This election year seems more important than ever and the comedians are not missing a chance to celebrate the more outrageous moments like the “crazy lady,” whose opinion at the mike was quickly terminated. Nameless, she will forever be known as just the “crazy lady.” She said that she could not vote for Obama because he was an “Arab.” We all wondered if the word was a euphemism for another word she was thinking. No matter, this was an opportunity for candidate McCain to do the honorable and decent thing: to uphold the personal qualities of his opponent.
There have been few light moments. One has been the hyped up scenario about “Joe, the Plummer,” the totally misunderstood encounter. I totally cracked up when I saw the sign, “Jose, El Plomero,” at a rally on television, proving this story has truly reached Latino voters, as well. (That would be Jose with an accent mark on the final e, which this computer program cannot make).
Saturday Night Live, a television show that airs for 1 1/2 hours on late night TV, promised to be interesting. Sarah Palin was scheduled to be on. She has been heretofore represented on the show by her look-alike, Tina Fey. Finding nothing in the least bit “funny” in the first half hour, I went to bed. Jim stayed up, burning the midnight oil, and hoping to find a bit of humor. All he gained was feeling more tired.
In these last days, counting down toward the final vote, more and more campaign ads are mean spirited and deceitful. For our New Hampshire Senatorial race, two candidates are accused of doing the same thing – siding with the current president. Why run the ads? They cancel out each other. I would rather hear about the good things that politicians have tried to do but that gets lost in the political wrangling.
I’ll be happy when we can get back to business as usual, so to speak, to a time when politicians can shake hands and really mean it, and a time when we can all see our way to doing what is best for the country and not just talk about plans that are doomed to fail.
What I’ve learned is that politicians are not “sacred cows.” We can and do poke fun at them, just as they poke fun at themselves and each other. Without humor, it would be a dreary and God-forsaken world. The race is on. Let’s continue it with grace and goodwill, and may the best candidates win and may their ensuing actions be tempered with insightful humor.
Patricia Cummings
