especially Jay Leno's on July 19, 2006 on Bush and stem cells, see way
below:
Tue Jun 5 09:47:35 2007 Pacific Time
Bush Is Biggest Joke for TV Comics; Study: In 2006 President Was
Target of Most Jokes Ever
WASHINGTON, June 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Comedians on TV talk shows
cracked 1,213 jokes about President Bush last year, his largest annual joke
total since he took office, according to a study by the Center for Media and
Public Affairs (CMPA). In the latest report from its ongoing study of
political humor, CMPA also found that Mr. Bush attracted nearly three times
as many as any other public figure, as he topped the list of joke targets
for the fifth consecutive year. The study covers all jokes in the opening
monologues of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart.
MAJOR FINDINGS:
- President Bush attracted over 100 jokes per month on late-night TV
monologues, or 1,213 in all. This included 456 from Jay Leno, 410 from David
Letterman, 200 from Jon Stewart, and 147 from Conan O'Brien
- Mr. Bush's 2006 joke total more than doubled that of every previous
year except for 2000 (910 jokes) and 2004 (1,170 jokes), when he was running
for the presidency. Since 1999 Mr Bush has been the butt of 5,280 jokes, an
average of over 50 per month for the past eight years.
- During the first six years of his presidency (2001-2006) George W.
Bush has totaled 4,158 jokes, but he trails his predecessor Bill Clinton's
4,234 jokes during the comparable time period (1993-1998).
- By far the most frequent source of presidential humor was Mr.
Bush's alleged lack of intellect and knowledge (414 jokes). This was
followed by jokes about his personal conduct (128 jokes), the war in Iraq
(100) and his falling popularity and poll ratings (82). No other topic
approached these four as joke targets.
- The top ten joke targets of 2006 included five Republican and three
Democratic politicians. The top ten were: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney (430),
Bill Clinton (195), Mark Foley (112), Hillary Clinton (108), Donald Rumsfeld
(100), Mel Gibson (93), Arnold Schwarzenegger (85), Al Gore (83), and Osama
bin Laden (76).
Examples:
"President George Bush now wants to end our dependency on foreign
oil. Nice to see him nipping that in the bud." David Letterman, February 22
"Today, President Bush announced his new fitness plan to get people
walking again. It's called gasoline at $3 a gallon." Jay Leno, April 12
"Earlier today President Bush vetoed funding for stem cell research.
He said stem cells may be dangerous, especially if people talk on them while
driving." Jay Leno, July 19
"It was so hot down in Washington D.C. that Dick Cheney shot a
hunting buddy with a super soaker." David Letterman, July 18
"Hillary Clinton said that in her spare time what she likes to do is
download iTunes. And of course, in his spare time Bill likes to download
interns." David Letterman, May 22
"This weekend you could have seen Pakistan's President Musharraf on
'Meet the Press,' Senator Joe Biden on 'Face the Nation,' and Congressman
Mark Foley on 'Dateline: To Catch a Predator.'" Jay Leno, October 2
----------------
These results are based on CMPA's ongoing scientific content analysis
of election coverage on the late night comedy shows. For information on our
methodology, see http://www.cmpa.com
CONTACT: S. Robert Lichter, 202-223-2942, [log in to unmask]
Media Contact: See above.
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