We have all seem Comedians get political. Some would point to the current surge of Anti-Bush commentary by comedians as a sign of their partisanship, others would say it is simply a matter of the mountain of material the President gives them. Regardless, this is not new. Comedians have included political commentary and the like for as long as this art has existed (remember the jesters). Some of the commentary is blindly partisan in nature, some of it is insightful (occasionally it is both), but most of it tends to be just good humor at the expense of the political, politicians, and the like. Some comedians go to far in that their acts become more commentary then comedy and that takes the fun out of it, but generally, it is the norm to toss in a few topical jokes about some current situation in politics.

I thought it might be fun to start a topic where we could add some of those moments that were not just funny, but good commentary as well. That is where I think this topic differs from the political joke thread (though that is ultimately up to the moderators). This discussion will likely include jokes, but it is more about the commentary behind them then the joke themselves.

For my part I will get things going with he following:

This is a bit dated (and hopefully will not be seen in the future). When I saw Paula Poundstone on Bravo recently (she is a favorite of mine), she talked briefly about the Democratic party. She stated she was a Democrat but that he thought the party could be run better, which lead into the following statement about Democratic losses in recent Presidential Elections (paraphrased).


The best humor tends to be based on the truth and I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at this one. It amazes me that the party that is known for some of the most charismatic leaders in history could nominate the likes of Vice President Gore and Senator Kerry. If commentary like the above helps convince them that candidates need charisma if they are to "sell" their ideas and themselves to the voting public, then its not just funny, its a public service.

Also, though she was discussing the democratic party in her act, the above line could easily be applied to both parties with Senator Dole's presidential run being an excellent Republican candidate for this ire.

What interesting Comedic lines have you come across that are not just funny, but compelling, and why?

Bonus: What Comedians do you feel are the best and this, and what Comedians do you feel go to far with it? And Why?

Great topic thier OS- one of my all time faves. Having been a stand up comic for over 15 years now- I would have to say that comics, and I have talked to hundreds, some super famous now, some not so well known- I will tell you a couple things I have found- comedians are left leaning libertarians for the most part, and conservative comics are usually not funny nor famous. During the Clinton era, he wrote the material for us, even if we agreed with him- which is point number two- we are all whores for a laugh. That is the term we use, so we are not offended when others tell us this either - also- we, as a group, are far less politically correct amongst ourselves, and racial lines are non-existant. Typically, you get three comics in a room, the one-uppmanship on politically incorrect jokes that would NEVER go over well on stage happen in those groups. Really nasty, disgusting, racist, sexist jokes are told, followed with the obligatory "I am so going to hell for that last joke" and the Jerry Sienfeld created "hey, are we supposed to be talking about this?"

What interesting Comedic lines have you come across that are not just funny, but compelling, and why?

Lenny Bruce, Goerge Carlin, Richard Pryor are the all time greats of observation comedy, political commentary, and created the post-henny youngman vaudvillian observation stand up comic, with, to a lesser degree, Bill Cosby. Though he is great too, he is basically pretty vanilla, but he was/is still a great man with great comedy, just not so edgy or political as the others.

I think Dennis Miller has been ostrasized, a bit unfairly, over his conservative stances, though, he did explain he was a right leaning libertarian. I think his points and observations, even if I did not totally agree with them, were fair, insightful and balanced, not to mention good delivery, timing and just plain good material. Bill Maher was/is a genius, but the best of all time, regardless of political viewpoint, Al Franken is almost revered by all comics, for his INCREDIBLE political comedy writing. Possibly the best ever, and recognized as so by his peers. Robin Williams is the most hated comic by other comics of all time BTW- They call him "Robbing" Williams- for his over the top delivery of stolen material. His so-called political commentaries/jokes are NEVER his own- he has lifted them piecemeal from others. When this was pointed out to me, early in my little career, I started watching him closer, and sure enough, he is a material stealer!

I have opened for Lewis Black many times, and he is spot on in both his observations and his anger. He is a personal friend and we chat now and again.

And that brings us to what may prove the greatest of all time political commentator- John Stewart. Nuff said!

Bonus: What Comedians do you feel are the best and this, and what Comedians do you feel go to far with it? And Why?

Al Franken, Bruce Wallanch, Goerge Carlin and Bill Maher are pretty much recognized by thier peers as the best at this genre of comedy, no matter your personal views as a comic. Also- a comic will critique another comic- NOT on his/her political views, but how it is delivered, how crisp and original the material is, and how it connects with ALL audiences.

There is NO such thing as "to far with it"- just parochial poeple of small minds and big egos that don't have a sense of humor. Acknowledged universially, conservative or liberal, dem or republican, as the very worst political entetainer of all time would be Rush. He basically stole his format from Howard Stern, and he has 0 crossover appeal, a "niche" audience. "niche" audience political commentators are pretty much considered the bottom of the barrel in material, delivery and style, no matter how large thier niche audience is, no matter how much money they make. Think like musicians here, sure, the pop artist made some big record sales, but that doesn't mean it is good, or original, or even thier own material, it just means alot of poeple bought it.

John Stewart may very well prove to be the best ever, we will see how his show winds down in a few years to really comment on it- but at this time, he has no peer, with the possible excepton of bill maher and al franken.

What interesting Comedic lines have you come across that are not just funny, but compelling, and why?

I like the aphorisms of Wilde and Twain. Modern comics are too centered on the present. I can see why this is commercially necessary, and that is also the problem.

Bonus: What Comedians do you feel are the best and this, and what Comedians do you feel go to far with it? And Why?

Carlin is the best at it. Coulter is the worst. Don't think I have to explain why, the why is obvious. But for the dim, one works from a base of respect and love while the other works from a base of greed and hate.

For delivering the fake news, Stewart beats out Limbaugh. Colbert might beat out Stewart over the next five years or so. Still, Stewart is the warmer of the two.

Poundstone is one of the best improv vocal comics. There are others who are faster with the wit, but she has an earthiness to it that makes her takes special.

GWB is one of the funniest presidents we've ever had. The least funny was Ford, at least among those who have had air time. He was good at slapstick, but it was unintentional so that doesn't count.

Anyone saw the English TV series called "Yes Prime minister", starring Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne. This was funny politics, and insightfull as well! I just went to watch the "Borat" movie, which is not very political or overly funny, but still it puts a comical and interesting perspective on our western society versus eastern.