Late-night jesters just as tough on Obama
I'm off this week observing the passage of another year with the same enthusiasm that Hawai'i celebrated the statehood anniversary, so I leave you a different kind of "flASHback."
When Barack Obama was elected president, a TV guy said the late-night talk hosts would have trouble coming up with jokes because they like Obama so much more than his predecessor.
I thought, what does liking somebody have to do with joking about him? I like just about everybody personally. If I could only poke fun at people I don't like, I'd have nothing to write.
Here are some of the best late-night Obama jokes I could find from online archives. Is the edge as sharp as all the jokes that painted Bush as a dimwit and Clinton as a horndog?
"Today, President Barack Obama promised to 'detect and pursue' American tax evaders, as opposed to his first 100 days, in which he detected and nominated American tax evaders." — Jay Leno.
"It's President Obama's 48th birthday. The president has asked that in lieu of sending a gift, people just make a donation to his favorite charity, General Motors." — Conan O'Brien.
"After a quick meet-and-greet with King Abdullah, Obama was off to Israel, where he made a quick stop at the manger in Bethlehem where he was born." — Jon Stewart.
"President Obama announced he is using his own money to redecorate the White House. Meanwhile, he is using taxpayers' money to redecorate the houses of AIG executives." — Craig Ferguson.
"Barack Obama announced he's bringing home troops from Iraq. ... Unfortunately, he couldn't get them direct flights home. They have a two-year layover in Afghanistan." — Jimmy Fallon.
"The Republicans had been running a surprisingly effective campaign against the proposal for national health care, but the president found a very clever way to get them on board ... he offered a key provision that would provide free breast implants for their girlfriends." — Jimmy Kimmel.
"How about President Obama's first prime-time press conference last night? He was cogent, eloquent, and in complete command of the issues. I'm thinking to myself, what the hell am I supposed to do with that?" — David Letterman.