Obama Forces a Youthful Laugh

The “Prez” used The Daily Show, the television program of the political comedian Jon Stewart, to convince his young public of 2008 to vote for the midterms. Humorous but not too much, 44 knows the polls and his long-distance race has become a sprint. Has he lost hope?

Barack Obama is the first American president to participate in Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on the cable channel Comedy Central that, from Monday to Thursday, produces a well-known satirical and political show about current news. George W. Bush was the permanent target of Jon Stewart, and Barack Obama appeared on the show in 2008 during the campaign.

Last night, his performance combined laughter and seriousness and sought to convince a target of more than one million 18 to 49 years old who are in front of their screens for about 23 hours, those who had voted with enthusiasm for the first black president of the U.S. and who are structurally weak voters for midterm elections. Did he make them want to rush to the polls? I hope that I’m mistaken.

The idea to use a satirical program to do some fancy footwork and to speak seriously is interesting, but then perhaps it is necessary to play along with the tone of the program, to surprise with his wit and to not produce a tone between the two where no one wins about subjects that, above all, cause anger.

Take a French example without direct comparison to Stewart. Coluche, bringing in a politician from the countryside, wouldn’t let him finish his sentences, and the tone of the politician would have been hilarious, leaving it to the host to say some serious things. But he didn’t do this, and he did the show alone. There is also the example of Karl Zéro, with whom few politicians dare to make wisecracks or to harm. Return to Jon Stewart’s program. Barack Obama’s little digs about the program’s décor, “It reminds me of the convention,” or praising his financial advisor about to leave, Larry Summers, who did “a heck of a job,” imitating a George W. Bush standard. In the role of the biter bitten, Jon Stewart wasn’t exactly pleased; it is his job above all to make people laugh about W.

And he remained in line with his health reform, 90 percent of which was passed. The most important 10 percent remains. Number 44 was also not happy when Jon Stewart contrasted his audacity (cf. his book Audacity of Hope) to the more timid change achieved. Obama protested “Jon, I love your show, but this is something where, you know, I have a profound disagreement with you. …”

A small return on the 2008 campaign claim “Yes we can” has been modified to “Yes we can, but.” Come on, everyone was at the meeting organized in Washington by Stewart and his counterpart Stephen Colbert. A friendly Woodstock of reason on the Mall? Obama expressed regret that the rally had not taken place two years ago to re-establish reason at the center of the game. Some lessons for those who are trying to pick up the pieces; people decidedly don’t really laugh anymore.

And the New York Times’ estimates continued to shape a pessimistic landscape: the Senate, yes; the Representatives and not the governors, not really except in California. Yuppie?