Obama Presidency Spells Doom For Satire

By Ryan Garns

With the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama two weeks away, political satirists across the country fear that Obama's unquestionable intelligence and jaw-dropping charisma will result in a lack of comedy material.

"There's just nothing funny about Obama," says Sinbad, the critically acclaimed humorist and Star Search winner. "He's perfect. I'm not even exaggerating. Some people compare him to Jesus, but that's wrong. You can make fun of Jesus."

Some comedians believe that even the tried-and-true targets of satire -- government corruption and incompetence -- will become things of the past in an Obama administration.

"All of the world's problems are going to be solved by Barack Obama. That's great news for the world, but bad news for us comedians," says Maggie Milktoast, the current headliner at Mel's Joke & Puke in Waukesha, WI. "Luckily I do a great Sarah Palin impersonation: 'Oh geez! Ya know? Ya, eh?' So I can live off that for the next four years."

So where does this leave the future of comedy?

"What we're going to be seeing is a resurgence of prop comedy and mundane observational humor," says Mitzi Fitz, founder of The Comedy Strain in Los Angeles. "Expect to see comedians like Carrot Top and Gallagher making big comebacks. And I hear Elayne Boosler is working on some killer material about milk expiration dates. So if you work in the dairy industry: watch out!"

However some comedians beg to differ. We talked with one such comedy writer from The Daily Show over the phone who strongly believes that the President-elect is ripe for humor. "I think Barack Obama is a tremendous source of satire. In fact, I just submitted a very funny piece on Obama today that I'm looking forward to--" and our phone conversation was cut off. When we called back, a spokesperson from The Daily Show informed us that the writer had been released from the staff.

So it would appear that with Barack Obama in the White House, irony will become an antiquated art form.

"There's an old saying that irony is wasted on the stupid. I think that's a little harsh." says Sinbad. "I prefer to think that irony is wasted on believers of hope and change."

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