It was just a few short months ago that Jon Stewart on the Daily Show had to tell his audience it was okay to laugh after he made a mild witticism directed toward Barack Obama about his switch on campaign financing. It was at that point that a few of us wondered if the comics and writers who shape much of the national conversation would ever be able to lay a glove on the Illinois senator or whether his race gave him a cloak of immunity, shielding him from the barbs and bon mots of the late night comedy crowd and Comedy Central gang.
We needn’t have worried. It turns out the comedy writers were actually desperate for material with which to skewer Obama but the candidate was so new on the national stage that there was no overarching, defining character trait that the audience would have a common frame of reference with which to understand the humor and laugh.
Why? The reason cited by most of those involved in the shows is that a fundamental factor is so far missing in Mr. Obama: There is no comedic “take” on him, nothing easy to turn to for an easy laugh, like allegations of Bill Clinton’s womanizing, or President Bush’s goofy bumbling or Al Gore’s robotic persona.“The thing is, he’s not buffoonish in any way,” said Mike Barry, who started writing political jokes for Johnny Carson’s monologues in the waning days of the Johnson administration and has lambasted every presidential candidate since, most recently for Mr. Letterman. “He’s not a comical figure,” Mr. Barry said.
This is true – up to a point. The fact is, it is very hard to make fun of someone unless you are willing to subsume your personal feelings and treat the subject as just another bozo slipping on a banana peel. The mainstream press is still having a hard time getting beyond their goo-goo eyed worship of Obama’s talents as a stump speaker so it is no wonder that comedy writers and performers would have problems zeroing in on the candidate’s many faults and idiosyncrasies.
There is no doubt, several representatives of the late-night shows said, that so far their audiences (and at least some of the shows’ writers) seem to be favorably disposed toward Mr. Obama, to a degree that perhaps leaves them more resistant to jokes about him than those about most previous candidates.“A lot of people are excited about his candidacy,” Mr. Sweeney said. “It’s almost like: ‘Hey, don’t go after this guy. He’s a fresh face; cut him some slack.’ ”
While the right had been laying into Obama for months about his pomposity, his overly high opinion of himself, and his overweening confidence about winning the election, the general public did not see these traits in the candidate until just recently. It was left to Obama’s ideological allies at The New Yorker to start chipping away at the marble facade that shielded the candidate from ridicule and thus, from being portrayed as exactly what he is; a human being with imperfections and a too lofty opinion of himself.
The New Yorker cartoon was notable for the breakthrough in portraying the candidate – even if the target of the satire were his opponents – as something less than a cross between Martin Luther King and Jesus Christ. Touching on all the groundless fears of the right with regard to Obama’s Muslim heritage and his lack of patriotism was nevertheless seen as validating those fears because the idiocy of Obama supporters posited that folks in flyover country weren’t sophisticated enough to see that the joke was actually on them.
Beyond that, the reaction of the Obama camp itself revealed a humorlessness and a surprising sensitivity to criticism that showed a campaign that was taking itself way too seriously for its own good. Any bunch that uptight about a cartoon was bound to step in it sooner or later. This they did with a series of gaffes over the next few weeks that highlighted the candidate’s overconfidence along with an almost regal sense of entitlement that fully manifested itself in prickly responses to a new ad campaign that the McCain campaign began to run.
The fake presidential seal, the constant use of the royal “We” when speaking, the references to himself as president, and finally, his foreign trip last month all worked to shed the image of ice blue perfection so carefully crafted by the campaign and resulted in the candidate becoming fair game for comics, pundits, and late night talk show hosts:
But growing Obama fatigue among voters after his pseudo-presidential visit to Europe and the Middle East has unleashed a wave of satirical fire, mocking Mr Obama for his apparent belief that he has the election in the bag.Last month Jon Stewart, host of the satirical news programme The Daily Show, had to tell his audience that they were allowed to laugh at Mr Obama after a joke fell flat.
But Mr Stewart made comedic hay during the Illinois Senator’s international trip, mocking his progress through the Holy Land, where he said the candidate stopped “in Bethlehem to see the manger where he was born.”
Late night comic Jimmy Kimmel also cracked a joke at Mr Obama’s expense: “They really love Barack Obama in Germany. He’s like a rock star over there. Impressive until you realise that David Hasselhoff is also like a rock star over there.”
The jokes are important because they increasingly draw on evidence that voters are tiring of Mr Obama’s elevated opinion of himself, the wall to wall coverage of his pronouncements, and the feeling that he should concentrate on voters back home.
But it has been the McCain campaign’s ridiculing of Obama as a world celebrity and poking fun at his messiah-like image that may have done the most damage and actually had an impact on the polls. The blow up over the ad that compared Obama to such celebrities as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton scratched at the soft underbelly of the Obama campaign by attacking the phenomenon of his candidacy and questioning the intelligence and judgment of his most rabid supporters.
This is the risk McCain runs with ridicule; the probability that in addition to his main target Obama, collateral damage will occur when the barbs strike the innocent as well; in this case, the legions of Obama fans who believe their candidate can do no wrong and speak of him as if he is a religious icon. Not that McCain had any chance in swaying these voters but Americans don’t like to see people like that picked on and it could lose him votes among independents and conservative Democrats if his pot shots were seen as cruel and unfair to the Obamabots.
J. Michael Waller, Annenberg Professor of International Communications for The Institute of World Politics wrote a paper in 2006 about ridicule in the public arena and found that the tactic of using ridicule as a weapon could easily backfire:
Laughing at someone – ridicule – is another matter. It is the use of humor at someone else’s expense. It is a zero-sum game destructive to one of the parties involved. Like a gun, it is a dangerous weapon. Even in trained hands, it can misfire. Used carelessly or indiscriminately, ridicule can create enemies were there were none, and deepen hostilities among the very peoples whom the user seeks to win over.In nearly every aspect of society and across cultures and time, ridicule works. Ridicule leverages the emotions and simplifies the complicated and takes on the powerful, in politics, business, law, entertainment, literature, culture, sports and romance. Ridicule can tear down faster than the other side can rebuild. One might counter an argument, an image, or even a kinetic force, but one can marshal few defenses against the well-aimed barbs that bleed humiliation and drip contempt.
In fact, the Obama campaign had a response to the McCain ad; they played the race card. It’s the only comeback that would have had a greater impact than Obama being accused of being weightless and shallow so they deployed their most potent weapon – with surprising results.
The media to a large extent and much of the public came down on McCain’s side and agreed the ad was not racist – especially after first David Axelrod and then the candidate himself agreed they were injecting race into the argument after first denying any such thing. In effect, McCain’s ad turned the tables on the Obama camp by placing them in the position of attacking McCain supporters with the equally potent race card weapon – and it blew up in their faces.
Another McCain ad which was much more in jest referred to Obama as “The One” and interspersed video of the candidate’s speeches with humorous bits like Charlton Heston as Moses parting the Red Sea. The difference with this ad is that the campaign wisely refrained from attacking Obama supporters. This one was aimed directly at Obama’s supercilious opinion of himself.
In both ads, Obama supporters found themselves stretching the point on racism beyond the breaking point, entering the realm of self parody. The specter of Keith Olberman actually talking about the “phallic symbols” in McCain’s “Celebrity” ad bordered on the surreal. And David Gergen laughably referred to ”coded signals” in the “The One” ad by solemnly informing us that Moses was actually code for “uppity.” It was like a logic sickness gripped many Obama surrogates who were examining these ads sometimes frame by frame to glean the last ounce of race baiting from them. Needless to say, their revelations were given short shrift by the American people.
It seems likely that the Obama camp will not pull the race card any time soon when the McCain campaign is in the process of ridiculing him.
Indeed, McCain seems disinclined to change his strategy. By attacking what is perceived as their opponent’s strengths, they are whittling away at the Obama mystique while the media plays into their hands and spreads the message far beyond any ad buys the campaign makes. The McCain campaign’s most recent target is Obama’s speaking ability:
John McCain is mocking the oratorical gifts of Barack Obama, recommending that he “should consider someone with a knack for brevity and directness, to balance the ticket.”“Taking in my opponent’s performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster,” McCain sneers in his weekly radio address, “and an hour in, realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall.”
Obama delivered the Democrats’ officials radio address Saturday, mentioning “Sen. McCain” four times during a policy remarks about Iraq and balancing the budget. McCain snarks at Obama 10 times in his own address.
McCain’s gibe about a less windy running mate is part of a continuing effort by the Republican’s presidential campaign to turn Obama’s strengths against him.
Obama is popular with younger voters, and Americans usually vote for the more likable presidential candidate. So using political jujitsu, McCain used TV ads to portray his opponent as an air-headed celebrity more in the mold of Paris Hilton than commander in chief.
The danger with this line of attack is that everyone knows Obama can deliver a great speech and mocking one of his obvious gifts could redound to McCain’s disadvantage if it is seen he is being churlish or envious rather than making the point that delivering a great speech while actually saying something relevant and important are two different things. It’s a good point but McCain leaves himself open to counter thrusts by Obama. The candidate will speak before 70,000 people in Denver in what will be one of the more dramatic political scenes in many years. It is hard to see how McCain can make the same claims about Obama’s speeches after the voter sees so many people screaming their delight and the commentators no doubt falling all over themselves in trying to outdo one another in singing the speech’s praises.
Bob Dole had much the same problem in 1996 when running for president. Dole’s biting wit could cross the line at times and rather than being funny, his barbs could be cruel and sound unfeeling, attacking not just Clinton but his supporters as well. He was going to lose anyway so you can’t say this tactic necessarily lost him the election but there is no doubt that at his worst, Dole didn’t help himself when it came to his use of sarcasm and ridicule.
Not so Ronald Reagan. Perhaps it was his genial personality or his gentle delivery that smoothed the rough edges of his ridicule but, to take one example, his famous line delivered when confronted by anti-war protestors holding up signs saying “Make Love, Not War” and Reagan quipping “They didn’t appear they could either” drew laughs from his opponents as well. Reagan, like Lincoln, used humor sparingly but effectively. And it was used to make a valid point, not gratuitously simply to score points against an opponent.
How long McCain can continue to ridicule Obama probably depends on how much fodder the Democrat gives his ad people to use. Are we ready for a more humble, less pretentious Obama? Somehow, I don’t think he has it in him to think of himself as anything less than how he sees himself now.
2:56 pm
Eh.
We’ll see. If the humor is well done and done clearly in jest and jocularity, it’s fine. Ridicule is something else, and should be done sparingly if at all. Right now, I’d say most of the McCain ads on Obama have stayed on the side of jocularity.
I am reminded of an article written in 2004 giving Senator Kerry the advice that he should lampoon and try to make Bush a laughing stock at every opportunity in 2004. Kerry, thankfully for the country and himself, didn’t take that advice. The author of that piece was so off base (as he would only have had to ask President Gore how well ridicule worked for him).
4:12 pm
The threat of a backfire using ridicule is remote- in fact, the only hard proof that you presented (beyond your own speculation) is a brief, weak quote from Waller which seems to bolster the use of ridicule moreso than warn of the use of it.
However, your point about McCain attacking Obama’s “strengths” is spot on- BHO’s one great strength is his ability to deliver a prepared speech using teleprompters. God help him if the teleprompter goes out- his stuttering and pregnant pauses will sink him, which is why he is avoiding debates with McCain like the plague.
Ask President Dole or President Gore how dangerous ridicule can be – a point I believe I made crystal clear when highlighting the difference between Dole and Reagan. I mean, what more “hard proof” do you need than the fact that neither of those gentlemen won?
ed,
4:21 pm
You have pointed out a couple of these, but with regards to “there was no overarching, defining character trait”, I have noted the following: he stutters during extemporaneous speaking (SNL could have a field day with that); he is clearly narcissitic; major cry-baby; and controversially, has a few minor effeminate traits (specifically, how he crosses his legs when sitting and how he walks- just one man’s opinion).
And you’re saying that a vast majority of Americans picked up on all that? C’mon! The point was that the comics couldn’t find something that was widely believed and accepted about Obama by their audience – not until the blanket coverage of his overseas trip and the obvious way in which Obama strutted around as if he were already president. That hit home with people and the perception of Obama as someone who is too full of himself has now taken hold.
ed.
4:28 pm
Quite the leap of faith to pin Dole’s loss on ridicule- worst Republican candidate ever (McCain’s a close second).
Gore was, and is, a buffoon. Gore ridiculing Bush is like the class retard making fun of the star quarterback- it could never work for him.
Sorry, but no quod erat demonstrandum on that relationship.
4:39 pm
McCain is hurting himself more than Obama.
I’m a potential swing voter. I was happy to have two capable candidates. It seemed like an insurance policy—if one imploded, okay, I had the other. The country would be okay. Although I support Obama I’ve often admitted I’d be perfectly confident if McCain won.
No longer.
McCain’s inability to make a case for himself, his incoherence, his chaotic and unfocused campaign, idiotic tire guage sidebars, and now this pitiful Rove-ian transformation of the former straight-talker has left me convinced that a McCain presidency would be a disaster.
He was my political back-up. No longer. Now I worry about him. Which leaves Obama very nearly bulletproof.
4:44 pm
I see this as a pre-emptive strike on the Obama convention bounce.
5:10 pm
Rick, my only point with comment #3 is that, whereas early on, there were no defining traits (as you correctly pointed out), I personally have observed the characteristics listed over the course of the past few months, and am a bit surprised that others have not.
I think in the last two weeks, others have. Read that article I linked about making fun of Obama. The comics have a lot of lost ground to make up and I think they are really going to hit him hard.
ed.
6:28 pm
Ridicule, to me, involves focusing on something irrelevant such as a physical handicap (or big ears). I did not see the McCain ads as ridicule. They are a clever and humorous way to point out that Obama’s real, measurable accomplishments in the political world would make for a very short list.
6:36 pm
John Edwards admits to affair, denies fathering child…
Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards today admitted to an extramarital affair while…
8:27 pm
I feel as if I’m in Bizarro World with the right accusing the left of being humorless. McCain’s campaign may attempt humor but it’s firmly rooted in the Bob Hope era. Obama admittedly hasn’t attempted humorous campaign ads…both candidates promised a substantive, civil campaign, remember? But, if Obama is Britney or Paris, McCain is Archie Bunker.
I’d love to see a McCain attempt at humor during the upcoming debates. That’s when you’ll see humor backfire!
10:12 pm
rick,
what does mccain have to lose? he is still behind even in the Rasmussen, he has shown spark though it be in obama’s vacation, he is out there.
myself, i really understand what you are saying, but you offer no solutions, what should he do? should he play nice? not likely, it wasn’t getting him anywhere, once he finally figured that out he couldn’t talk a bully down who is punching him in the face, and his friends are kicking him in the arse, he fought back. i personally think that appealed to many americans, they said aaaaaaaahhh the old boy still has some fight in him. he has problems/issues but the MSM, late-nites, and the comedy central gurus support him, why would they make fun of him until he is elected.
And as for michael reynolds, you fit perfectly with obama, my arse you were a swing voter, your very assumption that since you are voting for obama he is going to win makes you a perfect member of the obamanation. the veritable fact that edward’s little tryst and hillary bemoaning a stolen primary is not going to have influence on peoples opinions of the dem’s in november, like foley and others is laughable.
5:36 am
The Red Sea was funny to me, but now McCain needs to only concentrate on his foreign policy experience and his strong stance on defending our country and giving moral support to countries like Georgia.
obama is incapable to doing neither.
6:44 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House, “Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]
7:04 am
As an Obamacan
And a lefty I find these rather funny
I wish BO would invite both Brit and Paris to there 1st debate
And ask McIneedcain Point blank if he had seen either of there best
work. NO of course not my friend
But i would offer my little Miss Buffalochip to be in there next movie
Hey Michael comment 4
Gore = class retard Bush = star qb
Barack = MCCain=
Cmon seriously you dont wanna go there im lmao just thinking about it
A little off topic here
What the heck is John gonna threaten Putin with ? his wiffle bat
Cause his big stick is a little preoccupied right now.
8:22 am
The cult followers who believe that the Obamessiah is an avatar of a god are absolutely appropriate for ridicule since the folks who have not drunk the Kumbayah KoolAid feel superior to them.
The One ad with Heston is the funniest political ad I’ve ever seen (because of the ending).
9:27 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House “Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]
11:46 am
There is a German saying “Humor ist wenn man trotzdem lacht” (humor is laughing in spite (of it all)). It’s always good to make fun especially of oneself. Difficult for politicians with big ego (are there others?) to take. Anyway just in case people on this blog haven’t noticed even Obama supporters are not too happy about the state of affairs:
http://www.theroot.com/id/47621
12:24 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House “Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]
12:48 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House “Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]
3:40 pm
Great take on the problem McCain faces. For what it’s worth, I think ridicule at this stage of the campaign is well worth it. McCain can get everyone used to the fact that Obambi can be a target for criticism. By November the MSM and late night hosts may be more open to following his lead. With the short memories the electorate has, they’ll probably forget who started the whole deal. Make sense?
4:31 pm
I’m quite the Liberal and I think this is hilarious, may not be directly related to any particular idiosyncratic auras of Sen. O but funny none the less. :http://www.theonion.com/content/news/obamas_hillbilly_half_brother
7:44 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House“Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]
6:34 am
[...] Right Wing Nut House “Using Ridicule As a Weapon Could Backfire on McCain” [...]