Winning With Satire: An Open Letter To Presidential Candidates

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/6342

Winning With Satire: An Open Letter To Presidential Candidates
by Steve Young | Mar 26 2007


Dear Presidential Candidate Who I Want To Win,

I heard you wanted to be President. That is so cool. You certainly are capable of doing a really good job.

Did you know that Al Gore and John Kerry also wanted to be President? They were both pretty qualified too.

George Bush won.

Presidential elections haven't been going so well for your side lately.
Ever wonder why? Ever wonder how to turn it around?

I was hoping you might consider the following.

The public isn't dumb, but they will lean towards the side that makes understanding an issue the easiest, even if most times that is somewhat misleading. Talk show radio does it brilliantly using anger (their audience's and their own) to spin every issue into a diatribe against you. One of the reasons liberal radio hasn't worked as well as the one-note "we are right and they are wrong...hate-America wrong" is that the Left believes things are a little more complex. But just being smarter doesn't necessarily make for better radio. Except for Harry Shearer and Stephanie Miller. NPR is so, well, so-so.

But simple doesn't have to be witless. I give you The Daily Show, out of little bitty Comedy Central. Stewart and his crew have gotten everyone's attention. Why? Satire. Smart humor that points to the absurd and gives the audience a little credit for having to think.

I suggest that you be well-equipped with a well-sharpened sense of humor and fast comeback. If not, you better be handled by someone who can make you appear to have both. Kind of like a funny Karl Rove but, without the disdain for truth.

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NOTE: Award-winning TV writer, Steve Young, is the former political editor of National Lampoon and is sitting in his underwear at his mom's house waiting for you to contact him to get this thing started: Steve@greatfailure.com