LCS: Last candidate standing

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on January 19th, 2008

“Stand-Up Guy: John McCain’s Campaign Trail Comedy” is an ABCNews.com analysis (by Ron Claiborne) of the standup of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

The analysis is so even-handed (and, at times, insightful) that we can forgive the graphic, which depicts McCain with an arrow through his head, holding a microphone in one hand, with a rubber chicken in the other.

(We suppose Steve Martin shares some of the blame for this. Although, Martin use of the arrow through the head was “postmodern” (or should it be regarded as a “meta-joke?”) In any event, the MSM didn’t quite “get” Martin 100 per cent, so now, we’re all stuck with the arrow through the head. We would wager that half the graphic artists who use the rubber chicken have no idea of its origins or what it symbolizes.)

The Telegraph (U.K.) has a similar article “by Tim Shipman in Aitken, South Carolina and Philip Sherwell in Las Vegas” which is a re-working of the ABCNews.com piece.

There’s also an AP article about how Barack Obama is using humor on the campaign trail, this time, in his appearances in Nevada. The “jokes” Obama uses are less like the gags that McCain employs and more like monologue material. And, while we haven’t seen any video, in print the alleged jokes fall flat. Perhaps his style depends more on delivery– nuance that can’t be conveyed via the page/monitor/browser.

Is this a trend? Two major candidates portrayed as “comedians!”

Huckabee is getting plenty of mileage out of the “If they tell us what to do with our flag, we’ll tell them what to do with their pole!” line. Out of all the candidates, the former Arkansas governor is most adept at sliding obvious material into his “panel” appearances.

This focus on appearing funny, on appearing to have a sense of humor, is all about appearing human, approachable, real. (Odd since, these same qualities– appearing funny and having a sense of humor– when exhibited by a standup comic are sometimes cited as obstacles to appearing human, approachable and real.)

from → News • View 2 Comments • Print-Friendly • Back To Top