On his HBO show, "Real Time With Bill Maher," the comedian routinely makes vicious fun of celebrities, politicians, presidents and even God. But he's learned that, for much of his audience, Barack Obama is off limits.
Not long after the historic presidential election, Maher joked that Republicans were feeling particularly superstitious: "They say the country is having bad luck because there's a black cat in the White House." The studio audience erupted in loud groans and boos -- a reaction, Maher observed in a recent interview, that exceeded his often scathing attacks on organized religion.
"Obama is the new God," quipped Maher of the poorly received dig, which he pointed out pokes at conservatives more than the commander in chief.
The heckling response to Maher's gibe is hardly an anomaly. As late-night talk show hosts and other television comics who trade in political humor know, cracking wise about the new president, who marked his 100th day in office last week, is apparently not very funny for most of the people, most of the time. Not surprisingly, to guard against a frosty or uncertain reception, TV's leading political humorists have largely backed away from their ritual comic hazing of the president, a colorful tradition in the medium, especially in its late-night time slots, since at least the Nixon administration.
"If you're a comedian and you die and go to heaven, Bill Clinton is your president," said Robert J. Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "If you're a comedian and you die and go to hell, Barack Obama is your president."
Obama has cast so many political humorists into a bad spot because he lacks the obvious defining qualities -- both mentally and physically -- that transformed previous Oval Office occupants into comedic catnip. He doesn't have a strong regional accent and didn't have a strange job before his political rise (former peanut farmer Jimmy Carter). He doesn't fall down (Gerald Ford). He is not regarded as aging or forgetful (Ronald Reagan). He hasn't been dubbed a "wimp" (George H.W. Bush). He is not tainted by scandal (Clinton). He doesn't stumble over the English language (George W. Bush).
The 44th president's elusiveness as a comic target is more than just superficial, however, and reveals deep national reluctance toward mocking a leader in crisis and toward discussing race. Much of humor's punch derives from the humbling of the mighty, but that card has, for now, been greatly diminished in the wake of the financial meltdown.
