Late-night comics turn on Obama

For the second weekend in a row, "Saturday Night Live" has turned its biting satire on President Obama. Last week the bit involved a rebuttal to critics charging that Obamacare is socialism, with the defense that, as actor Fred Armisen put it, "When you look at my record, it’s very clear what I’ve done so far. And that is nothing.”

Then this week, SNL raised the ante. Commenting on Obama's surprise selection as winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, the show conceded that he won primarily "for not being George Bush" and adding that he'd also won a $70-million Powerball lottery.

The shift among late-night comics from cheerleader to critic is showing up in other monologues too.

Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" recently disparaged the Obama administration's slow pace on changing the Pentagon's "don't ask don't tell" policy toward gays. “All that stuff you’ve been putting on your plate?” Stewart teased. “It’s ... chow time, brother. That’s how you get things off your plate.”

And Jay Leno recently warned against pressuring Obama to make a quick decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan. “Remember, it took five months to decide on a puppy,” he said.

Does it mean anything, if comedians have suddenly taken the gloves off?

Democratic consultant Jeff Nussbaum thinks not. In an interview with the New York Times, he called comedy "a lagging indicator" of the nation's mood, not a leading one.

But Florida's Republican Rep. Ric Keller thinks there have been "some clear shots coming across the bow from the comic left."

What do you think?

-- Johanna Neuman

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Comments

[Orion]

I think that for the past 2 years the comedians have been pussyfooting around Obama first because he's black and secondly, probably more importantly, he seemingly agreed with their liberal ideals. After 9 months in office though Obama has done, in the SNL writer's words, "Jack" and "Squat" for them. So the gloves are coming off and the recent bout of sketches can be seen as a shot across the bow: "Start delivering or we'll REALLY turn on you!"

[Uncle Bernie]

Obama has achieved one thing at least: a lifetime of admiration and support from Johanna Neuman.

[K T]

This shift in late-night comedy signifies that Obama will now be judged as an ordinary human being -- not as messiah, savior of the world, "light-bearer", who is somehow above us like God, etc. ad nauseum. And in this new light he will be found to be what he really is -- an inexperienced, incompetent, narcissist, whose only real talent is reading from a teleprompter. This is bad for him, but late night will get funnier and funnier. Of course, soon Americans will realize that what they've done in electing this empty suit is far from funny.

[UncoolSam]

Well thats 'O-bum-mer' for us all.