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Susan Estrich: Comedienne’s ‘Jokes’ No Laughing Matter
The president was funny at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Wanda Sykes, the host, was not.
I hate to say that, because I have enjoyed many good laughs watching Sykes, the actress. Maybe she just got her lines from the wrong person this time. Maybe someone with more of an ear for the world of politics and media should have reviewed the script. Then again, how difficult is it to figure out that calling someone out as the 20th hijacker and wishing him kidney failure and torture to boot, all because you disagree with him about politics, is neither acceptable nor funny?
In case you missed it, the someone was Rush Limbaugh. And she really did say just that. “I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was so strung out on OxyContin that he missed his flight. ... I hope his kidneys fail. How about that?” How about that, indeed?
Of course, acceptable does not equal funny. If anything, the opposite is true. You get laughs by taking “it” — whether “it” is your annoyance at your mother-in-law or your dislike of Limbaugh — to the extreme. Many people in the audience of liberals (except the Fox table) did seem to laugh. Did they laugh because they are especially evil Rush-hating liberals who really do wish him ill, or because they’re regular Rush-hating liberals who just wish him bad ratings?
President Obama’s laugh lines have been much scrutinized thanks to the Drudge Report’s prominent placement of them. If I had to write the bubble above his head, it would say, “I can’t believe she said that,” but who knows?
Asked to comment about the president’s reaction to Sykes, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs essentially said that while he had not talked to the president, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks should be the subject of serious reflection and not comedy.
I’m happy to leave comics to find humor where they want. I’m happy to leave politicians and media types free to laugh at what they want in their off hours. The problem with events like this dinner is that they are extravaganzas put on for the attention. They look nothing like private, off-limits events. The politicians work the press, the press work the politicians, everybody works everybody else, and the celebrities get attention. In those circumstances, it hardly seems unfair to pay attention.
When you pay attention to Sykes, the problem isn’t that she was making fun of 9/11 (that was Ann Coulter). The problem is that she and the audience who yukked with her were engaging in the kind of vicious personal assault on someone you disagree with that most of them would condemn as the worst tactic of the right wing, going back to the days of Lee Atwater. If it was wrong then, why is it OK now?
I’m not worried about Limbaugh: He has enough stations to defend himself. My guess is that he almost enjoys the attention. I’m worried about what’s come to be acceptable political discourse in the most elite circles of media and politics. I’m worried about what people watching at home think when they see a dinner like that. I’m worried about how many of my friends are going to feel when it all comes around, as it surely will.
An eye for an eye will leave all of us blinded.
— Best-selling author Susan Estrich is the Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science at the USC Law Center and was campaign manager for 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Click here to contact her.
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» on 05.19.09 @ 03:00 AM
That’s very kind of Ms. Estrich to try to improve our political discourse but skewering of your opponents has been going on here since the birth of our Republic…and it has been way worse than what we read now. Sykes’ real sin is that she wasn’t funny at an event that was supposed to be funny. As a result, The One, was shown to be as shallow as the rest of us: politely laughing. In other words, neither transforming, transcendant, nor special. Going along to get along. And that’s even uglier than Sykes’ remarks.
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» on 05.19.09 @ 03:18 AM
I am worried that Susan is cherry picking. How many times has Limbaugh made statements about others that are just as bad, if not worse? He is just another GOP talking head utilizing the Lee Atwater and Karl Rove playbook. He entertains many with his lines such as wishing the President would fail. Does that mean he wishes America will fail? I would advise Susan to lighten up because if you cannot take it then do not throw it.
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» on 05.19.09 @ 07:24 AM
Republican shills like Estrich ignore the tasteless jokes her side tells. And why no mention of the biggest joke of all? Bush.
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» on 05.19.09 @ 03:38 PM
Ah, excuse me “Spare Me” but Susan is a liberal democrat. Her opinion piece was a critique of her own party. She is no shill for the GOP in any stretch of the imagination. You have missed an opportunity to do a little reflection so you can yet again vent your “Bush Derangement Syndrome”. Get over it and move on like the name of your favorite web site suggests. I don’t agree with Susan much, being a conservative, but I applaud her reflection on this and her call for some sort of decency, respect and dignity. It’s long overdue on both side of the aisle.
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