The president must have read the first paragraph of my entry for yesterday, because he now says that the U.S. will stand together with Israel to confront the nuclear buildup in Iran. And, since that's another change in his political posture, it got me to see something I should have noticed before. Because I now realize he's taking what I'd call a, Henny Youngman, approach to speechmaking.
The late great Henny Youngman was one of my all-time favorite comedians. His forte was one-liners, as they were called, and he'd stand behind a microphone with a never played violin in his hand and toss out joke after joke. It was said that some of the clubs he played were so small that he'd answer the reservation line himself. And when a caller asked what time his act went on he'd ask: "When can you get here?"
Typical gags included one's like the auto mechanic seeing a psychiatrist for the first time. The psychiatrist said, "Okay, get under the couch." Another was the guy who came home and found his wife's car in kitchen. When he asked how it got there, she said, "I drove through the back of the garage and made a left in the living room." Then there was the man stopped in the street by a guy who asked "Have you seen a cop around here?" When the man assured him he hadn't the guy said 'Okay then, stick em' up!"
Henny had hundreds of gags like those and just kept throwing them out, one after another. Then, over the years he kept the audience favorites in his routine while adding new ones all the time. Some of his staples included the guy who said, "Got a mink coat for my wife. Not a bad trade."
And it was Henny's routine that popped into my mind when thinking about the president's recent few months. Because although he's always yammered, 24/7/365, to any audience he can find, lately the incumbents been throwing out ideas and comments regardless of long-held, so-called rigid beliefs. And all that seems to matter to him now is re-election, whether his base agrees with him or not. So, he'll promise anything to anyone if he thinks it'll get him a vote.
However, there's one major difference between Henny and the incumbent. Henny made people laugh for a living as a stand-up comedian and folks loved him for it. The incumbent on the other hand has turned the most serious, responsible position on the planet into a very bad joke.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
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