In the realm of the comfy cozy
A critique of Jay Leno's opening night political humor
In the realm of the comfy cozy
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
Nobody has ever suggested that Jay Leno in his new prime-time slot would blaze new televisual trails for political humor. Jay, after all, has never been a particularly edgy entertainer. He's like a Big Mac, a juicy dependable American staple served up with all the familiar ingredients, and nary a surprise in store.
Nevertheless, the NBC brass have sought to create some buzz about Jay's plans to bedazzle people with political humor while they're still wide awake. Ben Silverman, one of the guys who greased the move to prime time, was quoted the other day as saying, "What we're so excited about is how important topical comedy is right now. All our research showed that America wants more comedy."
Well, I caught Jay's debut show last night, and suffice it to say that Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher need not quake in their shoes. Not that anybody should be shocked, but, given the massive publicity buildup, devotees of political humor were clearly led to believe that Jay would serve up a little something outside the realm of the comfy cozy.
Instead, I got the impression that, in addition to Jay's instinctive intent to play his shots down the middle of the middle of the fairway, there was also an institutional imperative on the big night to steer clear of all risk. Hollywood being Hollywood, a lot of people are rooting for Jay's show to fail, and therefore it may well have been deemed prudent to protect the first week's ratings by minimizing the odds that some viewers might find themselves offended.
So here's what we got:
A Dick Cheney punch line that could've been uttered six years ago. (The University of Wyoming is apparently opening a Dick Cheney Center for International Students, prompting Jay to quip, "Now, really, who loves foreigners more than Dick Cheney?")
A Joe Biden punch line on a topic that's roughly nine months old. (Referring to Joe Wilson's House outburst, Jay quipped: "I'll tell ya, Vice President Biden really upset about President Obama being interrupted, he said, 'Hey, that's my job!")
A George W. Bush visual gag about him being a doofus, a theme that's about eight years old. (He's riding his mountain bike a lot these days. Cut to a video of a mountain bike rider taking a huge spill on a hillside.)
A joke about the health care debate that was probably lost on any viewer younger than 65 years old. (Referring to the current scare tactics, Jay said, "You see that commercial, where the older couple gets mailed a box from Liberty Medical, and it's got Wilfred Brimley's head in it?" I haven't seen a Wilfred Brimley ad for Liberty medical since 2007. Dare we suggest that there might be edgier material in the health care debate than Wilfred Brimley?)
A joke about Barack Obama's determination to be a symbolic healer. (Jay says Obama will invite Kanye West and Taylor Swift to the White House for a root beer summit. Because, he hastened to explain, Taylor Swift is only 19, so, you see, it has to be root beer.)
There was a chance to say something edgy about Joe Wilson, or perhaps about the angry reaction to Joe Wilson, but instead Jay straddeled: "Joe Wilson yelled out 'you lie' to the president. So - at least the two sides are talking! There's dialogue!" (Translation: appeal to the broadest number of viewers by tapping their shared desire for more civility and less partisan strife.)
There was a chance to say something edgy about the family-values California Republican assemblyman, Mike Duvall, who last week was caught on tape boasting about how he had sex with two lobbyists, but instead Jay broadened it out to a general plague on all houses: "A politician bragging about having sex with two lobbyists. Now, I'm no mathemetician, but I believe that's a total of three whores, right?"
What else...There was a Biden/Pelosi joke about Cialis; an Obama joke about Viagra (didn't Viagra jokes peak with Bob Dole, circa 1997?); a quick joke about Walmart (a reliably fat target) paying its workers in pesos; a cash-for-clunkers joke that could have either lampooned big government, or lampooned the conservatives who took advantage of the program, but instead Jay the car aficionado quipped about himself ("I made $5 billion!"). And much later, he did his familiar goofy newspaper typos routine, using the stuff sent in by older viewers who still apparently read the fine print in the dead-tree medium (may they live forever).
Meanwhile, there wasn't so much as a mirthful word about the weekend anti-Obama protests that dominated the cable news coverage, or about Obama's Monday speech to the stone-faced barons of Wall Street. A nightly prime-time show that aspires to political topicality might want to be a bit more nimble about breaking news.
There once was a time - say, 20 years ago - when a politician quaked at the prospect of being flogged by the broadcast network wiseasses. I recall writing, back in 1988, that if the pols were in trouble with Johnny Carson, "chances are they're in deep doo-doo with the American mainstream," because Johnny (and Jay, his frequent guest host) would tap into what the mainstream was thinking and take it up a notch on the satirical scale. Here was Johnny, for instance, zapping Democratic candidate (and confessed womanizer) Gary Hart: "Gary has a new proposal - a halfway house for girls who don't go all the way."
But now Jay is up against the scabrous satirists and ironists (Stewart, Maher, Colbert) who are truly pioneering this so-called golden age of political humor in the slots prior to 11:30, and the betting here is that he'll need to raise his game and take some risks in order to attract and retain the young and the media-savvy.
Posted by tom - wilmington, de 04:00 PM, 09/15/2009 Obama gave three speeches today, is scheduled to appear on Letterman, and is doing 5 Sunday talk shows. Not one, not two, but FIVE. I wonder....when does he have time to actually be president? To date, he has given over 270 speeches in a little more than 230 days in office. Why was he elected again? AT this point in the Bush Presidency he had taken about six weeks of vacation and ignored reports about attacks from terrorists. AT least Obama is out there talking about the issues and not chopping wood on his private estate/ranch. Talk about a myoptic view of the world , your Bush messiah was a lout and a thief and history will always support that statement.— hejira33312- Here is how Obama blew it: Many Americans who endured the pain of a rip-off recession now endure the pain of a rip-off recovery. For them, life under a Democratic president and Congress means trading one rip-off for another, giving them neither hope, nor change, nor an end to their pain. 2008 was a 1932 moment. But the power of eloquence ends when the reality of people’s lives does not change.
- hejiera33312- Your post doesn't answer anything. Its a bitter partisan dig at Obama's predecessor who you should concede past much liberal legislation including Prescription Drug Plan. How do you explain the divisiveness of Obama, the lack of cooperation from the world, the rising unemployment, and inurmountable debt? Is Bush bashing and name calling all you have to offer this blog?
- tom: "Obama is speaking AGAIN to the ACLU (he just spoke to them last week) which makes sense since HR3200 gives so much to unions". I didn't get it. What does speaking to the ACLU have to do with unions?— still_independent
- still...I meant AFL-CIO. My bad for the typo.— tom - wilmington, de
- tom: I was gussing is was some other group (although they are the American Civil Liberties Union, ironically). Anyway, before you go 'round criticizing Obama for the number of speeched, go to http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/browse.html. They have the presidential speeches, remarks, meetings, etc. for the last 10 years or so. Pick a random GW week and look at the sheer number. It doesn't appear to me that Obama is speaking any more than Bush (or any other president) did.— still_independent
- Interesting column in today's WSJ about the Massachusetts Universal Health Care plan, how it has not controlled costs, etc. Interesting read...and a prelude to the effects of Obamacare. One interesting point....it notes how one person who is uninsured could afford a catastrophic plan with high deductible but it does not count in the state as a "qualified plan". Same as in Obamacare. Why not mandate people get insurance (which I still believe to be unconstitutional) but allow them to choose what type of insurance they want to purchase?— tom - wilmington, de
- still...that site does not indicate speeches, it lists all presidential activities, such as attending the Senate swearing in ceremony for Hillary, letters, memorandums, etc. It is not just speeches that appear on that site. Don't you think that is sort of misleading? After all, it is the count of presidential documents, not presidential speeches.— tom - wilmington, de
- Also interesting how they only show January for 2009....where are the other months? I am also curious how the most transparent administration in history can release sensitive intelligence documents, such as the interrogation documents released against the advice of the last five CIA directors, and also the classified budget for intelligence activities, but refuses to release the log of visitors to the White House between Jan 21 and Sept 15, 2009!— tom - wilmington, de
- How is saying, 'you lie', racist? It it rude, yes! Should he have said it, no! Is the President calling Kanye West a 'jack***' racist? If the president were white and he called Kanye a 'jack***' would that be racist? Just trying to follow along on the whole racist thing:) I wouldn't care if Pres. Obama was orange, if his policy's are bad (deficit, car takeover, stimulus, healthcare, cap n trade) I will disagree with him & when I agree with him (such as Afghanistan) I will give him kudos, whether he was red, purple, orange or green:)— NEPhilly
- tom: yes, it contains all those things. However, if you look at a given week, it breaks it down into categories. Look under "Addresses and Remarks". As far as since Jan 2009, there is a note there "The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents has been replaced by the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents as of January 29, 2009. ". This can be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/presdocs/index.html . Finally, while, yes, I wish they would release Jan 21 and Sept 15, I am at least happy that they are releasing Sept 15th on. I also believe that they will release the earlier records under FOIA requests (which was fought under the prior administration). Not ideal, but still a step forward, which even you could acknowledge.— still_independent
- How come the Acorn scandal (or Van jones for that matter) is not being covered by cnn.com, msnbc.com, ABC News, CNN, NBC or CBS? Not even a mention on their websites $ barely a mention on air! And these websites have everything mentioned from Serena to Kanye to Japan's new PM! It is a disgrace that Charlie Gibson hadn't even heard of the story & I bet our favorite, award winning jounalist will stay away as well! It really is shocking that we get all the info we need about Britany & Jon $ Kate, but can't even get a real news story covered! It is getting to be like Venezuela around here media-wise & it is really scary! Where is Woodward and Bernstein when you need them?— NEPhilly
- Here are the headlines from cnn.com, no room for Acorn I imagine:) Latest News Compromise health care plan unveiled Yale worker released in probe of student's death Reassessing Obama's 'war of necessity' Carter: Racism key in opposition to Obama 'You lie' lawmaker admonished by House Japan elects leader with Obama-style message Officer involved in 2 shootings in 4 days Not so off the record: Obama rips Kanye Ticker: Ex-wrestling CEO takes on senator Did Bush slam Palin, Obama, Biden? Kanye calls Swift with 'sincere' apology Serena Williams tries to move on from outburst Commentary: Drinking age of 21 doesn't work Time: Government takeover few can argue with Fortune: Video: Facebook finally makes money iReport.com: 'Piece of 9/11' arrives in Atlanta DeLay hurt rehearsing 'Dancing With the Stars' Cheerleader hunts, kills 10-foot gator Michael Moore may quit documentaries CNN Wire: Key senator unveils...— NEPhilly
- tom--please edit yourself a bit. I already pointed out to you politely that HR3200s definition of an acceptable health plan allowd for a $5000/$10,000 deductible, and now you are again claiming that a catastrophic plan won't meet the new law. I'm not sure it pays to be polite to you people. Swede--a huge government expenditure does not make a government plan a "liberal program." Bush's drug program was a giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. Finally as to verification. Laws are verified by making conduct illegal and providing a penalty for violation. If a government form is involved, the signer swears that the information is correct. Upon evidence of violation, the offense is investigated and prosecuted. That's the American way, under a government-suspicious tradition hundreds of years old. The idea of having a government that represents the "people" interrogating everybody so they can incriminate themselves is the Soviet way or the Spanish Inquisition way. Such methods should be used sparingly, if at all.— liberal
- NE--the Acorn business was covered by NPR, not at all sympathetically to acorn. However, unlike Fox they did mention that when the scam was presented to acorn people in Philadelphia, the Phila people called the police.— liberal
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
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