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Political humor comes in many varieties. There is the political cartoon on the editorial pages, which shapes the public's concept of the real person in caricaturish fahion. There are the late night comedians, who help us begin to see the candidates their way, "stupid," or "womanizer," etc. And then there are the candidate's humorous sound-bites, like Reagan's, "There you go again," in the debates with Carter.

All of these and other humorous jabs begin to shape the public's idea of candidates more than newspaper articles or television news do. Gore got it on an intellectual level, but he could not be funny, so he ultimately lost; not the election, but the battle. He is winning the war gradually, though, since he discovered a sense of humor.

Besides the internet blogs, which aren't humorous usually, John Stewart on the Comedy Channel may be the single most influential humorist on the political scene today. The Daily Show points out the idiocy and farce in politics for his audience better than the late-night "comedians," Leno, Letterman, or the late, late-night hosts.

Who really reads newspapers today? It takes too long to weed through the advertising to read a paper, now. We much prefer our news on-line with the ads annoyingly in the margins of the screen, flashing to get our attention, and there aren't that many editorial cartoons on-line as in the newspapers, so, the editorial cartoons are losing their impact on politics.

Candidate's sense of humor is almost lost. When was the last time you actually heard a candidate be funny? Well, there was that time when Obama said he wasn't planning on going to the Cheney family hunting trips. Hillary's laugh is kind of funny, but not funny in a good way.

Can we blame the lack of humor on the politicians? Not really; American seems to have lost its sense of humor, except on the Daily Show. We need to learn to laugh together, live together, and cry together, again, as a nation, not as two sides, red and blue, as polar opposites. In counseling, it is common for the therapist to point out that people become miserable when they see everything as black and white, good or bad, not seeing the shades of gray between them. The polarization of a person's perspective leads to dysfunctional behavior. It is true in a society as well, and especially true in politics.

So, let's all lighten up a bit, laugh a bit, and enjoy the democratic process of laughing together at the politicians. Then, humor will really make a big difference.

Learn more about this author, Will Kester.
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