Senator McCain, Ape Rape Isn't Funny, Stop Encouraging Him

President Bush who has a just-a-regular-guy penchant for both five-week paid vacations and participating in unrelated tomfoolery during times of crisis.

This week, for instance, as the stock market spazzed and the price of everything climbed higher; as disaster struck American soldiers in Afghanistan; and as more Americans lost their homes to foreclosures due to the effects of Reaganomics... President Bush played t-ball.

In the past, it's been guitar-strumming and cake-eating during hurricanes. It's been golfing while Bin Laden planned to attack inside the U.S. It's been pontoon-boating trips, Barney-Cam videos and hilarious slide-shows during some of the bloodiest days of the Iraq occupation.

And during Tuesday's press conference, as the DJIA sank below 10,000 for the first time in years, here are some of the president's facial expressions while mumbling his way through questions about bank bailouts, lost savings and $5/gallon gasoline:

And now it's clear that the president's would-be Republican successor, Senator McJackie the McJokeman, will prove to be even less serious and dignified in the role of Smirker-in-Chief. If that were even possible.

Last week, in response to a serious question about Iran, the Republican presumptive nominee joked about killing Iranians with weaponized cancer. This week, it's news about a joke involving gorillas and rape.

"Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, 'Where is that marvelous ape?'"
Get it? Women like to be beaten and raped. Hoo-hoo! In days past, it's been jokes about wife-beating, bombing Iran, Chelsea Clinton's looks, and Alheimer's Disease. Based on these precedents, I can only imagine Senator McCain's forthcoming zingers about still-births, burn victims and Thalidomide.

But not unlike the president's overly jocular behavior during serious questions or serious crisis, for Senator McCain it's all about context and tone. How should a president behave in public? No-one expects the presidency to be monastical of course. In fact, many of our greatest presidents were able to use comedy to their advantage, and more than a few of them knew how to make with the profanity. But, like anything, there's a time and place for such behavior. There's a context.

--The president isn't you and me. You and I can tell whatever joke we want whenever we want because we don't have to represent 300 million people on the world stage. Your personal behavior doesn't necessarily get passed on to posterity as a reflection of an entire era in American history. So if you want to tell that gorilla rape joke to your spouse or parents, have at it. If Senator McCain wants to tell a joke like that, he embarrasses more than just himself.

--The president ought to have good judgment. No shocker there. Judgment in this regard is the difference between, say, an invasion of Cuba leading to thermonuclear war or, on the other hand, a smarter, more sensible quarantine option. (Historians will forever hypothesize how Nixon, for instance, would have handled those 13 days.) Is certain behavior appropriate or obnoxious? If a candidate is unable to control himself and blurts out a joke about bestial rape or killing civilians despite the fact that there are reporters everywhere and he happens to be running for president, it goes a long way towards determining whether he's someone who we can trust to make snap decisions with global implications or whether he's simply a tweaking street loon who talks to invisible shadow people.

--The president should know the difference between funny and not funny, or else -- stay away from the comedy. A sense of humor doesn't literally mean "the ability to recite a joke." Anyone can repeat a joke. But politicians like Senator McCain have managed to accumulate a captive audience of reporters who have to laugh at his jokes or else be tossed out of the barbeque loop. Consequently, he can tell one of his awful jokes and everyone in the corp snarfs up their cole slaw. This reaction has thusly given the senator the false impression that he's funny, when he's really not. The gorilla rape joke, for example, is only funny in the context of, say, a larger bit about unfunny jokes -- or bad comics who try way too hard to be funny.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/senator-mccain-isnt-funny_b_113434.html

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[hermie606]

well that's a terrible joke! how could such a dipshit be considered for a leadership role?

[Hereticbooks]

Biden sponsored the "Violence Against Women Act."

[TheBossItachi]

What a fucking stupid thing 2 bring up these ppl need 2 go out n get laid insted of bitching bout an old man making dirty jokes,,, 

[izziekhan]

hahaha so fukin funny

[KrinKalaster]

Fucking awesome joke. Should've voted for him.

[LigicudXotisumi]

I saw this chick in a hardcore clip on - tiny[.]cc/doherhole

[sventsjessica]

Off-color humor doesn't make him a terrible person. They're blowing this totally out of proportion.

The rape joke was more stupid than it was offensive.

[canti1988]

oh come on, do people really care about a joke from 40 years ago?

[ncfwhitetigress]

Fucked up joke, but if it's been so long and he doesn't even remember it, why are they bringing it up now?

[booval12]

Oberman is a hack for hire. Totally dishonorable and unfair on every story he supposedly "reports" on. Not worth watching.

[doctorrin]

well damn

[tyler0896]

Short-sighted and lame is giving him too much credit.

He isn't short-sighted - he doesn't actually believe in anything he says. He's not lame either, because he gets good ratings. It's the assholes who listen to him who are lame. And actually they're not techincally lame either. They're a modern dysfunction of american culture, and not a good one.