"Time Well Spent?"

How many of us can take a joke , without becoming defensive in the belief the attempt at humor was a personal attack . When we were children most of us poked fun at one another , yet when we were poked back we became a little hurt and perhaps even a bit vindictive towards the perpetrator of the hurtful jest. There are times when this type of humor is totally out of line , as in the case of someone who has a mental or physical handicap , those who find humor in this need to examine their own mental capacity and seek the help of a professional expert in personality disorders . As a teen growing up and a member of athletic teams in and out of school I can attest to the barrage of barbs and arrows that freely fly around any team locker room . It almost became a badge of honor to be able to toss out as many insults as one received and a good retort was lauded by all within ear shot of those verbal duels . As I've grown into maturity (although some may debate this statement) I enjoy good humor , and believe if you can dish it out you ought to be able to take it . During the Bush administration our former chief executive withstood multitudes of characterizations making light of his intelligence , spiritual life , and his command of the English language . Talk shows , comedians , and late night variety shows all took a shot or two at Mr. Bush , yet I don't ever recall anyone in the White House ever taking much offense over this . It is to his credit that he didn't respond in kind to his critics and showed the true character of this oft maligned public servant . No member of the "main-steam" media ever questioned any of the material spouted in these so-called attempts at humor at the expense of the then sitting president . Last week on N.B.C.'s Saturday Night Live the show had a sketch about Barack Obama , poking a little fun at Mr. Obama's first few months in office . I watched the clip of the sketch and I found it funny , I'll admit I'm not a fan of the president , but I don't see why this was considered a big deal . C.N.N. on their program called the "Situation Room" did a fact check about some aspects of the comedy sketch and were visibley upset that it twisted the story for comedic purposes . I find it ridiculous that a so-called major news agency would go to such lengths to criticize an obviously satirical look at Mr. Obama . It's odd that during the entire eight year term of George W. Bush , neither C.N.N., N.B.C., A.B.C. , M.S.N.B.C. , or any other news agency found it necessary to fact check anything that was said in satirical presentations about the former chief executive . Why is the media so protective of Mr. Obama's image when it cared so little for Mr. Bush's . Could it be that the media is ,as many have said ,in the bag for this administration and will tolerate no form of criticism on any level . If C.N.N. wants to do a fact check they should spend some time looking into some of the facts about some recent presidential appointments . Let's spend more time on real issues of importance and forget who might be making a joke about the president . Don't you people have something better to do with your time !