dude?

Stewart makes fun of himself, definitely not Obama. Obama's the hero in that piece. As far as Colbert goes... Colbert is a tough one, because of the character he plays. He mocks what he plays, not what he talks about. You almost have to reverse everything he says, to be able to break down what he is actually mocking. In reality, this is a mocking of people who criticize Obama (though not mentioned by name, the Fox network.)

Kimmel - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_x9A3JsLk4&feature=player_embedded

Yeah it's not real funny but then Kimmel has never impressed me.

SO, in my opinion the only joke is the use of the race card to defend someone who claimed he was going to pull everyone together. LOL

I do think that there's something to be said for the idea that there isn't quite the same material with Pres. Obama.

Granted, I'm not a satirist or humorist of any kind, but I don't see the same type of material for making fun of Obama the way one would Bush or Clinton.

Bush could rarely string words together coherently, and often mispronounced the individual words. The material writes itself.

If you only made one joke about each Clinton sex scandal, you could still have material for years.

Were I looking for the same kind of material on Obama, I don't know what I'd do. He speaks pretty well, he more or less behaves himself ... the material that's there is more along the lines of perceptions and policy.

G,

I hope others here will correct the record. But the teleprompter thing was a political attack that had no bearing on reality.

If you listen to any of the many town-hall meetings Obama had, or to the debates, you will hear a thoughtful and eloquent unscripted speaker. I personally find it bizarre that the republicans chose one of Obama's most pronounced strengths as a route for attack.

Your final editorial regarding the cadence of his speech makes it clear to me what your real issue is with this president.

At the risk of actually defending a liberal democrat on this site, I think calling someone a bumbling idiot because they say "um" a lot is a bit unfair. I say "um" a lot, and I pause, and sometimes stumble over my words. It may not make me a great politician, but I don't think it makes me an idiot. I'm a good student at a good university (and of course, I know universities are the breeding ground for liberal foot-soldiers in the war to subvert the Constitution and happiness and all that). The reason I'm not a great off-the-cuff speaker has to do with a lot of things... I don't know how many of them have to do with my IQ.

Now, you may say, well you're not the President. There, you'd be right...

I would agree that "umm" doesn't make one an idiot. I'll let the commenter who said that defend his statement (I didn't say it), as well as defend himself against Hobo's charge of racism.

Obama uses "ummmm" a WHOLE lot and I think that does make one ineloquent. How many of the great orators of the past are known for "um"? But, this observation is, like all things here, a matter of taste and opinion. I personally think, Hobo, that the pro-Obama forces have gone too far in pumping up his great speaking ability. He is good. He's not great. If ability to speak is one of his main selling points, the expectations for working magic with his words can pump up higher than his abilities to do so.

All this is a bit beside the point for me. Obama is thoughtful, and smart. It's his thoughts and ideas I disagree with - I disagree with the government taking over the auto industry, energy, and health-care, while racking up trillions of dollars in debt. Both parties fail on this score, but to really, really get the blender of doom set on puree, you need a Democratic President with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. The windows are open and money's blowing out of them right now.

One reason comedians don't make fun of Obama is because the most important things he's doing and attempting to do are more frightening than funny.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Finally, I'll be thrilled when we quit looking at people as members of an ethnicity but rather just as human beings. Both sides of the political spectrum bring up race too much, although the Liberal wing seems absolutely obsessed with it (and also pretty vicious toward those of a given ethnicity who don't "act" the way that ethnicity is supposed to act). Nother story for another time, I suppose.

Obama uses "ummmm" a WHOLE lot and I think that does make one ineloquent. How many of the great orators of the past are known for "um"?

Great orators are generally known for the speeches they delivered - most of which were written for them by someone else (there are, of course, many exceptions). In this day and age, at least, hardly anyone delivers speeches "off-the-cuff." I'm not arguing that Obama is a GREAT orator, but saying, "look how much he says 'um,' he's such a bad speaker!" (I know you didn't say that) just strikes me as an odd criticism. When he, like almost every modern politician, has a written speech, he can deliver it pretty well. I'm not saying that makes his policies good, or even that it makes him a good orator. All I'm saying is, whenever we judge orators, we almost always judge them solely by the speeches they delivered in public, most of which were written beforehand. So when judging Obama as an orator, I think it makes sense to only judge him by the public speeches he gives, because, as far as I know, that's the standard by which all orators are judged.

Hobo, if you are pulling out the race card as well then you only prove my point also it proves you know nothing about me either while being perfectly willing to pretend you do.

Hobo,

... it's also dangerous to swing too far the other way and overlook obvious racism when it starts popping up - because it is a social disease and that's how it spreads.

I, myself, would have never noticed how obvious G's racism was. Thanks for pointing it out.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)

Well, I've put my foot in my mouth. I'll just say what I mean: I have a really hard time detecting any racism is G.'s comments, and I think racism is a horrible charge to throw at someone with no real evidence. My (apparently lame) attempt at humor was to say I would have never noticed how obvious G's racism was.

BTW, does anyone know what G's race is? or mine, for that matter? This whole conversation seems to be predicated on the assumption that G., and the rest of us, are all a bunch of white guys. I think everything said here so far (including G's initial comment) could have been said by someone of any race.

42 comments and I'm glad I'm not involved. :-)

I live in a rural town that is 98% white and most folks here speak in a cadence typical of white, rural folk that is annoying to me. This is clearly because I am racist against white people. :-)

Have fun, all.

Andrew thank you for your kind criticism. when making the statement bumbling idiot because they say "um" a lot is a bit unfair. not only was my statement unfair but it was very ungracious and that is inexcusable. Bill and you and all the other Thninklings are always so gracious, that I had no right to throw that kind of statement around on this site. I humbly apologize. I have done some public speaking (certainly not of the importance of a campaign speech or anything even remotely like that but I am personlly more comfortable with extemporaneous speaking than with speech making. I don't know what others think of my speaking but I feel I do a much better job with extemporaneous than prepared speaking. There is a physical reason why that is true for me, bad eysight. I was taught in high school how to keep the pause words at a minimum and I think I am relatively good at doing so. But then again that is just my opinion.

Hobo,
why no commentary regarding the so-called comedians who savaged Condoleeza Rice with disgusting racial garbage? I wonder if you were so quick to claim racism in that instance as you are now regarding Obama?

Hobo,

I'll ban the crud out of someone who comes on here and posts racists comments.

I didn't think G.F.s comments were racist. I really didn't.

Bigotry exists in many forms, by the way. For instance, what pops in lots of liberals' minds when I say "Texas".

I know Texas to be a wonderful state full of some of the friendliest people on earth. It's common for me to look around in meetings (I work for an Energy company - what pops in liberals' minds when they hear that?) and to realize - when I'm thinking about it, which, to my credit, I don't very often - that I'm the only white male in the room.

But a lot of liberals, who don't know what they are talking about, see Texas as a place full of good ol' boy rednecks attaching lynching ropes to the back hitch of their huge trucks.

A lot (not the majority, of course, but a lot) of the criticism of GWB was that form of bigotry - bigotry against people in the south (the way they talk, the food they like, the supposed racism they have in their hearts).

All bigotry is bad. My point is that there's a lot more of it out there than just bigotry against race. And a lot of it is accepted, even in (and sometimes especially in) liberal circles.

My hope is that all conversations in this place stay gracious. Yes, most of the Thinklings vote conservative. But we are not a "conservative blog".

Bill,

Thanks for the comments. Once again - my sincere apologies for offtracking the discussion.

I live in Texas and unfortunately the truth, I think, is that those ugly generalizations are true, some of the time. Maybe even half of the time. But whether they are true - or whether you think a comment is racist - is almost completely all about perspective. I'll stop now, really.

Back to the topic at hand ...

There was a study (no, I ain't got a link and I'm behind on my Saturday work so I'm not going to look for one.) that showed that favorable media stories for Obama were well above both Bush II and Clinton in their early days. It was something like Bush 22%, Clinton 29%, Obama 42%. Don't quote me, but that's close.

That's a bit concerning to me, an extremely ambitious president and an uncharacteristically favorable media is not a good combination.

On the comedians, I've heard them lament that Obama hasn't given them anything to run with. Clinton had the Monica thing which they ran with. Bush was famously inarticulate, which of course they've run with. McCain was older than the hills, Pain was folksy, which is easy to mock. Obama? Nothin' - yet. Maybe there will be something emerge, but there really isn't anything that stands out as late night monologue fodder yet.

Think about it, he's not been in politics very long so, unlike McCain, Bush and Biden, and he's very likeable. He's harder to mock. There have been some things, as have been mentioned, and there will be more. I just think he's not as easy of a target.

Hey Hobo how about these links:
warning ugly racist commentary to follow:
http://www.blackcommentator.com/26/26_commentary.html
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-april-5-2006/racist-like-me
http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/article.cgi?article=18
http://michellemalkin.com/2004/07/08/the-buck-naked-bigotry-of-ted-rall/
there is more but that should be enough. I need to go take a shower now. over and out for the last time.

?

I can't believe I'm still inserting myself into this scrum . . .

Hobo, out of fairness, you're correct, the links aren't racist comedy. But GF didn't say they were comedy, only that they were racist. The first one talks about "Authentic Black Opinion", specifying that people like Rice, General Powell, etc aren't "authentic blacks". I personally find this kind of talk, this generalization of what African Americans believe (and if you don't you're not an African American) racist, but I wouldn't wrestle you in mud about it.

I'm well familiar with the Ted Rall cartoon. It's disgusting. I personally think if he were a conservative and did a cartoon like that about Obama he'd be unemployed, but that hypothetical generally results in unfruitful conversation.

I didn't look at the other ones. I'd suggest that there are people on both sides of the aisle who generalize about ethnic groups in ways that are unhelpful and often racist.

But, since I'm from Texas, where the generalization of redneck bubbas hitching lynching ropes to their truck hitches is true, "maybe even half of the time" (where on earth in TX do you live, anyway? Yikes! :-) maybe my opinion is a bit suspect?