Political Talk Shows Troubled Over Limited Obama Material

The fact that Obama was elected the next president of United States is actually troubling for comedians who frequently make political jokes on television. They have had an inexhaustible amount of material during the eight years of the Bush administration, but so far potential jokes about Obama are hard to find.

Everyone is fond of watching politicians embarrass themselves. During the United States presidential campaign, actress Tina Fey did a great job imitating Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” a portrayal that boosted their ratings drastically. For the past eight years, the political and comedy talk shows on major the U.S. networks have had a lot of fun with Bush, but their easy days are running out since Obama is really not a joker as compared with his predecessor. Obama himself even admitted that he is a bit serious. After the election results were confirmed, Jay Leno, the host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” said on the following telecast that he will definitely miss Bush very much as a comedian, and went on to say that is why God granted them Biden. He is Obama's vice president who often speaks without a filter.

Even Bush knows that Obama is not a joker. Two years ago at a dinner party in Washington D.C., Bush told Obama that he wanted to play a joke on him, but it would be as difficult as playing a joke on the Pope. That was before Obama even started his presidential campaign.

However, just like Obama himself once said, he is not God and man makes mistakes. Sooner or later he will be caught in some kind of embarrassment. But in order to make a joke about Obama, one must first consider the racial issue, especially if delivered by a white person, who has to make sure the joke is funny without offending anyone.