The commonly held wisdom was that the days of the George W. Bush presidency were a great time to be a joker. Never was it easier to make people laugh, then when you had such a visible, easy, unifying target as our awful 43rd president. It was like shooting puppies in a cage. Yes, it was a great time for comedy.
And, it stands to reason then, that the reign of Obama has put an end to that golden age of humor. Because, while everything was black and white during the Bush years, everything is now mixed race. Where once upon a Bush, every issue seemed very simple–right, and oh so wrong–now everything is a bit more complicated. Especially for a joker.
Take health care for example. Not much good humor in that. Unless uninsured masses really tickles your funny bone, in which case I hope you break it, and don’t have the insurance to cover the cast. But it’s not really hilarious to be on the side of sweeping health care reform either. It may be obvious, it may be logical, and it may be the right thing to do, but it’s not going to kill anyone in the club. Did you hear the one about the public option? Too bad, you missed it.
Or financial regulation. Not the easiest place to find the funny. Sure, there’s something comical about taxpayer money helping to support billion dollar bonuses, but it’s pretty hard to laugh when you’re being fucked in the ass. Just ask everyone in a civil union how funny it is being taxed double by a state that won’t allow them to marry. See if they’re giggling. Did you hear the one about the bank that was too big to fail? That’s what she said.
How about Afghanistan? Now there’s a powder keg of laughs. We send 30,000 people off to war while on television people open silver brief cases hoping to find 1 million dollars. Hahaha. That whole country is falling apart, hates that were there, and is next door to a nuclear armed country. Teeheehee. The place is a breeding ground for terrorists, and as soon as we make sure it no longer is, a new Muslim country will take its place, like a youtube video of a dog chasing its tail. Hohoho. Have you heard about the Taliban? Yeah, me too.
I think this is what infuriates The Left the most. Things were supposed to be so easy once they actually got a liberal into office. It was supposed to be all smiles and sundresses. And then people found out, along with the president, that things aren’t ever all that simple. Especially when it comes to having super powers. Didn’t they ever read a comic book?
Yes, unamusing compromises were going to have to be brokered. Not hysterical decisions have to be made. Far from hilarious situations are going to present themselves. Our entire sense of humor is going to be tested. Especially if were going to try and look for the funny in all this mess.
Which is why this piece of writing isn’t all that funny. Because I haven’t found it yet. Everything seems so ridiculous that it’s getting harder and harder to pinpoint what’s actually funny about it. Sara Palin still exists; is that funny or frightening? Obama is blamed for a guy getting on a plane with a bomb in his dunderwear; is that funny or fair? Americans are desperate to get jobs they hate; funny or feeble? We’re all worried about the lives of millionaire joke-makers Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, while our own lives are far less entertaining; funny or forlorn? I can’t decide.
But I do know this; I don’t miss the last decade one bit. I’d rather spend the next few months searching than I would re-telling the same old stale joke. Even if it means having to actually be thoughtful. Maybe that’s what comedy in the era of Obama really will come down to. That things aren’t so simple, and we’re actually going to have to do some thinking. Some work. That we might have to actually wrestle with the issues to find the funny. The time for knee-jerk knee-slapping is over. We’re going to have to crack a few eggs to get to that jolk. We’re going to have to open a few shells to see a kick in the nuts. We’re going to have to actually be creative.
In other words: Maybe the joke is no longer on the President. Now, the joke is on us.
