Humor In Ernest Benn's 'The Mocking Of The President'

“Presidential Laughs”
Humor in Presidential Communications

British publisher and author Ernest Benn stated that "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” (Ratcliffe, 2012) Benn’s assessment humorously characterized the state of mid-twentieth century British politics as inept and incompetent. Politicians are regularly lampooned by comedians, pundits and peers for their blunders and perceived failures. Because of the importance of the position, individuals who occupy the office of President tend to be societies frequent jocular target. Literature included in this review concentrates on varying aspects of humor related to presidential politics. While
He surmises that “when the satirical ‘60s evolved into the egomaniacal 70s, satire was supplanted by that most conservative of comic devices, the insult joke…” Although Presidents are mocked by political rivals and comedians, they often use self-deprecating humor to exude human frailty or project a sense of humility to constituents. As a result, the insult joke is often
Established in 1921, the WHC Dinner provides a jovial environment that allows the press to mingle with the President and White House staff. Presidents did not always embrace the WHC dinner. For many years, the dinner was ignored by the Chief executive but was attended by staff members. With prominent members of Congress and the President missing from the events, the organizers began to use the occasion to playfully lampoon American politicians. The WHCD has become an annual venue for Presidents to unload their frustrations and anger through satirical and enthymematic humorous