Fahrenheit 2004

With American comedians unwilling to come to grips with the new era, Jules Crittenden spots an opportunity for a comedy stimulus program:  “Bush Bashment In Deep Recession”:

Worst anyone’s seen since the Great Depressing election of 2000, humorism experts say. Politico: The Chimpy t-shirts are’t selling, the Bush cookies are getting stale. George Clooney is the only person who’s bought any of those in months, and he just did it to watch Michael Moore bite their heads off for old times sake. Traffic’s dropped off at the Bushy yuk sites.  It’s hard times for Bush bashers, who say their efforts to make Obama jokes aren’t flying. They report he’s just not funny enough.They must not be trying very hard.

“Uh, let’s see. How many Obama administration members does it take to screw up the economic recovery?”

“That’s not funny!”

“OK. Uh, Obama, the United States Congress and the drunken, bloated rampaging chimp who wrote the bailout bill go into a bar … ”

“You said chimp! That’s racist!”

“I got one. Obama finds this magic lantern. It’s called Europe. He rubs it and SHAZAM, out come Gordon Brown, Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel. “O Great One,” they say, “You have released us from eight years of frightful torment. We like you better! You have brought not only hope, but change! Your wish is our command!” Obama says, “I’ll have 10,000 troops!” And Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel say, “Uh … try again! Whatever else you want, it will be yours!”

“This really isn’t working. How are you supposed to make jokes about, you know, Obama?”

Jules has a few suggestions, but I’m not sure if anyone will heed his advice; the original cast of Saturday Night Live was making Nixon and Kissinger jokes for the entire span of the show’s first five years, until series creator Lorne Michaels left at the dawn of the Reagan era. With the comedians having lobomotized themselves rather than risking the prospect of mocking the TOTUS, expect Bush jokes to grow ever more stale, yet remain a staple of the overculture, for years to come.