A Little Jab'll Do Ya

Rich Little, the legendary impressionist who was chosen as the entertainment for this years White House Correspondents dinner, describes himself this way, "basically a Republican, whose jokes are reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's, though without the edge."

Hmmm

Political comics are like ice skates; they don't work without an edge.

Think about the political comics you like. How many of them had you rolling in the aisles with their pragmatism?

Political comedy without an edge is anathema to its very genre, like fake beer and Christian rock.

Look at Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart.

The reason they are successful is because they point out hypocrisy and hilariously speak truth to power.

No matter who's in power.

When was the last good political joke you heard about Barney the dog?

One of the reasons I love watching the dinner is that it is the one time each year the president, no matter who he was, had to sit and listen without comment, how their decisions have affected us.

Last week, Steve Scully, the guy who books the entertainment for The White House Correspondents dinner was quoted by Editor and Publisher as saying this about last years host.

"Stephen Colbert is very sophisticated and if you've not seen his show you may not get it, with Little, "You don't have to explain his humor."

Huh?

Remember all those thousands of reviews and commentaries about how Colbert was just waaaaay too hard to follow?

Who is buying that? Does he really think that a room full of political reporters, the president and members of his cabinet reacted the way they did because Colbert's material simply went over their heads?

Was Wolf Blitzer turning to Candy Crowley after every joke asking, "Could you explain that to me? Geez, I hope next year they book someone who talks about stuff I can relate to."

Please!

He wasn't up there doing obscure material about String Theory for Godssakes!

Not only did it not go over their heads, it smacked them in the face.

Colbert hit Bush and Co and the media who covered them with a stinging satirical indictment that rang loud and clear, and whether you liked it or not, he did something really important; he got people talking and thinking about the kind of job The White House and the media have been doing for us, because as Hillary Clinton said herself on Saturday, "..the conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?"

And for the past several years, it's the Maher's and the Stewart's and the Colbert's that have consistently gotten the conversation started.

But Little himself has said he won't even mention the word "Iraq" which begs the question, "What will he talk about?

Well, if you go to his website, you will see he does have a Tribute to Ronald Reagan and does dead-on impressions of David Janssen and George Raft.

So we may hear material about the war....in Grenada, and as for as not having to "explain Little's humor"? I would suggest this years attendees have IMDB up on your Blackberries, so if he launches into his impressions of Sterling Hayden or Howard Keel, you won't have to have someone there to, "explain the humor."

If this was the Turner Classic Movie's correspondent's dinner, Little is the perfect choice.

But it's not and I wish they would have picked someone "with an edge", because the conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?