For those in the business of political mockery, the last 16 years have been a glorious golden age. If Bill Clinton was a full-employment act for political comedians, then George W. Bush was a welfare program.
But when Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, the era of easy presidential punch lines may be coming to a close. As it has been widely noted in humor circles, Obama remains a tough target. So far, the most memorable Obama mockery has ranged from the utterly atrocious (see: the "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody debacle) to the mildly amusing (Fred Armisen's competent but guffaw-free impersonation of Obama on "Saturday Night Live").
What's in store for political humor in the age of Obama? Will he be the president who presides over the bursting of the comedy bubble? Or can he find a way to bail out the comedy industry too? There's no better way to find out than directly from those on the front lines of the comedy crisis -- the comedians, joke writers, and satirists tasked with the urgent work of fortifying our nation's strategic humor reserves.
But when Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, the era of easy presidential punch lines may be coming to a close. As it has been widely noted in humor circles, Obama remains a tough target. So far, the most memorable Obama mockery has ranged from the utterly atrocious (see: the "Barack the Magic Negro" song parody debacle) to the mildly amusing (Fred Armisen's competent but guffaw-free impersonation of Obama on "Saturday Night Live").
What's in store for political humor in the age of Obama? Will he be the president who presides over the bursting of the comedy bubble? Or can he find a way to bail out the comedy industry too? There's no better way to find out than directly from those on the front lines of the comedy crisis -- the comedians, joke writers, and satirists tasked with the urgent work of fortifying our nation's strategic humor reserves.
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