"A Laughing Matter?"

I don’t know how many of my readers will remember a man named Will Rogers; he was one of America’s greatest humorists and social commentators. He was nominated for President at both the Republican and Democrat conventions; wisely, he declined the nominations. America has had its share of unusual presidential candidates: perhaps you remember the name Lyndon LaRouche, a socialist who, I believe, ended up going to prison later in life. Old Lyndon spent some money campaigning back in the day and became somewhat of a political oddity. We had Ross Perot who spent a fortune of his own money trying to attain the Oval Office, but he was treated as a caricature rather than a serious candidate by the American media. William Jennings Bryan had several attempts at the White House but never made the grade, and George McGovern lost his bid for the White House, carrying only his home state of Minnesota; he was soundly thrashed by Richard Nixon. There are some folks who should never attempt a political run for office. I’m sure quite a few of you remember a fellow named Pat Paulson; he “Ran for President” on the old “Smothers Brothers Show”; it was a great gimmick and gave the show a ratings boost. Pat ran for office in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992 and 1996; a perennial candidate. Pat was probably one of America’s most tenacious campaigners. Pat said, “If elected, I will win!”: at last, a campaign promise we could actually believe!

The good thing about Pat Paulson and Will Rogers is that they knew they didn’t really belong in the political arena. They understood that they only had a layman’s grip on what it would take to be President of the United States; they knew they were really only funny men, with a little insight.

Recently, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central has made some noise about running for President; and he sounds like he is serious! We already have one joke in the Senate with Al Franken sitting there. Colbert says he is in the exploratory stages of his campaign, but has already openly criticized Mitt Romney, the current GOP leader. What bothers me the most about this entrance into the race is that I believe there is a segment of America that would actually consider Colbert as a legitimate alternative. If Colbert has real concern for America, he is not serving America’s best interest by this spurious campaign. America isn’t Comedy Central, although some of Obama’s policies do border on comedic. The average American voter seems to be uninformed on most issues outside of 30 second sound bites or facetious remarks by a comedian. If Mr. Colbert wants to make a real impact for America, he should encourage all those who plan on voting to do deep research on every potential candidate, including the incumbents. Since Barack Obama assumed office, America has been “laughed at” by most of the world, and he wasn’t even trying. We already have one “national joke” sitting in Washington now. Let’s try to remember just how serious 2012 “will be”; it’s no “laughing matter”!