Friday, June 26, 2009

John Kerry, Comedian

The Honorable Junior Senator (D) from Massachusetts John F. Kerry is once again attempting to prove he can "bring the funny."
'Too Bad' Sarah Palin Didn’t Go Missing, Sen. Kerry Jokes

Senator Kerry made another Republican joke. This time it was aimed at Sarah Palin.

Massachusetts Sen. Kerry has joined the fraternity of jokesters using Sarah Palin as a punch line.

Kerry was meeting a group of business and civic leaders in the nation's capital when he decided to play comedian, according to The Boston Herald. He was talking about the disappearance of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, the Alaska governor's Republican peer.

"Too bad," he said, "if a governor had to go missing it couldn't have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin."

Kerry's joke came 24 hours before Sanford turned up to admit an affair with a woman living in Argentina, the Herald reported Thursday.


Just to refresh our memories, here is a bit of a pictorial of Senator Kerry's past attempts at humor and how it turned out:






I certainly have no room to talk when it comes to snide comments and rude, crude humor when it comes to public figures. A person who deliberately puts themselves in the limelight opens the door for exactly that kind of negative exposure, whether it's Gov. Palin, President Obama, Michael Jackson, or even a local cop or dog catcher. The elected are supposed to be public servants, and *stars* survive on staying in the limelight. So, they are fair game for appropriate roasting of their personae.

At the time Kerry "joked" about wishing Palin had disappeared, no one was sure where Sanford was, if he was alive, injured, or other nefarious possibilities. In the context of the moment, Kerry was insinuating that a similar disappearance of, you know, the governor of Alaska, would be a preferable outcome. Instead of Sanford. Disappeared without a trace; hopefully not returning.

As an aside, I have my doubts about Palin - I think she is a very astute politician. Just because she has personally chosen some difficult paths through some hot button issues doesn't mean she would attempt to implement them as public policy. Look at Obama - what he said he supports and what he is doing now are often quite different, confounding those who put him on a pedestal in the days before the election. I don't have Sarah on a pedestal, other than I think she is entertaining because her mere presence ties liberals in knots - much like Teh One brings on high blood pressure in conservatives like myself. I've certainly hounded Kansas' former governor.

But I never wished Sebelius ill, even in jest. I am just a blip (if even that much) on the world's radar compared to the influence John Kerry wields. Shouldn't a public personae in a position of responsibility be a little more circumspect?

Stay classy, John Kerry. Your finger is certainly on the pulse of popular humor, as you have so ably demonstrated now and in the past.

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