LI can take a joke -- when it's good
Still image of Sen. John McCain from a C-Span2 broadcast where he makes references to Long Island. (Nov. 30, 2011) Credit: C-Span2
John McCain wasn't the first comedian -- amateur or professional -- to make Long Island the butt of the joke.
Didn't a whole generation of stand-ups dine out on Matzo-Pizza and Buttafuoco? Where would the American sitcom be without taking jabs at LI traffic, LI malls and LI uniformity? "Seinfeld," "Mad About You," "Friends" and "Spin City" all got their licks in. Just a week ago, Lily on "How I Met Your Mother" was explaining the "one big reason" she didn't want to move from her city apartment to the house she inherited from her grandmother. "I don't want to spend my Saturdays on Long Island," Lily huffed.
Ha. Ha.
On Wednesday, McCain used a heated Senate debate on detainee policy (detainee policy?) to seek a laugh at Long Island's expense. "Last I checked, Long Island was a part -- albeit sometimes regrettably -- part of the United States of America," the Arizona Republican intoned.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Proving two things: Politicians in Washington are never funny when they try to be funny. And Sen. Chuck Schumer can always make a mildly uncomfortable situation worse.
Instead of ignoring McCain's lame attempt at insult humor or saying something funny-mean about Arizona, the N.Y. Democrat had to demand an apology.
Actually, we aren't remotely thin-skinned around here. We love to laugh uproariously, even at ourselves. We can dish out the insults, and we can take them.
But we do have certain standards of humor quality, standards neither of these flat-footed politicians came even close to.
Laugh at us if you want to you. Just make the jokes funny, OK?
WHAT'S SO FUNNY?
1. McCain at the Improv
2. Last Schumer Standing
3. Take my senator - please!
4. America's Funniest House and Senate Videos
5. Tragedy Central
THE NEWS IN SONG:
Faith No More, "I Started a Joke," http://tinyurl.com/nojoking
ASKED AND UNANSWERED: The typical high-level exec of an LI public company got a 4.2-percent raise last year? How does that compare to yours? . . . What do you mean doctors don't make house calls anymore? Federal agents say Dr. Leonard Stambler of Baldwin Harbor drove to patients' homes and dispensed painkiller prescriptions from his car! . . . Who DIDN'T know about the SAT cheating scandals? If you believe all the post-arrest boasting, half of Great Neck knew for years . . . "Perry Como"? Is that Anthony Frascone's real nickname? Or did some mischievous fed invent the uncool moniker to embarrass the alleged Bonnano racketeer in last week's human-trafficking strip-club bust? "Perry's" co-defendant (and East Meadow neighbor) Thomas Devitt III got off light with "Tommy D."
Email ellis@henican.com
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