Brian M – don’t forget that Obama mispronounced “corpsman.” Proof he hates America!

@Aria Prescott. Good point. Once upon a time, some Repugs could enjoy a joke on themselves. Chevy Chase/Gerald Ford and Dana Carvey/George HW Bush for example.

On Fux Noise, “humor” is now strictly confined to personal attacks on Democrats from the likes of unfunny D-List Dennis Miller and Brad Stine.

Exactly- Republicans were good sports about being the butt of the joke until Reagan’s 2nd term, as far as I can tell researching. By the time Fox News came around, they were already sporting the mean-spirited double standard we’re seeing now. Just not as blatant until around 2004.

doors, part of the Chevy Chase gag was that, for starters, Ford was a genuinely good sport about it. Ford usually played off his real-life tumbles since he was never seriously injured (or really in much danger of serious injury). Since he was known to be a pretty athletic individual (he’d even played college football), Ford actually seemed to get the humor involved—especially since Chase’s skits were so overexaggerated.

OTOH, Chase has admitted that his tumbles and spills took a very serious toll on his health.

I remember the first year of Saturday Night Live in 1975, and Chevy Chase imitating President Ford falling.

In 1996 Bob Dole fell from a stage at a rally in California http://youtu.be/3T4Vxzo3nQo

Visitor, some spills are funny- Feel as bad as you want for laughing later, it’s funny when you see it. A lot of Bush’s spills weren’t exactly funny, but some of them (like the Segway) were uproarious. Doesn’t matter who you are, videos like that fill up humour sites for a reason.

But if you watch a video of someone falling over and comment that you’re disappointed they didn’t die from it… you’re a sick, sick person. I have a few famous people that it offends the crap out of me how much they get away with, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them get a little comeuppance.

But I’ve never wished death or catastrophic injury on those people with a straight face. Seriously, you hear people say they’d like to see something they don’t like “just die already” (or whatever variation) all the time, but how twisted do they have to be to mean that literally?!

MJ, you forgot the Segway:

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushsegway.htm

Or when he was drunk at the 2008 Olympics:

http://gawker.com/5035885/bush-looking-drunk-at-the-olympics

If the president falling down is now joke of the year, congratulations to George W. Bush for having at least the next 350 years booked.

And, just think — these were the same people who had a shitfit when Dumbya was mocked for his inability to open a door:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHjIb6trxBI . . . or to dribble a basketball:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/468292/bush_basketball/

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