Posted on 05/04/2014 10:08:50 AM PDT by PoloSec
SO, apparently, it’s not just late night and other comedians that have trouble goofing on Obama: Obama himself has an issue
Barack Obama laughs at but not with
President Barack Obama is very smart (as he could tell you). He is also very funny (and the first to laugh at his own jokes). He is a master of comic timing, has an appealing sense of the absurdities of his chosen profession and an unerring ear for the withering one-liner.
As long as the subject is someone else.
When it comes to the sine qua non of political humor — devastating self-deprecation — Obama is less skilled or at least less willing to play an A game, as this weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner is once again likely to show.
Sure, Obama makes fun of himself: for his big ears, his graying hair, his sagging approval ratings, even his bad bowling (though he stepped on a joke about the last subject with Jay Leno in 2009 by adding an ill-considered ad lib about his Special Olympics-level skill, for which he was forced to apologize). And the president has proved himself a good sport, enduring Zach Galifianakis’ absurdist insults on “Between Two Ferns,” where he went to promote his health care plan.
But Obama is much more likely to reserve his sharpest flashes of wit for his adversaries, antagonists and even (in a kind of throwback Henny Youngmanesque style) for the wife he invariably portrays as hectoring.
Politico also notes that the delivery is somewhat disembodies, like a guy observing his own performance. And the notion of really making fun of others, but not himself, is meshed throughout the article
But those jokes are in fact about others — Obama’s most fervent, starry-eyed supporters, or the virulent “birthers” who questioned his American citizenship — and not really about himself. The most lethal example of Obama’s ripostes to such critics came at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2011, with his extended riff on Donald Trump, who was in the room and decidedly not amused.
George Bush and John Kerry really loosened up at the dinner, and made fun of themselves quite a bit. Bush’s 2007 was hilarious.
The essential ingredient of such exercises, Parvin said, “is to be good-natured and likable.”
“That is really the great benefit of these dinners, for the audience, whether in the room or watching at home, is to see a different side of you, where you let your hair down a bit more, and you can say some things with humor that you couldn’t say seriously. You can say to people, ‘I can make fun of these things, so you don’t need to worry about it, because I have the perspective that even I can make fun of it.’ So it allows you to express a certain insight that you can’t say seriously.”
I don’t want to over-sell this meme, Obama just isn’t that warm, and the humor is quite often over-barbed. Here are a few of Obama’s top 10 lines per Politico’s Katie Gluek
1. “These days, House Republicans are actually giving John Boehner a harder time than they’re giving me, which means orange really is the new black.” (not bad)
2. On 2016: “Let’s face it, Fox…it’ll be harder to convince the American people that Hillary was born in Kenya.” (Dude, that is like 2 years ago)
3. On his last year: “At one point, things got so bad, the 47 percent called Mitt Romney to apologize.” (an unneeded shot at Romney)
4.“I did notice, [daughter] Sasha needed a speaker at Career Day. She invited Bill Clinton. I was a little hurt by that.” (that was a good line)
5. “I haven’t seen somebody pull a 180 that fast [as an Olympic snowboarder] since Rand Paul dis-invited that Nevada rancher [Cliven Bundy] from this dinner.” (eh)
6. “Gridlock [in D.C.] has gotten so bad, you’ve got to wonder, what did we do to piss off [Gov.] Chris Christie so bad?” (eh)
7. On his recent trip to Malaysia: “The lengths we have to go to get CNN coverage these days [because of the network’s heavy coverage of missing flight MH370]. I think they’re still searching for their table.” (eh)
8. “If you want to get paid while not working you should have to run for Congress just like everyone else.” (more campaigning)
9. “MSNBC’s here, they’re a little overwhelmed. They’ve never seen an audience this big before.” (We may not care for MSNBC, but that was perhaps a shot a bit too far. It was really more nasty than good natured)
10. On Healthcare.gov: “In 2008, my slogan was ‘Yes, we can.’ In 2013 my slogan was ‘control-alt-delete.’” (eh)
But, then, Obama has never really been too into being humble or self-deprecating. Nor about being anything but hardcore on his enemies, or, as other presidents would term them, opponents.
On the bright side for Obama, apparently Joel McHale was much, much worse. And Nancy Pelosi has apparently been infected with Harry Reid’s Koch Derangement Syndrom.
Steve Bridges poked fun at obama.
Guess what happened to him?
Not an exact quote: everybody has been trying to make a point that I'm not too smart. Even my staff started to believe it. I would look at my schedule and every morning had “intelligence briefing.”
He also said his memoirs would be a pop-up book. That's some funny stuff.
Has the IRS received their new fiberoptic anal probes yet?
It’s tough being the boss, It is even tougher when you are a humorless dick.
I cn think of some other people who are/were humorless, except when hurting others: Hitler, North Korean leaders, Saddam Hussein... It is a bad sign when the POTUS cannot laugh at himself, or takes himself too seriously.
Sarah Palin is much funnier than Obama, no matter who she’s poking fun at.
Thin skinned people fear comedy about them.
Obama doesn’t write this stuff. He just reads it.
If he was any thinner-skinned, he’d have a reservoir tip. Hat tip: Dennis Miller.
The Biden “Corvette” video was well done IMHO.
I remember being embarrassed by that ridiculous Bush era Video where they were looking for WMD’s under the furniture at the White House. Whoever came up with that one should have been fired.
The Biden Video had the usual Liberal Tripe, but that was to be expected.
The worst part wasn’t Moochelle showing up, it was Pelosi at the Tattoo Parlor.
That being said, I thought it was pretty funny. Then again, I have a new Stingray myself, so I’m a bit biased.
And that is why George Bush is a far better man. Although I strongly disagreed with his coddling of liberals, I admired his ability to see humor in himself.
The worst case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, ever. Even surpassing Hillary.
Search youtube for the GW Bush routine next to a GW Bush impersonator. THAT was good humor.
Obama is not the least bit funny.
Steve Wynn had it right, Obama is an asshole.
Way to stay classy while in official capacity, Mr O.
(MANY other words communicate anger, sir. I'll get you a thesaurus if you'd like.)
That was Steve Bridges and yes, it was hilarious. Goes to show, Bush is the better man.
I've ALWAYS thought that. And it's kind of disturbing.
Plus, when a man cannot take it when being "roasted", it's a sign of low self esteem.
Those Dean Martin Roasts come to mind.
You see Reagan laughing harder than anyone when he's the one being roasted.
And Reagan gave as good as he got.
The man had superb timing.
Obama awkwardly fumbles over "funny" words written for him by staffers.
I bet that Bush and Reagan wrote most of their own.
Hell, I bet Bill Clinton did, too.
Obama has all the "charm" of a Nixon, and roughly ten times the paranoia.
Honestly, does ANYONE really "like" Obama, personally?
Not his politics, the man himself.
I meant to say a man of low character.
Obama has "self esteem" to a pathologic level, but boy, what a thin-skinned person.
LOL
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