Oh yeah - she went there

[Sauron]

[Plant Woman]

It made me laugh, uncomfortably, but I did. Now I need to go see my shrink.

[D. Scarlatti]

Poor Limbaugh; such a quiet, unassuming type. He wasn't asking for that at all.

[MonCapitan2002]

That was a good burn.

[Qingdai]

The whole thing is pretty good. I like Wanda.

"you should give the Queen a memento of America, give her Texas"

"Dick Cheny is trying to defend torture. Saying the memos showed all the good information they got. You can't defend torture, that's like me robbing a bank and going before the judge saying, 'but look at all these bills I paid.""

[Ari]

"“I think there are a lot of topics that are better left for serious reflection rather than comedy. I think there's no doubt 9/11 is part of that,” Gibbs continued.

At the correspondents’ dinner, which Obama attended Saturday, Sykes blasted Limbaugh for saying he hoped Obama’s administration would fail, joking: “I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was just so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight.” "

Gibbs on Sykes: 9/11 is not 'comedy'

Pander pander pander to the 9/11 conservatives.
Maybe they are just scared of the truth, that Rush (and many many others) are hypocritical dumbasses that use hate and fear to get people to walk in step.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

^ Wanda herself said "you know you're gonna be telling that one tomorrow."

[Watser?]

Some people were disappointed with Sikes:

Not many people are given the chance to ridicule the President to his face on live television. If you are ever in that position, don't blow it like Wanda Sykes did tonight. The comedian known for blasting off her mouth was hosting the White House Correspondent's Dinner and didn't bring the heat. Not even the warmth.

I'm not asking for a total decimation like Colbert gave Bush and the media in 2006, but give me something. The toughest joke Sykes directed at Obama had to do with his basketball skills. Lloyd Dangle's right--people turn into goo around this guy.

Sykes, who married her female partner in California in 2008 and came out of the closet at an anti-Prop 8 rally, didn't even give the President a light ribbing for thinking she doesn't deserve equality under the law. Just this week Obama's military ruined the career of a gay American under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy he allegedly opposes. Gay Rights is a regular part of her stand up routine so she mentioned it, right? No, but Sykes said that Bush messed stuff up. Remember that bozo? Always good for a laugh.

The only joke that was risque and caused the stuffed shirts to groan involved Rush being a terrorist. Going after Limbaugh while standing at a podium next to Obama in a room full of reporters and Hollywood celebrities. Real ballsy.

The Advocate declared Sykes the "poster girl for black and gay America." Oh well. Maybe she'll get around to talking about it next time she's given 15 uninterrupted minutes of airtime with the President.

Bors Blog: Wanda Sykes

[MonCapitan2002]

There is a part of me that agrees with that assessment. I think she could have done more to make Obama uncomfortable. That she didn't is a shame.

[Dingfod]

He's not nearly as much fun to make fun of as Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh. Comedians everywhere miss the hell out of Dubya, he was an easy target. Obama, not so much.

[erimir]

I'm not sure this is a really fair criticism. I mean, it would make sense to say that you wanted Sykes to criticize Obama more. It would at least be better if he noted the fact that Colbert was far and away an exception to how those routines normally go. From what I've seen of them in the Bush years, Sykes wasn't much more deferential to Obama than most previous comedians have been to Bush. Other than perhaps the acceptable targets of Cheney shooting that guy in the face, Bush's trouble with words, etc. At this point nothing with Obama's administration has been that ridiculous (but simultaneously politically unimportant), so that's more of a lack of acceptable material on that level.

While I disagree with Obama's stance on gay rights, I think it's a bit early to be giving him a biting public humiliation. If in a year or two little progress has been made on gay rights, or even worse, Obama has been an active impediment to them, then it would be warranted. To be honest, I think he actually does agree with gay rights in general (including gay marriage), but takes his public stance for political expediency. He's practically said as much in the past (before he was running for president) - which is sucky, but it means that policy will change when it is acceptable and that he will not likely impede gay rights that do pass Congress, or court rulings, etc.

And yes, Colbert's verbal evisceration of Bush to his face was glorious. But it was also far more deserved.

[MonCapitan2002]

Oh, I certainly agree that the slash and burn job Colbert did to Bush was thoroughly deserved. I do wish Sykes was a bit more biting, though. No president, regardless of party affiliation or political views, should ever get too comfortable.

[Sauron]

Originally Posted by Ari

Gibbs on Sykes: 9/11 is not 'comedy'

Ah. I see. So 9/11 is not comedy.

But Bush joking about not being able to find WMDs -- after naming WMDs as the justification for taking the country to war on false pretenses and killing hundreds of thousands of people --- now THAT's comedy!

But Limbaugh saying he wants the country to fail, and the administraiton to fail -- in the middle of the worst economic times since the Great Depression, with international flashpoints in Iran and North Korea, not two mention two Mideast wars -- now THAT's comedy!

[Clutch Munny]

I went back and watched Colbert's routine again a few days ago, and couldn't laugh.

It brought all the memories back of how horrible that time was; and the deadly uncomfortable silences from the crowd were chilling. The press corps was so afraid, so very frightened by the administration. They hadn't yet sensed that enough people were willing to be critical that they could jump on the bandwagon with impunity.

Three years later, slagging Bush in the mainstream media is like clearing your throat. At the time it was such an act of extraordinary bravery that only a comedian could do it. Seeing it in retrospect, I just felt empty and sad.

[BracesForImpact]

After all the hate filled, foaming at the mouth, spittle launching pontificating we have had to listen to from Limbaugh, Savage, Coulter, Hannity, Beck, etc. the Repubs are gonna get up in arms about this? Where's that thick Repub skin we keep hearing about? I distinctly remember hearing one and all right wing pundits talking about Democratic whining not all that long ago. Lately that's all we see from the Repubs, whining and false-amplified outrage.

C'mon, where's that rugged individualism we kept hearing about from your side?

I think the bottom line is Repubs and people with "traditionalist values" are about as funny as a fart in a spacesuit, and they know it.

[ManM]

Originally Posted by BracesForImpact

After all the hate filled, foaming at the mouth, spittle launching pontificating we have had to listen to from Limbaugh, Savage, Coulter, Hannity, Beck, etc. the Repubs are gonna get up in arms about this? Where's that thick Repub skin we keep hearing about? I distinctly remember hearing one and all right wing pundits talking about Democratic whining not all that long ago. Lately that's all we see from the Repubs, whining and false-amplified outrage.

C'mon, where's that rugged individualism we kept hearing about from your side?

I think the bottom line is Repubs and people with "traditionalist values" are about as funny as a fart in a spacesuit, and they know it.

I seem to be spending a lot of time lately pointing out to people that, even though the Democrats are in power, the world has actually not ended. Of course, they inform me that the impending doom is going to be visited upon us in a decade or so. Meh. Then again, I do drive by this crap on the way to Walmart.

[livius drusus]

ManM! How've you been?

[ManM]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

ManM! How've you been?

Very, very, busy. I mean, with our new Democratic overlords, someone has to put in the legwork to figure out how the big shots can keep their thumb on the masses.

Oh, and

[Texas Lynn]

She was much too reserved.

[Rocky]

Originally Posted by BracesForImpact

After all the hate filled, foaming at the mouth, spittle launching pontificating we have had to listen to from Limbaugh, Savage, Coulter, Hannity, Beck, etc. the Repubs are gonna get up in arms about this? Where's that thick Repub skin we keep hearing about?

Funny how the libs complain about all these people and then cheer on some retard like Wanda.

[Sock Puppet]

Speaking of retards ... Welcome back, Rocky!

[erimir]

Wanda Sykes is a comedian and does not portray herself as a provider of serious political commentary.

When Rush Limbaugh, Coulter, Savage, Beck and/or Hannity come out and say that they are merely comedians putting on a show, and not serious political commentators, then you might have a point. If it was called the Sean Hannity Comedy Hour, or the Fabulous Glenn Beck Variety Show, you might have a point.

[Ari]

Rocky makes a good point, Rush is best viewed as comedy.

Did I miss something, was this a presidential roast? If not, why are people complaining that she didn't roast the president after he has been in office for less than a year. Maybe roast him after he has spent 8 years setting back liberty, freedom and the economy let alone starting multiple wars based on lies that have killed many times more people than any terrorist in the world. Then roast away.

[Jug Pilot]

I give her an A+ The best comedy is based on the truth.

Based on the hate spewing from Rush against America and it's people (making Osama Bin Laden go dang even I won't say that!) he just may have been the 20th Hijacker. Except it wasn't because of the oxycotton. It's because he was so fat the airline was going to charge him for 2 seats and he was arguing with them when the plane left the gate. ba dum da

Thank you! Thank you! I'm in town all week and you can catch me at the Sands on the 16th.

I think we need a humor forum, I can see a whole line of “Why did Rush, the 20th hijacker, miss the plane…….” Jokes coming out.

[Rocky]

If Wanda Dykes wanted to make a more appropriate 9/11 joke you'd think she would've mentioned Obama Bin Laden instead of invoking Rush.