Pat Paulsen ran for president in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992, and 1996, but it was less than a serious effort. While countless comedians have strong political views, and several from Johnny Carson to David Letterman and Stephen Colbert have provided political commentary by employing humor that has influenced voters, rare has been the professional comedian who has entered the political arena. Comedians-professional or amateur-who deal in political humor have a special place in my world, because government and politics can be insufferably dull, stilled, and stuffy. I have always assumed that talented comedians are not only highly intelligent but uniquely perceptive people. Like all sophisticated (as opposed to slapstick) humorists, Al is skilled at showing the absurdity of situations, not to mention the pomposity of people, which makes him funny. It was great fun, as was my other prior Franken read: Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, written in 2003, where he further savages the conservative movement. The first Al Franken book I read (he has done seven) was Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot: And Other Observations, his 1996 effortless takedown of right-wing political figures Pat Buchanan, Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and others.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |