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Politics: A Laughing Matter

Updated: Thursday, October 25 2012, 05:41 AM CDT
It is no surprise that this year’s presidential campaign has been filled with comedic moments and viral parodies-- from Big Bird, to horses and bayonets, to binders full of women—and with 2 weeks to go there are probably more to come.  But comedy has a place in politics according to a pew research poll.
Fifteen percent of 18 to 29 year-olds regularly get their campaign news from late night comedy programs, 12 percent get it from network news programs, and 11 percent look to the local newspaper.

Many people believe satire is rooted in liberal concepts.  So does that mean conservatives are the primary targets?  Researchers catalogued every joke told on the major late night comedy shows during an 8 month period in 2010 and found 9 percent of the 1600 plus zingers were directed at President Obama.   President Bush was the target of 10 percent in 2002, but Bill Clinton takes the prize, the butt of the joke 15 percent of the time in 1994.

A political science professor from the University of Arkansas also studied every use of humor in the Republican and Democratic primary debates during the 2008 election and found no statistical evidence proving which party is funnier.  He did, however, find that Democrats tended to use humor that was more inclusive of the intended audience, while Republicans often relied on insider humor.

By Hunter Ellis

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