Democrats should do some open mikes

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on March 22nd, 2006

John Rogers, according to his own bio, on his blog, Kung Fu Monkey “started doing stand-up in 1988, got his Physics degree in 1990, began writing television in 1995, and writing movies in 1999. He plainly needs to focus.”

We first ran into him in the Charles Playhouse in Boston, when that building housed the legendary Comedy Connection.

His post last May, “Learn to say ‘ain’t’ …” tackled the perceived troubles of so many Democrat candidates and their inability to connect with audiences both large and small. As we swing into the ’06 elections, his observations acquire a new relevance. “My bigger point… is that the art of politics is convincing people to connect with you. When you have an idea, and the other guy has an idea– if you don’t connect in some primal way with the listeners your idea is never even going to get considered, no matter how much better it is on a rational level.”

He gets to the heart of it:

Now who the hell am I to even think I have something to contribute here? Well, let’s say the candidate’s job is to walk into a room of complete strangers and get them to like him. Connect with him. Wow, the few rare politicians who can do that, they’re worth their weight in gold.

It did that for twelve years. So did hundreds of other people you’ve never heard of. We’re stand-ups, and that’s the ENTRY-LEVEL for the job.

It might add to the entertainment factor to watch the upcoming campaigns and campaigners through the lens of a standup comic or standup fan. Perhaps the campaigns will hire standup comics as high-paid advisers. We can only hope.

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