March 9, 2021

"But Biden, so far, has been impregnable. The voice is too bland and devoid of obvious quirks..."

"... and beyond the occasional 'C’mon, man,' his conversational manner too muted and self-effacing, to give the parodists much to work with. Trump supporters and Fox News pundits would undoubtedly attribute this to the media’s liberal bias. And to be sure, Trump was viewed by the (mostly liberal) satirists not just as an irresistible comic target but also as a dire threat to the nation. Biden’s pleasantly boring presidency has been a welcome return to normality — but hardly great material for parody."

I picked that quote from WaPo's "Comedians are struggling to parody Biden/Let’s hope this doesn’t last" because the word "impregnable" caught my eye. 

I realize it's not meant as a pregnancy metaphor and we're supposed to think more in terms of a fortress. It's not normal to say that sterile women are "impregnable." The original meaning of the word is (from the OED): "Of a fortress or stronghold: That cannot be taken by arms; incapable of being reduced by force; capable of holding out against all attacks." Then there's the figurative meaning: "That cannot be overcome or vanquished; invincible, unconquerable, proof against attack." 

So the assertion here is that Biden is so neutral and featureless that an impersonator has nowhere to go. He's like a giant wall with no footholds. What can you do?! He's normal, so pleasantly boring. This is why I don't watch "Saturday Night Live" anymore. They're too lazy! Trump was ridiculously easy. I guess they loved not being challenged.

How about observing Biden and finding what is distinct and capable of mockery? I think the problem is really that they don't want to expose his flaws, that they're committed to the idea that he's normal and pleasant. But they ought to see this as a fantastic opportunity. The best presidential impersonation in this history of "SNL" was Dana Carvey's George H.W. Bush, and H.W. had the same problem of superficial ordinariness.

163 comments:

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Who could possibly exaggeratedly act like a brain-addled doofus to portray Biden! Is there no Olivié or Barrymore (or Norm Crosby) who can capture the Joe essence?

Dave Begley said...

I think someone here wanted boring. The Dems probably polled that.

Nonapod said...

So a guy who clearly has trouble completing a full sentence without stammering and stuttering, who regularly slurs words, and who is constantly making silly gaffes is difficult to parady? Really?

Churchy LaFemme: said...

I remember an old "Wizard of Id" strip, probably from the 70s, where Rodney tells the King a particular castle is impregnable, then later has to send him a message that "the rabbit died".

narciso said...

Those words you are using...

rcocean said...

The Left never makes fun of the Democrats. That's been the rule ever since I've been watching TV and noticing. Carter was only given a few mild jabs by SNL. Hartmann and SNL showed Clinton as a bit of a glutton with a roving eye. Obama was never made fun of. By comparison, Reagan, Bush_II, Ford, and Trump were all shown as complete morons who could barely talk. Or believed crazy stupid things.

Known Unknown said...

"y comparison, Reagan, Bush_II, Ford, and Trump were all shown as complete morons who could barely talk."


This is lauded as one of the best political sketches in SNL history.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

they don't want to expose his flaws

So is this artistic integrity or what? Why would comedians fear mocking Joe when mockery is de rigeur for Americans to direct at our elected critters? Why would comedians fear Biden when the “raging fascist” Trump did not scare them? Are they really afraid of Kamala?

pacwest said...

Biden is comedy gold. But we're not allowed to go there I guess. The "Weekend at Bernie's" routine is an obvious starter.

Mike Sylwester said...

Steve Sailer:

What could be funny about the fact that Biden is so old that his sense of what is cool permanently congealed roughly the day JFK was elected President, so that he talks like Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, the greaser valet parker in the 1958 detective show 77 Sunset Strip, whose lingo was a cross among beatnik, kandy-kolored tangerine-flake streamline baby car guy, and Strategic Air Command pilot?

What could be funny about what Tom Stoppard called in Travesties “the cheap comedy of senile confusion?”

What could be funny about Sleepy Joe trying to be Woke by announcing insane stuff about transgenderism and how the black man invented the light bulb?

What could be funny about Biden’s tendency to point out Alt Right-sounding observations like Jews Control the Media and Indian Immigrants Are Taking Over America, but then saving himself by announcing But That’s a Good Thing?

What could be funny about an inner circle of Kamala Harris, Doctor Jill Biden, and Hunter Biden?

wendybar said...

Who knew it would be called boring to Bankrupt and CHANGE America into an illegal immigrant hellhole????

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Biden’s pleasantly boring presidency has been a welcome return to normality — but hardly great material for parody."

BULLSHIT.

Biden's gaffs are plentiful... & these loyal democratic propagandist hive-minders know it.
Biden's history of gaffs, and near daily gaffs are low hanging fruit for anyone with the backbone to mock a precious democratic. That's what is really off-limits. No one dare. You cannot mock the mob. You will be cancelled.


After Hillary lost, - the entire corrupt apparatus decided to never ever ever ever mock a fellow-in-arms again.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Comedians know who they can mock: Poor white men.

That's it.

Todd said...

"Comedians are struggling to parody Biden/Let’s hope this doesn’t last"

Interesting, is it a "struggle" due to his being a Democrat or due to his obvious cognitive decline or is it both?

You KNOW none of these things would stand in the way of doing parody of a Republican POTUS regardless of his or her condition, which is just fine. I would just appreciate a smidgen of even treatment. I know, I ask WAY too much.

#BadTouchBiden

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Guess the old adage about good comedy being transgressive is expired now too.

Bob Smith said...

That don’t want to. Parodies of cripples are just mean.

Joe Smith said...

These people are disingenuous morons.

Biden has a ton of verbal quirks.

His blank, thousand-yard stare is a huge target.

Any decent comic who can't 'do' Biden isn't trying very hard.

Breezy said...

They just need Jim Carrey impersonating him, big smile and aviators, sniffing every nearby female, cash overflowing his pockets, Jill alongside him, speaking for him like a ventriloquist and dummy. That would be funny.

Mike Sylwester said...

When Obama was President, we had eight years of no jokes on television about the President.

narciso said...

The cabinet is like the star wars cantina or jabbas palace.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

what to do with "Dog face pony soldier"

golly?

Biden cannot remember the names of fellow democrats as he speaks.. and wanders into "what am I doing here?" on a daily basis. It's so bad, his puppet-masters are protecting him from wandering into the public sphere at all.

Gee wiz - no material there.


ooo - a joke about the fact that Biden isn't even really running the show. You could mock his Potemkin Presidency. Nah - the mob don't take kindly to being mocked.

chuck said...

Biden is normal? I'm laughing already, Richard Zoglin is a funny man.

gilbar said...

No one is So Blind, and Those who Will NOT See

Biden can't remember the name of the Pentagon
https://www.newswars.com/video-biden-forgets-the-name-of-the-pentagon-and-his-own-defense-secretary/

Biden can't remember where he is
https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-goes-blank-stare-forgetting-tries-fails-pass-off-joke/

Nonapod said...

I think most liberal comedians fully realize that if they were to mock Biden's mannerisms, they'd draw attention to them and more people might realize how mentally compromised Biden is. They're obviously reluctant to make Biden appear feeble. But they all know he really is feeble. They all know he's a mess. He'd actually not "boring", he's terrifying. It's like having a alzheimer's patient fly a passenger plane. You don't want to cause a panic.

gilbar said...

the jokes write themselves!

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Imagine if Trump had a son like HUNTER.

It's not hard if you try.

Mike Sylwester said...

When television comics begin joking about Biden, then his removal from office will be well on its way.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

porn, crack pipes, international corrupt money whoring for private gain... driving expensive cars and living in the hollywood hills...

yeah - no material there.

narciso said...

A better link


https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/03/biden-calls-his-defense-secretary-the-guy-who-runs-that-outfit-over-there/

Then again austin is purging constitutionalists from the military

gilbar said...

It's like having a alzheimer's patient fly a passenger plane. You don't want to cause a panic.


To quote Robert Heinlein:
I want to die peacefully,in my sleep; like my Grandfather...
Not Screaming in terror; like his passengers

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

NBC is a democratic Party operation.

LIVE... FROM NEW YORK... IT'S DEMOCRAT PARTY TEEVEE!

rcocean said...

One thing I love about the internet is that when you make a generalization, someone will always point to an exception, as if that proves you wrong.

Reagan Mastermind sketch was very funny. But SNL spent the other 200 shows in the 1980's portraying Reagan as either a moron or evil. Just like every other Republican.

Mattman26 said...

The Wizard of Id! Wow, I haven't thought of that in forever.

pacwest said...

I'm no comedian, in fact I have about a 10% success rate when I tell a joke, but here a few skits that would be killer in the right hands:

Susan Rice being made up as Biden before the SOTU. Obama in the background making sure everything is being done right. Biden wandering in and out of scene. "Where am I?"

Conversation between Joe and Hunter. "Your 10% of 10 million is 50K Dad."

Biden behind the podium. Jill struggling to keep him propped up while Obama is manipulating the puppet strings from the rafters. Harris with her hands on his cheeks moving his mouth to a recording.

Opportunities abound.

narciso said...

We have no courts a possum opposition whi h can barely give an arff and a peanuts gallery of jesters who wont point out the king is a drooling idiot.

bleh said...

Biden is and always has been a ridiculous clownish person, and eminently mockable. They're just not trying. The truth is no one really wants to touch the elephant in the room, which is Joe's senility.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Comedy is not the goal.

Mocking conservatives and republicans is the goal - to get the masses swept into a blind hatred of them.

Biff said...

Kyle Dunnigan does a reasonable comedic impersonation of Joe Biden. I found an example a recent Adam Carolla podcast, beginning around 13:10 of the video.

Bilwick said...

I guess mocking Dementia is taboo, at least for as long as the president is a Democrat.

Doug said...

poor kids. I hate to see them have to work so hard. Only to have all their material needing approval by so many "stakeholders".

Comedy ain't what it used to be.

Skeptical Voter said...

It is unseemly to mock the mentally challenged.

Joe Smith said...

I saw Dana Carvey once at a very late New Year's Eve show about 25 years ago.

He is seriously talented and funny as hell.

The bit I will always remember is his impression of Jimmy Stewart getting a blow job.

You can use your imagination : )

JK Brown said...

It's risky making fun of those in cognitive decline.

But SNL could have someone come out as an articulate and quick-minded Joe Biden and do the joke on the panic in the handlers who freak out when they discover they've been played in a great loyalty test after so many Trump staffers proved hostile.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

Liberals are just too darn hard to make fun of! Even professional comedians can't find a hook. Amazing, isn't it?

Joe Smith said...

I saw Dana Carvey once at a very late New Year's Eve show about 25 years ago.

He is seriously talented and funny as hell.

The bit I will always remember is his impression of Jimmy Stewart getting a blow job.

You can use your imagination : )

gilbar said...

it's Time for a Pool!

Make your predictions! When/IF "President" Biden gives an address to Congress?

Bonus pool, How Long will "President" Biden's next (1st!) press conference take?
Who will be called on?
What will the questions be/

Doug said...

poor kids. I hate to see them have to work so hard. Only to have all their material needing approval by so many "stakeholders".

Comedy ain't what it used to be.

Geoff M said...

It's nice to see how Bush treated Carvey's impressions (in good fun), but what did that get him? Did it earn him any good will during his presidency? Did it endear him to the left?
Maybe after he lost the election, but so what?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

It's illegal to mock Castro...
You will be placed in jail for doing so.

This is where we are headed, folks.
It's illegal to mock the supreme leaders in Communist China as well.

The Democrat party teevee billionaires are happy to comply anyway.

Ken B said...

Dana Carvey was great, but his impersonation wasn’t about hatred. The modern SNL is about expressing hatred. Hatred for the right targets of course.

They will never do Biden as Mr Magoo cum Woody from Cheers. But that would be funny.

rhhardin said...

Pregnant is pre-gnant, before birth.

Michael said...

rcocean said...

... Carter was only given a few mild jabs by SNL.


Maybe my memory is focked, but Aykroyd did some brutal take downs of Jimmy.

TestTube said...

Kate McKenna absolutely skewered Hillary Clinton. Sharp, funny, no holds barred.

If SNL doesn't want to pick up a veritable cornucopia of comedy material, others will be happy to fill the gap. The Babylon Bee is certainly happy to pick up the slack.

Chris-2-4 said...

I'm pretty sure the use of "impregnable" was a lazy to illiterate confusion with "impenetrable".

TestTube said...

Biden should be an easier target than Trump. Someone, maybe on this very blog, noted that Trump does the best, funniest, and sharpest Trump impression. No one mocks Trump like Trump does.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Comedians can't lampoon Biden because their shows are too reliant on what's been dubbed "clapter". Since you only get "clapter" when the right phrases are uttered; e.g. "Trump is a big doody head!", you're kind of screwed when the other side gets into power and you can't mock them even though they are eminently mockable.

Unknown said...

Trump is a great comedian who tells funny jokes. Biden is a joke.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

"clapter"

lol - perfect.

Jersey Fled said...

Just curious.

Is there anyone here who honestly believes Biden has the mental capacity to be President?

Anyone?

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The corrupt left knew Biden would be the perfect loyal player. He's not really in charge.

He didn't really win, either.

Wince said...

But Biden, so far, has been impregnable.

Such an assertion would be transphobic without the "so far" caveat.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I had a conversation with someone recently who I know is definitely not MAGA, but still thinks Harry and Meghan are full of shit. They were hoping that SNL would take the whole interview debacle on. No joy was found when I opined that SNL didn't have the balls to do what their studio audience would respond to with clapter; show HM The Queen, Charles, William and Kate dressed up in Klan robes abusing poor Meghan and Harry. Any other spin on the situation would like provoke a riot.

madAsHell said...

It's simple. Dementia isn't funny.

Will Cate said...

JK Brown said...
It's risky making fun of those in cognitive decline.


Exactamundo. Can't mimic Biden as he is now, that literally would be cruel.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Any other spin on the situation would like provoke a riot.

Sorry. "...likely provoke a riot." Or perhaps an Armed Insurrection as defined by Nancy Pelosi and AOC.

D.D. Driver said...

LOL. Comedians cannot find an angle to make fun of Biden?! That right there is the seed for a hilarious skit: a bunch of writers in a room trying to pitch each other ideas and not a single one of them can find something funny to say about Biden ("I don't understand. What's so funny about the Cryptkeeper challenging everyone to a push up contest? I don't get it....")

Bonus rant: this is why platforms like TikTok will take over. There are plenty of kids all over America that find funny things about Biden and none of them have to worry about Lorne Michaels. Legacy media cannot keep up.

Sam L. said...

Sooooo, Biden is beige....and enveloped in FOG, FOG, FOG, and even MORE FOG.
North of the 101 said, "Comedians can't lampoon Biden because their shows are" on TV, which are part of the msm/Dem Party cabal.

chickelit said...

He's normal, so pleasantly boring. This is why I don't want "Saturday Night Live" anymore. They're too lazy! Trump was ridiculously easy. I guess they loved not being challenged.

Same problem with the DC and NYC press and reporting. They are too lazy to ask him meaningful questions. The nation could be on the brink of war and the press would remain vastly incurious. This is shameful and lazy behavior on the part of our press and for this alone they deserve every bad thing coming their way financially.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

It's simple. Dementia isn't funny.

No - not really.

but when the left prop up a dementia patient crook with a crooked on the take family - it's hilarious. or should be. but it's not really funny as we sit and watch our once great nation swirl down a corrupt toilet.

Michael K said...

I don't understand why some think there is no way to parody Biden. He does a fine job himself, as in his Pentagon speech where he forgot the Sec Def's name.

Of course, he was announcing two women generals and might have forgotten to sniff them.

Known Unknown said...

"It's simple. Dementia isn't funny."

You're right. It's not funny. It's fucking hilarious.

Nonapod said...

@NorthOfTheOneOhOne I agree that there's plenty of absurdities to lampoon when it comes to the ridiculous Opra interview if SNL only were a bit more ballsy. I kinda liked that time SNL portrayed the Queen and Philip as cockney street toughs. Although, I think they may have been a bit tame when they did the royal wedding reception.

alfromchgo said...

FOG

Adrienne Barbeau

tommyesq said...

Biden is the chair that Clint Eastwood put on stage.

Will Sullivan said...

Huh, if they can't figure out how to lampoon the geriatric they should step aside and let Kyle Dunnigan do it. You can check him out on youtube. He appears on Adam Carolla's podcast and absolutely savages him. You can listen to an example here, just download and fast forward. https://adamcarolla.com/kyle-dunnigan-kevin-stitt-live-from-oklahoma-city/

Humperdink said...

Cruel to mock the cognitive impaired? I surely disagree.

Alinsky's rules:

"Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have."
"Never go outside the expertise of your people."
"Whenever possible go outside the expertise of the enemy."
"Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules."
"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. ...
"A good tactic is one your people enjoy."

Just playing by their rules.

BillieBob Thorton said...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told PRES JOE BIDEN: "This morning, three Brazilian people died from the Covid-19 immunization.” The blood drained from the president's face and, to everyone’s amazement, Biden collapsed on the floor. A minute passed and to everyone’s relief, he got up and slowly sat well back in his chair. His staff was stunned, watching this display of emotion from the Commander in Chief, as he sat there, head in hands. Finally, Joe looked up, and with a shaky quivering voice, asked Dr. Fauci, "How many is a Brazilian”?

TestTube said...

SNL is not the beginning and end of comedy. There are plenty of comedians able to recognize a choice bit of material when they see it.

The subversives, the button pushers, the jerks who just can't keep their mouths shut, and don't really care to try -- they will find a rewarding target in Joe and his hangers-on.

The toadies who secretly just want to be with the in-group -- those are the ones who will starve at the comedy banquet.

mandrewa said...

So much bullshit. Biden is absurdly easy to mock. I'm not a comedian but even I can see that there are a large number of obvious ways to do it.

No, the reason that the great majority of comedians do not mock Biden is that they are either afraid of the people on the left that would salute Hitler on command like trained seals if it were the 1930s or they are these people themselves.

But that reminds me. Surely there are some people willing to mock Joseph Biden?!! The natural place to find them should be YouTube. But where are they?!!

LA_Bob said...

Seems like the last Democratic president to be mocked successfully was JFK. See the Vaughn Meader record, "The First Family". Complete with the Boston accent and "uh's" that punctuated his speech.

But JFK led a powerful, optimistic nation not overly burdened with political polarization. Even Nixon's voters loved Kennedy's public persona. JFK himself had a wonderful sense of humor.

As the Vietnam war went south, LBJ found himself mocked not in fun but with sheer contempt. Same with Nixon, who was always painfully easy to mock.

The Era of "That's Not Funny" arrived early for presidents. I don't know about the country, but DC now is polarized beyond belief. Just imagine the Kavanaugh Konfirmation charade in 1962.

Joe Smith said...

Bring back the drool cup sketch.

Problem solved.

LA_Bob said...

BillieBob Thornton, a great joke we'll only ever see here.

Derek Kite said...

He is Nero's horse. Surely that could be mocked.

What was that show with the talking horse years ago? A horse that can't remember anyone's name?

LA_Bob said...

"You're right. It's not funny. It's fucking hilarious."

If the Kancel Kulture Karens don't get you, the Federal government will. Don't you know Biden is protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act?

Yancey Ward said...

The guy has Alzheimers while being president. This is fertile ground for mockery of both Biden for running for president in this state and his voters for electing him.

Just tell the fucking truth for once in your fucking lives, liberals- you won't parody the guy because you voted for him. I could respect someone who baldly stated this, I can't respect liars telling me obvious lies.

hombre said...

The probable is not that QuidProJoe is impregnable. The problem is separating the parody from reality. Dementia and grifting are not funny.

Nonapod said...

Biden couldn't recall the name, the position, or the agency of his defense secretary. “the (pause) former general (pause) the guy who runs that outfit over there.”

I mean... in terms of finding footholds for parady we're just slowly lobbing it over the base here.

Michael said...

"Biden’s pleasantly boring presidency has been a welcome return to normality"

Sure, if normality is a growing crisis at the border, stifling of US energy production, appointment of various California-style socialists to big jobs, kowtowing to China and Iran, and empowering CRT pushers and cancel culture types at all levels. If this is normality, who needs it? And does "pleasantly boring" include no press conferences or State of the Union address?

narciso said...

Someone who doesnt interfere in the whole sale destruction of the countrys institutions.

Static Ping said...

Biden is incapable of being mocked? I am not sure if to classify this as a bald face lie, a delusion that would bring into question the speaker's sanity, or extraordinary incompetence. In any case, anyone who makes such a statement has lost all credibility. But, then again, this is the Washington Post so lack of credibility was a given.

The actual issue is not that a target cannot be mocked. Anyone can be made fun of for something. Even being completely normal is a target of comedy as being completely normal is not normal. The problem is it has to be funny for your audience as the whole point is to entertain the audience. This is the reason why you have to be very careful when making jokes about things like rape or the Holocaust, and why mocking someone who can put you to death on a whim is a dangerous game. Unfortunately, our current comedians' "audience" is whoever can ruin their careers, whether that be our oligarchs or the Twitter mob; hence, this unmitigated bull**** that perhaps the most mockable person in the entire world has completely confounded them.

JML said...

I thought you can't use the word, "normal" any longer? I get so confused...

Can we call at least call him boring?

Yancey Ward said...

My father had dementia- I would never mock a person for developing dementia- it happens to the very best of us. However, I will mock a person with dementia running for president, winning the presidency, and I will mock the people who allowed it to happen. I will do so relentlessly.

D.D. Driver above is correct- this very "problem" about finding nothing to mock is itself fertile ground for parody.

phantommut said...

It is eminently possible to parody and lampoon Biden; The Onion used to be great at it and that was before the obvious senility. https://theweek.com/articles/468552/6-best-onion-parodies-joe-biden

Big Mike said...

Biden’s “impregnable”? Nothing there to mock? The guy who just yesterday forgot the name of his Secretary of Defense? That guy?

Probably all black people look alike to him.

Gahrie said...

Obvious ways to lampoon Biden:

1) sniffing hair
2) fondling women
3) hiding in a basement
4) senile/mental impairment
5) swimming nude in front of secret service
6) persistent racist statements
7) support of former KKK members
8) support of china
9) support of iran

stevew said...

Gerald Ford was pretty bland and they figured out how to make jokes and fun with him. Gahrie's list is pretty complete, IMO, but I suspect all the right people would scold a comedian for focusing on any of those things. Too mean!

wendybar said...

"It's simple. Dementia isn't funny."

What's even MORE hilarious, is that people still voted for that, and had to be blind, deaf. and dumb not to know how hilarious they are!!! The world is laughing at us.

Mike Sylwester said...

Obvious ways to lampoon Biden:

10) Dr. Jill
11) Uday "Hunter" Biden

wendybar said...

"But that reminds me. Surely there are some people willing to mock Joseph Biden?!! The natural place to find them should be YouTube. But where are they?!!"

You Tube probably banned them already.

Yancey Ward said...

I just want to repost this from Biff above in case others didn't see it or didn't click the link- Dunnigan is fucking hilarious and completely disproves the assertions in the WaPo article:

"Kyle Dunnigan does a reasonable comedic impersonation of Joe Biden. I found an example a recent Adam Carolla podcast, beginning around 13:10 of the video."

MadisonMan said...

Impregnable means no one's trying, because they've been told that it's not funny, and they believed it, or took that as a threat to their livelihood.

Old Man Joe Biden must be cossetted as at costs.

gilbar said...
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gilbar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
gilbar said...

Jersey Fled said...
Is there anyone here who honestly believes Biden has the mental capacity to be President?


Ummm, while we're being honest; let's go for The Bonus Round
Is the anyone here who honestly believes Biden has the mental capacity to be outside alone?
Would you feel comfortable being in a car with him driving?
Would you send him out to the market, alone; to get a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk?
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, if you did?

Bob Smith said...

They can’t because either they don’t want to or more likely were told not to by the guy who signs the checks.

Yancey Ward said...

Joe, no need to use our imaginations. I remember the bit well.

Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller Live

Yancey Ward said...

"Maybe my memory is focked, but Aykroyd did some brutal take downs of Jimmy."

He did, but there was an essential difference- everyone knew Ted Kennedy was going to challenge Carter for the nomination in 1980. Carter simply didn't enjoy the normal protection a Democrat could have expected. The same happened to Shelob in 2008. Even Biden got some mockery during the early portions of the primaries right up until it was decided to gift him the nomination, then the mockery vanished like a fart in the wind.

rhhardin said...

A right-wing comedian wouldn't mock Biden anyway. He'd mock the press on concealing it.

holdfast said...

Obviously there is no potential comedic material in a president with a son who is a stripper-impregnating crackhead.

Nope, that’s perfectly normal.

Tinderbox said...

"Comedians" still exist?

holdfast said...

Biden may be impregnable, but Hunter’s stripper-baby-mama was eminently pregnable.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Yes, of course, dementia isn't funny. But we are also told constantly that Biden doesn't have dementia, that he's just as sharp as anyone alive, and that is funny, all right.

I wasn't watching SNL during the Ford Administration, but they never mocked him for slowness or stupidity? What about Reagan?

Accept the Left's definition of Biden's "gaffes" as just that, and mock him for those. Because they are seriously hilarious, yes? An inexhaustible fount of funny. Then throw in anything else. Biden running nude from the bathroom to grab his dog's tail and slipping on an area rug is wildly funny. Point out that Biden is also "Dr. Biden" because he has a J.D.; that's funny, too. I can imagine quite the skit with everyone in the room being called "Dr.," and trying to sort out who's doctor of what.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

And Hunter. Kids are famously off-limits, but Hunter is, what, 55? Trump's adult children were definitely not off-limits. Maybe the crack problem is legitimately an "illness," and so verboten, but prostitutes and the like aren't, nor are wire transfers from shady Mayors of Moscow and the like, nor are the 10% payments to "the big guy."

Temujin said...

If you're in comedy, and you cannot find anything in Joe Biden's character or past to make fun of, then you should probably stop calling yourself a comedian or comedy writer and go to accounting school. It would better fit your nature.

Biden is a treasure trove of riches when it comes to parody or flat out comedy. If he was a Republican, you can be sure they'd have been all over this.

Especially the part where his keepers only let him out of the basement long enough to forget one person's name a day. Impregnable indeed. Every time there's a Dem President, the Left finds itself suddenly silent and works on creating excuses for their inability to find words. Here's a word for it: Bullshit.

rcocean said...

"Maybe my memory is focked, but Aykroyd did some brutal take downs of Jimmy."

Yes, your memory is "focked". There was some satire of Brother Billy and Lillian Carter. And, IRC, there was a SNL satire on the Reagan-Carter debate which made fun of carter saying Amy asked him about nuclear weapons. That's about it.

As someone stated upthread, Carter lost the support of liberals when Teddy "The Swimmer" Kennedy got into the race. Once it was Carter v. reagan in the fall of 1980, some of the liberals still were willing to take a few shots at Carter.

Rabel said...

Biden's slurring has gotten worse recently.

rehajm said...

This is why I don't watch "Saturday Night Live" anymore. They're too lazy!

Oh bullshit. SNL is not lazy it is politically motivated.

Ken B said...

Yancey Ward nails it. Do a Yes, Minister where the real object of the humor isn’t the amiable dunce but the bureaucrats and grifters around him. You could even do a good bit with Biden napping throughout the skit, whilst his cronies pretend he’s making the decisions.

rehajm said...

Being 'lazy' about ideas for Biden mockery I come up with:

Dementia. Alzheimer's. Kamala secretly running things. He took third grade twice. His 'doctor' wife. Perennial Presidential loser that wins in a mail in election year.

SNL isn't lazier than me...

tcrosse said...

When dealing with a loved one with Dementia the first stage is denial, as I have ample reason to know. Some are lucky to find humor in what is tragedy for others. That Joe Biden is POTUS is fucking tragic for all concerned, not a laff riot.

Joe Smith said...

"Joe, no need to use our imaginations. I remember the bit well."

Very funny...

He tweaked the onstage performance (done before this Miller appearance), and ended it with a Stewart-esque 'Suck it, bitch.' : )

You had to be there...

Here's another one...

mikee said...

You want funny about Biden? He is the President of the United States.
If that isn't the greatest howling joke in the history of the country, tell me a better one.

Balfegor said...

How about observing Biden and finding what is distinct and capable of mockery? I think the problem is really that they don't want to expose his flaws, that they're committed to the idea that he's normal and pleasant.

Yes, but I think this is exacerbated by the problem that the most mockable qualities 2021 Biden has also make him look senile and it would feel uncomfortable mocking a dotard in his dotage. The comedy now would be things like he wants to take questions, but his aides immediately close the line, or he mutters that he has no idea what he's signing but his aides just tell him to shut up and sign it. Or he picks fights with the public -- could any comedy writer invent a more bizarrely old-timey insult than "lying dog-faced pony soldier?" It's not quite the farce of Bush I vomiting in the Prime Minister's lap, but it's more than most Presidents offer.

Still . . Biden is ripe for mockery, but the mockery feels bad because I can't help but look and listen with pity.

daskol said...

Do a Yes, Minister where the real object of the humor isn’t the amiable dunce but the bureaucrats and grifters around him

Yes. And the one who needs the most vicious mockery of all is Dr. Jill. She's a bad woman. Of a piece with the other characters surrounding Biden, whether Kamala or Hunter or Biden's avaricious and ridiculous brothers.

daskol said...

I do think it's hard to mine Biden himself for comedy, because it's fucking sad and a little scary that he's president, and it shines a bad light on the Dems, his enables and the supposed 81M who voted this demented old coot into office. But on a personal level, what's going on with him is pitiful, not funny.

Iman said...

Frank Fontaine could’ve done Dementia Joe justice.

Narayanan said...

with Biden should we be going for laughs when it is time to Weep for the Country

Sebastian said...

"He's normal, so pleasantly boring."

He's a Dem, so no ridiculing. Wouldn't be prudent.

"They're too lazy!"

WTF? They are progs. They can get plenty busy when they want to.

"I guess they loved not being challenged."

WTF? The lack of challenge had nothing to do with it.

"How about observing Biden and finding what is distinct and capable of mockery?"

WTF? How about progs not being progs?

"I think the problem is really that they don't want to expose his flaws"

Oh my goodness, is that right?

"they're committed to the idea that he's normal and pleasant."

They're committed to the idea that the normality propaganda must continue. At least as long as normal is good. Maybe they'll make Joe the first modal president. Certainly he'll remain pleasant--pleasantly clueless, therefore an ideal vehicle for prog politics.

"But they ought to see this as a fantastic opportunity."

They ought see this! Just like the nice women of America see this! Why aren't they better? They ought to be better!

Iman said...

Can't mimic Biden as he is now, that literally would be cruel

That asshole has never hesitated to go for the kill (or the money) over the course of his career. He can get bent.

daskol said...

I understand the sentiment, Iman. He's in the arena. But he's in the arena because the sick people around him put him up to it. He lacks agency. He's not the asshole he used to be.

Big Mike said...

You want funny about Biden? He is the President of the United States.
If that isn't the greatest howling joke in the history of the country, tell me a better one.


@mikee, Biden won the election fair and square. There may have been a few irregularities, but nothing that would have changed the ultimate result. Of course not.

Narayanan said...

Breezy said...
They just need Jim Carrey impersonating him, big smile and aviators, sniffing every nearby female, cash overflowing his pockets, Jill alongside him, speaking for him like a ventriloquist and dummy. That would be funny.
---------------=================
SNL is looking at the wrong zxendersx

could be chance of lifetime for female ventriloquist comedienne + !empowerment!

Balfegor said...

RE: Ken B:

Do a Yes, Minister where the real object of the humor isn’t the amiable dunce but the bureaucrats and grifters around him. You could even do a good bit with Biden napping throughout the skit, whilst his cronies pretend he’s making the decisions.

Yes, Minister is really remarkable in terms of how well it's held up. I think part of it's success is that it allows all its significant characters to be cynical and calculating, but mostly in small, petty ways. There's no saints, but also no devils. Everything is penny ante. Something like Antifa/BLM -- in which the Hackers and Sir Humphreys of the world cynically fan the flames of race hate, leading to flare ups of arson, vandalism, rioting, and murder -- wouldn't fit in the world of Yes Minister, because it's a kind of fundamental betrayal that none of those characters would have contemplated.

Selling arms that end up in the hands of the Italian Red Army? Sure. Abandoning allied countries to foreign occupation? Sure. But promoting vandalism and rioting in their own cities? That would be a bridge too far. There's a comedy to be made there, but it's a lot darker than Yes, Minister -- you're in House of Cards territory there.

BrianE said...

BillyBob Thornton at 10:56 a.m. wins the comments thread.

Bob said...

What if the roles had been reversed? Trump, as president, showing obvious signs of dementia while Joe Biden is clear-headed and lucid? The MSM would have demanded a cognition test of Trump with the results made public; Nancy Pelosi would have demanded the invocation of the 25th Amendment once the results were published, and Pence would have become President.

The MSM was remarkably blasé about not demanding Biden take a cognition test and making the results public.

Balfegor said...

Going a little further, I think there's great comedy to be mined out of the Biden administration (and also out of the Trump administration), but for it to be really effective, I think it has to be fairly evenhanded. I would probably find an explicitly right-wing parody of the Biden administration roughly as tedious and tendentious as I found most left-wing parodies of Trump. The joke can't just be "look at this horrible guy, haha, isn't he so awful?" You still need to have set-up and reversal, and all that, and humorous narratives are most effective when you can have some sympathy for the characters involved.

For example, it's amusing that the Sir Humphreys of the civil service kept giving Trump the runaround on steel and aluminium tariffs, so he did an end-run around them and announced it on twitter; or that they allegedly stole orders off his desk so he couldn't sign them. But I think it's funnier if you have properly set up their motivations -- if you have conflicting goals -- and the motivations can't just be "to be evil." Once you turn all the characters into ogres, where's the tension? At that point, it just becomes a tiresome morality play.

Lurker21 said...

Yeah, making fun of dementia is cruel, but how come they didn't make fun of Obama?

There's some idea of "Democrat fragility" -- the idea that Barry and Joe would just break apart if you parodied them.

Or maybe it's the audience that is fragile and so easily offended and shocked that ridicule of their godlings isn't even attempted.

But just as SNL isn't the whole of comedy, imitation isn't either. You'll hear more and more stand-up comedians taking shots at Biden without going to the trouble of working out a sketch, if they think the audience is willing to listen. TV won't put them on, though.

Joe Smith said...

The comedian only has to talk and throw in a 'Scranton!' every few words.

If they're doing Kasich, just substitute 'Mailman!'

It's gold, Jerry!

Balfegor said...

Re: Lurker21:

how come they didn't make fun of Obama

They literally couldn't understand why other people didn't think he was a lightbringer, a walker on water, the man who could succeed where Canute failed. I don't think liberals have the same worshipful attitude towards Biden -- he can't be their "magic negro" -- so it seems to be a more protective attitude. I'm sure they can see the possibility of comedy. They're just pretending because they don't want to be the first to say the emperor has no clothes.

Skippy Tisdale said...

Biden’s pleasantly boring presidency has been a welcome return to normality

Psst...you can't say normality anymore.

Matt Sablan said...

C'mon man. Let's do a pushup contest. Salute the Marines

Todd said...

Skippy Tisdale said...

Biden’s pleasantly boring presidency has been a welcome return to normality

Psst...you can't say normality anymore.

3/9/21, 3:09 PM


And it is only "pleasantly boring" if you are not paying attention. Under that metric, it is fine if I screw you raw without permission as long as you are passed out at the time.

Our country and rights and economy are getting screwed with no lube but the press is asleep and not covering it so all is good!

RobinGoodfellow said...

"But Biden, so far, has been impregnable. The voice is too bland and devoid of obvious quirks..."
"... and beyond the occasional 'C’mon, man,' his conversational manner too muted and self-effacing, to give the parodists much to work with. Trump supporters and Fox News pundits would undoubtedly attribute this to the media’s liberal bias.


Whatever gets you through the night, sweetheart.

Iman said...

SNL is not the beginning and end of comedy.

It’s surely not the beginning, but if it ain’t the end, it’ll do until the end gets here.

Clyde said...

Riiiiiight. Just can't make Biden* funny, nothing to latch onto. And mentally, he's sharp as a Tic Tac. Nothing humorous about him at all.

If you watch comedian Tom Shillue on the Greg Gutfeld Show on Fox News, he does a spot-on, hilarious Biden*.

Balfegor said...

Re: Todd:

And it is only "pleasantly boring" if you are not paying attention. Under that metric, it is fine if I screw you raw without permission as long as you are passed out at the time.

The media's commitment to downplaying controversy or incompetence on the part of a Democratic administration has actually obscured one key way in which Biden's transition has been a lot smoother than Obama's.

Obama's transition was, objectively, a total mess. He kept naming people for key posts and having them flame out immediately, some before their nominations could even be presented formally. I'm thinking specifically of Bill Richardson (Commerce) and Tom Daschle (Health and Human Services), both nominated to senior ministerial posts. I remember there were a couple others in more minor posts. Anyway, there were a lot of high profile failed nominations. Enough that it was clear his transition team simply hadn't bothered to do any meaningful vetting. But the media had committed to a narrative of coolly competent "No Drama Obama," and stuck with that misleading narrative no matter how much contrary evidence came out.

With Biden, in contrast, okay, Neera Tanden got shot down. For OMB, which is -- at least in my mind -- a second tier office. I don't think he's had a single senior-level nomination fall apart yet. So on that score, his administration is doing a much better job than that of his callow ex-boss.

On the other hand, though, he's been signing executive orders left and right, there's a crisis on the southern border, and his administration is going all in on waging the war against American culture.

Clyde said...

Tom Shillue also does a great version of the bug-eyed Adam Schiff.

Iman said...

Seen both, Clyde, you are correct, sir!

Achilles said...

People didn't want boring.

They wanted stupid.

They wanted to be lied to.

They wanted to be stupid and not feel bad about it.

Anonymous said...

"The original meaning of the word is (from the OED): "Of a fortress or stronghold: That cannot be taken by arms; incapable of being reduced by force; capable of holding out against all attacks."

It is of course, a mythical place. Any fortress in this World can be taken by arms. No fortress can hold out against all attacks.

Tanks are not a big problem. Pretty easily defeated. Tanks used to be protected by infantry, but now they're protected by helicopters. .

Helicopters are the problem. Not easily defeated. The Afghanis figured it out. They had to. Necessity is the mother of invention. 3rd World figured out how to take out helicopters!

We have perfumed Godless Generals sitting in the Situation Room. They've glided to a career they never earned. Uhhh...make soldiers walk around in red high heels, for diversity!

The fight is here now. We have a Capitol City, drenched in deviance and dreams of a Progressive Utopia.

I don't really know about any of that. I was a tanker. I know how to take out a tank.

Anonymous said...

SNL had so much material with Obama. They could have humanized him. They could have given Obama a chance to express humility. SNL couldn't do that. Obama was their god.

walter said...

Have him in one of those child harnesses with Doc Jill wrangling the leash, while he wonders aloud why he can't sit in the Senate and attempts to sniff passers-by.
Have whoever plays him wear black contacts.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Biden's brain has turned to mush.
It's funny cuz it's true.

The Godfather said...

Is anyone here old enough to remember Bob Hope, doing e.g. the Oscars? He mocked all the pols, gently, and nobody was pissed off. But at least starting with Reagan the purpose of humor came to be either (a) support the liberal or (b) undermine the conservative. There are loads, LOADS, of memes that mock Biden as an inarticulate doofus, but you will never see them on any "respectable" blog. I guess that includes Althouse.

walter said...

Will Joementia attend the correspondents dinner?

Gk1 said...

How far do you have to stick your nose up the ass of Biden before you can't smell any shit? This reminds me of liberal comedians complaining "Obama was too perfect" for why they couldn't mock him on late night or stand ups.

Lurker21 said...

If you were a young hipster comic in the Seventies, you were alienated from both parties. You were hostile to Nixon and the Republicans, but the party of Hubert Humphrey and Jimmy Carter wasn't exactly home for you either. The country was divided then, as now, but the large bloc of conservative Democrats complicated things, so SNL and the late night comedians could be more even-handed. And of course, you needed to get a large chunk of the viewing public who only had a few alternatives to choose from, so you couldn't alienate half the country.

Today, the country is more tribal. If you're on a major network show, you know which party you belong to, and the party belongs to you and people like you. If you get 5% of the viewing public, you have a hit, and those viewers all come from your tribe and from the more politicized part of your tribe, so no more comedy at the expense of Democrat presidents. And there aren't many surrogates either: Pelosi, Schumer, AOC would be great targets but they aren't touched by SNL. Bernie is also more than a little ridiculous, but the comedy at his expense is gentle and affectionate. Hillary was an exception. Her mannerisms were too rich in comic material to ignore.

The Crack Emcee said...

There's nothing to work with there - the man is just SENILE, married to an ADULTERER, and only claims civil rights credibility AFTER WRONGLY LOCKING UP MILLIONS OF BLACKS FOR THE LAST 26 YEARS.

There's just no material to work with, there, that anyone can find.

Andrew said...

Epic Rap Battles of History did a good impersonation of Biden, although they were a bit too positive on him, and too negative on Trump. Still a lot of fun.
https://youtu.be/FkGK7bitav0

Sam L. said...

Making fun of Democrats is TABOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3john2 said...

Perhaps SNL could get the actor currently playing Biden in the White House to do some moonlighting for them. It's not as if he's got a lot to do.

Rusty said...

Blogger Known Unknown said...
"It's simple. Dementia isn't funny."

"You're right. It's not funny. It's fucking hilarious."
Absofuckinglutely. It's bad when It's grandma or grampa, but when supposedly 82 plus million equally brain dead voters "voted" for him it becomes especially funny. You'll notice none of the usual suspects is here defending him. That's because there's nothing to defend. Biden is a not very big. Not very shiny participation trophy that every one is too embarrassed to mention.

The Gipper Lives said...

Biden does have one charming tic; pawing little girls onstage while distracting their parents with small talk. Official Washington has even gotten used to it--ask Chao or Sessions.

This endearing quirk would make a great comedic impression hook, except for, you know, the thing: it's a felony in all 50 states.