The joke's on McCain: Late-night comedians lay off Obama

A hilarious new study of late-night political jokes, due to be released later today, finds the network comedians clearly avoiding humor about Democratic candidate Barack Obama, while piling the jokes on President Bush and Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton.

The study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs finds that only cable's Comedy Central -- whose primary comedians, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, more closely follow the day's headlines, which have been dominated by Obama -- has slightly more jokes about the freshman Illinois senator.

The study covered all jokes between Jan. 1 and July 31 in late-night monologues by Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Stewart and Colbert.

Apparently, Jimmy Kimmel was not deemed funny enough to be included, which should give his writers some ammo for tonight's show.

The center found that the network shows broadcast only 169 jokes about Obama, compared with 428 about Bush. McCain drew 328 jokes. Hillary Clinton, who dropped out of the presidential race and much political news in early June, still drew more than twice as many attempted yuk lines (382) as Obama.

On Comedy Central, Obama and McCain were close, with 207 and 201, respectively, while Clinton and Bush nearly tied at 179 and 177, respectively.

Combining the laugh lines from all five shows, Bush was the ...

... most mocked, with 605; Clinton had 562; McCain got 549; and Obama trailed, with 382.

Letterman had the most fun at Clinton's expense, with 146 jokes about her and only 46 about Obama. Leno had the most Bush jokes (208), with Clinton right behind at 204.

Colbert worked McCain over the most, with 129 jokes, compared with 91 for Obama and 79 on Clinton. An example: "It's time the media started trumpeting McCain's exciting story. He's old, and no one likes him."

It'll come as a huge surprise to everyone that the main focus of jokes about Vietnam veteran McCain was his age, which is 71. "McCain was asked how he's going to conserve energy," said Leno, who is 58 and being forced to retire from NBC next year. "He said by taking three naps a day."

Obama's recent Mideast and European tour "may strike some as presumptuous," said Stewart, who's 45. "In fact, I joked that Obama would be stopping in Bethlehem to visit the manger where he was born."

Leno on 60-year-old Clinton: "Only in America could a woman who's married to a man from Hope go to a town called Unity and fake something called Sincerity."

The study did not explore why Obama got off so lightly on the network shows from New York and Burbank. So we'll all just have to guess: probably out of simple respect for Obama's long public service.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photo: Stephen Colbert. Credit: Comedy Central

Comments

[dave]

maybe you will also present your audience with the polls or scientific data that show or suggest whether being the object of comedy actually more helps or harms a candidate's campaign? or whether, and if so how, comedy can be, or is being used, as a propaganda tool.
without further information, your material seems rather pointless.

[MrUniteUs]

Well if it will make you feel better, over 70% of the media coverage about Barack Obama is negative, and 90% of the coverage of Black men in general is negative. Think about it when is the last time read a positive article about a Black man in the Los Angeles Times or any other publication.

[Tyler Durden]

The reason for this is obvious. They have more respect for him. He is more presidential than all of them.

[jeff]

thats bull, the reason is because he is black, liberal television, race fear again, double standard..its disqusting

[jennifer cole]

is that self censor? or we will be label many kind of word form racis* , gender bia*....? oh thats not good for media freedom.

[Walt Hall]

This study reveals the bias of the entertainment industry as a whole, not just the TV "comics".

Let's face it, we moderates and conservatives are just not PC!

What a joke that is.

[Jack Sheet]

"Probably out of simple respect for Obama's long public service" - good one.

Obama is comedy gold, but Hollywood types won't gore their own ox.

Mocking him pisses him off more than anything it will be fun to watch.

[Joshua Generation for a New GOP]

How about this story? Game changer and you don't even see it. Imagine the ads targeted at rural dems in key states. While millions of Americans lose the only home they have ever owned, John McCain tells them, Gee, I have to get back to you on how many homes I own! Wow! And who is that elitist?!
Couple this unreal moment with his claim that peopel who make over 5 mil are rich, his making millions off of his mob-tied father-in-law, and his travels to The Bahamas with Keating...and this election is done for him.

McCain unsure how many houses he owns Jonathan Martin, Mike Allen
1 hour, 12 minutes ago

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in an interview Wednesday that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.

In recent weeks, Democrats have stepped up their effort to caricature McCain as living an outlandishly rich lifestyle — a bit of payback to the GOP for portraying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as an elitist, and for turning the spotlight in 2004 on the five homes owned by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Pro-Obama labor groups have sent out mailers highlighting McCain’s wealth, and prominent Democrats have included references to it in comments to reporters.

Twice in the past two weeks, those Democrats have focused on McCain’s houses.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Politico’s Ben Smith that it was McCain “who wears $500 shoes, has six houses and comes from one of the richest families in his state."

And David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, referred in an interview with Adam Nagourney of The New York Times to an imagined meeting of McCain strategists “on the portico of the McCain estate in Sedona — or maybe in one of his six other houses.”

McCain’s comments came four days after he initially told Pastor Rick Warren during a faith forum on Sunday his threshold for considering someone rich is $5 million — a careless comment he quickly corrected.

In the interview, McCain did not offer an alternate number, but had a new answer ready.

“I define rich in other ways besides income,” he said. “Some people are wealthy and rich in their lives and their children and their ability to educate them. Others are poor if they’re billionaires.”

McCain, by anyone's measure, is well-off, if you account for his wife's fortune. Cindy McCain inherited control of her father’s beer distributorship, the largest in Arizona, and has an estimated worth of more than $100 million.

[JMD]

Does the fact that Obama is not the subject of jokes work against him? O's problem is that he comes across as distant and too cerebral suggesting a lack of decisiveness when he answers questions (as happened at the Saddleback "debate"). Our humanity comes as much from our foibles as our strengths. Foibles are the prime source of humor and a visceral way we connect with our leaders and they with us (which is why laughing at one's self is so endearing).

[truth]

Its easier to make fun of someone with more imperfections. Its no joke, that's just the way it is.

[Greg]

2 words: White Guilt

[JimC]

What about Craig Ferguson?

[Marross]

We have the media, including late night talk show hosts, to thank for foisting this charlantan on the American public. Of course the DNC contributed heavily. Their actions, combined with the gullibility of many Americans, has resulted in the most unqualified candidate ever to run for the office being a hair's breath away from the presidency. Nice work!

[tkd61]

I took Leno & Letterman out od my TIVO. They are not funny anymore. I think they are getting too old.

[HoraceManoor]

this is meaningless because comedy central destroys the argument

[Chris]

They're afraid to poke fun of Obama because they're scared of being labeled "racists." He's too "holy" for jokes.

[Victor]

Obamamania in the media started almoust immediately. One of the best example of the Obamamaniacs, i think, is Keith Olbermann. Nobody investigates who is behind all of that nonsence.

[Michael Schroeder]

The Center for Media and Public Affairs that released this "study" is a conservative think tank. The president of the the CMPA is a Fox News consultant and used to be head of the American Enterprise Institute. CMPA is funded by the Olins, the Scaifes, and the same millionaire heirs that fund so many of these conservative groups. Of course, this "news" is not provided by the reporter Andrew Malcolm. Thankfully, the LA Times makes him list on this page he used to work for the Bushes (yet another bunch of millionaire heirs who never worked a day in their lives), so at least we know what angle he is trying to push.

I'm told by the software that these items are moderated and thus there is a good chance this will never show up. Of course, LA Times Tribune company's readership has been plummeting since the web breaks up their little corporate propaganda campaign, as did their stock price which went from 60 in 1999 to below 30 last year before it was finally privatized. The Times can spit out corporate PR and hide this comment, but they can't stop their plummeting readership and disappearing advertising.

[Carl]

...so where is Craig Ferguson in this study? He's much funnier than these guys. He tells several jokes on McCain nightly. Have never heard him say a joke about Obama.

[Twok]

Remember, the new definition of a racist is someone who uses facts and logic to win a debate with a "liberal."

Americans don't want a President that comedians can't make fun of out of racial hesitations. That is for sure.

[benitacanova]

they don't joke about B.O. because he's divebombing in the polls. it's bad sportsmanship to mock losers.

[Stan]

"Well if it will make you feel better, over 70% of the media coverage about Barack Obama is negative..."

I'd like to visit your planet some day. How many Suns do you have and what color is the sky there?

[princetrumpet]

This is news to anyone? That a black liberal who can't speak off teleprompter, is a two-legged gaffe machine, has zero grasp of history, but has a history of drug use, is totally whipped by his domineering wife, and is currently divebombing in the polls offers nothing to make fun of?

Yup, makes sense to me...

[Stan]

"How about this story? Game changer and you don't even see it. Imagine the ads targeted at rural dems in key states. While millions of Americans lose the only home they have ever owned, John McCain tells them, Gee, I have to get back to you on how many homes I own! Wow! And who is that elitist?!"

When will the moonbats learn that this sort of class warfare just doesn't work? Most Americans simply don't share your resentment of success.

[Johnny]

They don't make jokes about Putin in Russia either.
An investment in the future. I guess...