by Mona Gallagher

Created on: November 26, 2007   Last Updated: March 19, 2008

Comic relief can help us through the long grueling days of political rhetoric. If it's truly humorous, we can all laugh and enjoy the wit even if it's cutting. When it becomes ugly it is not humor, its personal bashing.

I like David Letterman because he doesn't discriminate. He takes on either party with equal absurdity. His monologue and his Top Ten reasons often include political jabs and include both parties and both genders. Forgive me, I like absurd humor.

Saturday Night Live had the most talented group of actors a few years ago. Dana Carvey did a great George HW Bush. One actor did a fair rendition of Janet Reno while another portrayed Al Gore. The real politicians showed up on occasion and joined in the parodies.

It's said that the elder Bush watched Saturday Night Live, enjoyed the show and laughed right along with the entire U.S. audience. George W Bush has been parodied as well, but not with the same success ratio as his father.

Jay Leno has a good repertoire of political jokes, but they seem more tame when compared to others. Maybe it's the lack of total absurdity, but they lack the ability to elicit the kind of laughter that starts deep inside and roars forth from the gut.

Political cartoons have been a part of U.S. history for hundreds of years. Even the non-political, everyday, cartoons get their political jabs in now and again. If it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, the political cartoonist gets full mileage.

Of course, political cartoons aren't necessarily funny, but the funny ones capture our attention more while it drives home a point.

The political candidates have learned to laugh at themselves. (at least in public) A sense of humor is a definite plus to their credibility. We tend to withdraw from candidates who stand rigid and display little sense of humanity. It's a natural reaction.

What would we do without political humor? We'd be grumpy and serious about all aspects of the political side of life. We don't need to go that route however, because the politicians themselves don't take their promises too seriously.

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