Wanda Sykes
Not many people are given the chance to ridicule the President to his face on live television. If you are ever in that position, don't blow it like Wanda Sykes did tonight. The comedian known for blasting off her mouth was hosting the White House Correspondent's Dinner and didn't bring the heat. Not even the warmth.
I'm not asking for a total decimation like Colbert gave Bush and the media in 2006, but give me something. The toughest joke Sykes directed at Obama had to do with his basketball skills. Lloyd Dangle's right--people turn into goo around this guy.
Sykes, who married her female partner in California in 2008 and came out of the closet at an anti-Prop 8 rally, didn't even give the President a light ribbing for thinking she doesn't deserve equality under the law. Just this week Obama's military ruined the career of a gay American under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy he allegedly opposes. Gay Rights is a regular part of her stand up routine so she mentioned it, right? No, but Sykes said that Bush messed stuff up. Remember that bozo? Always good for a laugh.
The only joke that was risque and caused the stuffed shirts to groan involved Rush being a terrorist. Going after Limbaugh while standing at a podium next to Obama in a room full of reporters and Hollywood celebrities. Real ballsy.
The Advocate declared Sykes the "poster girl for black and gay America." Oh well. Maybe she'll get around to talking about it next time she's given 15 uninterrupted minutes of airtime with the President.
I'm not asking for a total decimation like Colbert gave Bush and the media in 2006, but give me something. The toughest joke Sykes directed at Obama had to do with his basketball skills. Lloyd Dangle's right--people turn into goo around this guy.
Sykes, who married her female partner in California in 2008 and came out of the closet at an anti-Prop 8 rally, didn't even give the President a light ribbing for thinking she doesn't deserve equality under the law. Just this week Obama's military ruined the career of a gay American under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy he allegedly opposes. Gay Rights is a regular part of her stand up routine so she mentioned it, right? No, but Sykes said that Bush messed stuff up. Remember that bozo? Always good for a laugh.
The only joke that was risque and caused the stuffed shirts to groan involved Rush being a terrorist. Going after Limbaugh while standing at a podium next to Obama in a room full of reporters and Hollywood celebrities. Real ballsy.
The Advocate declared Sykes the "poster girl for black and gay America." Oh well. Maybe she'll get around to talking about it next time she's given 15 uninterrupted minutes of airtime with the President.
posted by Matt Bors at
3:24 AM
6 Comments:
You have a good point, I guess. But when you're speaking live on national television, I don't think the presence of a sympathetic crowd in the room is really that much of an issue.
I do think that the presence of an outspoken lesbian speaker is an issue. Plenty of people will by infuriated by it, and they will be all the right people. As disappointed as we are, that's how furious they are.
Yeah, but those people aren't in a position to change policy. Obama is.
I'd be happy if Obama would push a little harder, but I'll also be happy if some caution on his part helps him to remain non-assassinated. I realize that makes me cowardly.
Very disappointing. Maybe these people just aren't aware of what's going on. Maybe Skyes never saw the recent news report about the military discharge. It would show Skyes is slipping as far as keeping up with political events. The alternative is willful ignorance, which is unsettling.
I guess people are so enamored with Obama's cult of personality that they aren't willing to criticize him; combined with the fact they probably don't want to seem racist and that he's a massive step up from Bush (algae is a step up from Bush).
I've never really had a good understanding of these correspondence dinners anyway. It seems kinda odd to have the press hobnobbing with the people they should be critically evaluating. It's an odd show.
Sykes is either an apologist hypocrite, or she was afraid to call Obama out on his bad choices. After all, you know how the rhetoric has changed: Under Bush, the line was "if you criticize the president, you're unpatriotic." Under Obama, the line is "if you criticize the president, you're unpatriotic and racist.
She did do some joking about the VP, but nothing compared to last year. Making fun of conservatives/republicans is getting boring. There are plenty of corrupt liberals to poke fun of. I'm beginning to believe a little bit of this stuff about the "liberal bias" and soft hitting news of the mainstream media (although, isn't most media - CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc mainstream?)
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