Absolute Perfection
From talkingpointsmemo.com:
Department of Homeland Security.36 billion dollars ...
Current Projected Cost of War-fighting and Reconstruction in Iraq.
241 billion dollars ...
Having a president who's got a friggin' clue.
Priceless ...
Isn't that perfect?
If you've seen the movie "A New Leaf" starring Walter Matthau and Elaine May, you'll know the tone of weary resignation and naturalist awe with which I speak the word "perfect." In the movie, Walter Matthau, a daffy heir who has squandered his inheritance, goes to his bank as usual to get some money and is refused. He goes to the manager and in implacable tones demands the money. The manager explains that there is no longer any money in the account, and that therefore he cannot give Matthau any.
In implacable tones, Matthau again demands money.
It goes on like this for awhile, the bank manager explaining, Matthau ignoring him, until the manager sits back, a sad recognition in his eyes.
"You're perfect," he says, finally.
And Marshall's entry perfectly demonstrates the philosophy that as long as a satiric piece contains a barb pointed at George W. Bush, it need not be funny in any way in order to send your audience into gales of appreciative, eye-wiping laughter.
Laugh it up, Josh. Things are only going to get funnier and funnier from here on out.
Comments
I think it's "perfect" in the sense that there's a certain perfection in the way clueless individuals talk about cluelessness.
It's kind of like the old saw about the problem with stupid people being that they're too stupid to realize they're stupid.
Posted by: Guy Smilee | September 12, 2003 11:04 AM
Comments
Well, yeah, to an extent. Marshall doesn't seem that clueless, though. I mean, he at least attempts to apply a veneer of rationality in most of his analysis. This kind of thing tends to render the rest of his stuff suspect, though, in my eyes.
Posted by: Brian Jones | September 12, 2003 11:09 AM
Comments
Admittedly, I'm not terribly familiar with Marshall. Though I must admit, even in my Liberal days, I didn't find that kind of stuff funny.
Posted by: Guy Smilee | September 12, 2003 02:30 PM
Comments
Exactly, and the true test now, I suppose, would be how funny do we find conservative humorists who go for that kind of obvious, fatuous stuff.
But do fatuous conservative humorists have Marshall's high profile? I doubt it.
Posted by: Bovious | September 13, 2003 05:39 PM
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Well, I have mentioned that I do find Ann Coulter to be a guilty pleasure, and I like Dennis Miller, but I generally don't go for the Clinton-is-a-pothead kind of humor.
Posted by: Guy Smilee | September 13, 2003 09:27 PM
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Coulter is probably the closest I can see to a high-profile conservative alleged humorist of this stripe. Her profile is far higher than Mashall's, that's for sure. She deals in a brand of outrage and posturing that fulfills every conservative stereotype and more. The most telling Coulter moment for me was when she phoned in an appearance on Atlanta's 96 Rock's "The Regular Guys" morning show. Larry & Eric gushed for days prior to the appearance how great she was going to be, and fawned all over her on the air, but truth be told she wasn't even a little bit funny, while Larry & Eric were actually quite funny. And they're the lowbrows in this equation!
Miller, on the other hand, is everything Marshall, or Maher, or Moore isn't, or aren't. He actually tries to do sell the material rather than assume that his audience has bought in lock, stock & barrel. Now if Marshall ever gets wind of this he'll probably be quick to point out that he isn't a humorist, he just posted a joke. But the fact is, he posted a joke that should have pinged any reasonably intelligeng joke-teller's obvious-o-meter.
Posted by: Brian Jones | September 15, 2003 08:43 AM