Change we can hope to believe in?

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on July 14th, 2008

Some of our readers are somewhat alarmed at the treatment that Bernie Mac received at the hands of the Barack Obama campaign.

Comedian Bernie Mac endured some heckling and a campaign rebuke during a surprise appearance Friday night at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Mac was heckled and someone shouted that his joke was offensive to women. A campaign spokesman said Mac’s “statements” were “inappropriate.” The candidate himself said:

“We can’t afford to be divided by race. We can’t afford to be divided by region or by class and we can’t afford to be divided by gender, which by the way, that means, Bernie, you’ve got to clean up your act next time,” Obama said. “This is a family affair. By the way, I’m just messing with you, man.”

Yeah. Just messin’!

Comics goof up in front of stiff, politically correct, politically oriented crowds all the time. We’re not surprised by this.

But, the Obama campaign’s reaction to the New Yorker cover is a bit more disturbing. It depicts Obama in Muslim garb, with his wife toting an assault rifle with a portrait of Osama Bin Laden on the wall. It’s pure, outrageous satire. It’s from the New Yorker. But none of that matters.

Campaign spokesman Bill Burton said:

“The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Sen. Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create. But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.”

The New Yorker may think? No… the New Yorker quite clearly knows that the cover is a satirical lampoon. But the Obama campaign is more concerned with catering to nitwits who either are incapable of grasping satire or unwilling to do so.

Taken together, the two incidents are a sign that a significant chunk of the population doesn’t much like humor… in any form. Even the New Yorker isn’t safe from these people. That’s pretty ominous.

from → News • View 3 Comments • Print-Friendly • Back To Top