Politics is a serious business, or so most of us living outside the circle that is the United States have been raised to believe. It is not for the fainthearted and, more often than not, it is an exclusive, enigmatic and somber profession. But if the US presidential elections have taught us anything it is that politics can be entertaining, funny and ironic.
In the past few weeks those of us taking a closer look at the fierce race for the job of president, described as the most important office in the Free World, have been amused at how quirky candidates, voters and the media circus can be. The importance of this election notwithstanding, it has become the butt of jokes and satire for commentators, comedians and talk show hosts in America.
Barring a grave national security crisis or a tragic incident involving Democratic candidate Barack Obama, 47, the black senator from Illinois is expected to run the distance to become America’s first nonwhite president.
With less than two weeks to go for the Nov. 4 vote, all polls point to a strong lead by Obama over his 72-year-old Republican opponent Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Obama has won all three presidential debates and his campaign successfully deflected attacks and accusations, mostly funneled by negative advertising by his opponent, ranging from his alleged association with a local terrorist to farcical claims that he is actually a Muslim. Racial slurs, Arab-bashing and even shouts of “kill him” were becoming a regular feature of McCain and Palin rallies.
The McCain campaign has been fraught with problems starting with rumors about the state of McCain’s health to his bouts of raging temper and last, but not least, the wisdom of his choice of a running mate, the untested Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who, as pundits keep reminding the public, will be a heartbeat away from becoming president herself.
With the lowest job approval rating in history, Americans from all walks of life are fed up with George W. Bush. McCain, a war hero and veteran Washington insider, has done his best to distance himself from the Republican president and Bush was convinced that he will be serving his party’s best interest if he kept away from the Republican National Convention.
And with the financial meltdown and the housing crisis threatening the American economy, voter attention has shifted from foreign policy issues such as Iraq and the war on terrorism, to the most classic of election topics: Jobs, taxes and the economy. It is here that McCain was hurt the most. Obama claims that his opponent’s past record and outlook on the world will mean a third term for Bush. This has scared off many Republican voters, including most notably former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and shifted sentiments in the so-called battleground states in favor of Obama.
In addition, Obama’s confidence, youth and sobriety have enthralled many first-time voters. But Obama’s biggest supporter has been the media. Not only has he clinched the endorsement of the most respected newspapers and TV networks, but the same have been instrumental in punching holes into the slow-moving campaign locomotive of the incumbent Republican senator.
Presidential debates, all three of them, have been key in measuring public reaction, especially among millions of undecided voters, who are believed to be McCain’s remaining hope in the run-up to election day. It is these debates that have excited the media, especially hosts of popular TV talk shows, satirical news programs, and serious columnists.
Lampooning politicians, or political satire, goes back to the early days of the republic, the constitution and its famous amendments. The tradition is associated with constitutional freedoms of press and speech. In late colonial times, one of America’s most renowned founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, published satirical essays in the New England Courant. At that time satire was being used as a form of polemic resistance of British rule.
By the 19th century, America’s press was booming and publishers found that political cartoons were a popular way of attracting customers, especially illiterate ones. Political cartoons remain a big hit until today. One of the finest political magazines, The New Yorker, still uses cartoons on its cover. It was actually a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who in the second half of the 19th century created the symbols of the elephant for Republicans and the donkey for Democrats, which were published in Harper’s Weekly magazine.
With the eyes, ears and noses of the media homing on every grimace, gaffe, whisper and reaction of the two contenders for the White House, it is almost impossible for either candidate not to fall victim to political humor. Two of the most popular, although left-leaning, (fake) news shows in America today are actually comedies. The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report presented by Stephen Colbert are seriously satirical and deeply political. Both have dissected every word, comment and action made by Palin since she was picked up by McCain as his vice presidential candidate.
The American public, and millions of people watching all over the world, were treated to a series of sometimes abrasive, albeit hysterically funny, parodies of Palin’s inexperience, ultraconservative, and for many outdated, beliefs, and her tendency to simplify matters by calling on the so-called Joe Six-pack and hockey moms of middle, predominantly white, America to rally to her support.
In the third and last presidential debate, McCain raised the concerns of one Joe the Plumber, who apparently objected to Obama’s tax policies, and both candidates engaged in endless discussion on who will eventually serve Joe’s best interest if elected president. The satirists had a field day with this episode and the media circus headed to Joe’s hometown to interview him where for nearly two days his face was on every TV screen and every newspaper front page and every news website in America.
As much as American politicians have become a fair game for satirists and comedy night hosts, the political culture has evolved to the extent that most now accept to be part of the show. One of the most popular comedy shows in America, Saturday Night Live, has played host to the real Obama, McCain and Palin who participated in skits where the sole objective was to make fun of themselves before the public. Accepting political satire as a distinctively American and broadly Western concept that converges with democratic traditions is something that has to do with our political, and cultural, indoctrination. And regardless if Americans get their news intake from theonion.com or The New York Times the fact is that no matter how funny US politics is or has become, it remains one of the most serious, and perhaps historical, events this year. With the financial crisis adding further burden to the world’s woes, it is good that some people can still laugh about it!
— Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist based in Jordan.
