Note to SNL:
The reason that Jon Stewart is funny is that the writers base their jokes on exposing lies and "spin" for what they are, not by parroting the themes advanced by either campaign, or just plain making shit up.
SNL's parody of the debate last night was funny on the Bush end, because it showed a slight exaggeration of Bush's debate performance, stammering, looking shell shocked and endlessly repeating short phrases. However, for Kerry, they made up words for Kerry that he never said during the debate, and lazily repeated the Republican advertising machine's distortions of Kerry's voting record and capacity to come to new conclusions when presented with new evidence, something Bush is apparently unwilling to do.
I will not use the term that the Pubs have apparently copyrighted, because it is based upon a marketing campaign full of deceptions and manipulations. I would call on all KOS users to boycott the usage of this term, and replace it in all discussions with "adaptability"... I.e. "Republicans used Kerry's comments on Iraq to complain yet again about his "adaptability".
SNL also bent over backwards to make fun of Kerry, with 2 additional sketches in the program, I'm sure to promote their "fair and balanced-ness", but their Kerry jokes (except for maybe the awkward grasping that passes for the Kerrys' public displays of affection)fell flat. They just passed along the tired old lies, which I'm sure had Republicans in the audience guffawing. But these are the same stuck in adolescence crowd who chuckle at Abu Gharaib as just "blowing off a little steam", and who think painting Kerry as effeminate (see Fox News' Carl Cameron's shenanigans on other blogs the past few days, or the "color enhanced" pictures on Drudge) is also funny.
Before you label me as having no bi-partisan sense of humor, there are plenty of REAL things about Kerry that are funny. Jon Stewart manages to find them regularly. But calling someone names, making up lies, or "pranking" someone stopped being funny, oh around 30 years ago for me.
Guess that sums up the difference between the Daily Show's incisive wit and SNL's 8th grade humor.
Additionally, I'm tired of seeing pundits write about how successful Republicans have been with this anti-Kerry advertising campaign. Ads are only successful for 2 reasons:
- People want to be sold (they have a demand for the product), and
- People are gullible.
After 9/11, people desperately wanted to be sold that this country had a leader who would keep us safe and respond to the threat in a manner that would inspire and unite us. The Bush camp delivered with a successful image management campaign that kept the real Bush out of the public eye. They delivered an image of Bush as a strong, decisive leader that is as far from the truth as their image of Kerry.
Bush is the AD-ministration in every sense. When your staff is filled with former corporate CEO's I'm not sure what else you can expect. They run the country like a corporation is run, and when they need to "roll out a new product", the marketing campaign swings into full gear.
I can't help but think that any unscripted public face time Bush is given can only help the Democrats the rest of the way. Why were people so surprised at Farenheit 9-11? Because the real Bush had been kept from public view. After debate 1, the shiny new car they've seen in the ads is now a little rusty, with a broken window or 2 and a flat tire. Bush is what he is, a silver spoon child with a free pass through life, who wouldn't know "hard work" if it bit him in the ass. Now his handlers and PR people trying to prevent him from getting hammered in the next two debates, that's the real "hard work". Maybe they better come in on Saturday.