McCain appears on SportsCenter

In the past week John McCain appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter. He wasn't on the show to talk about the normal political issues, but to appeal to the sports world. McCain talked about how some sports need a better pension plan to help athletes. He also talked about the steroid problem that is facing Major League Baseball. The week before, Barack Obama also appeared on the show to talk about different sporting issues. I believe by appearing on the show, both candidates have appealed to a group of people who doesn't really follow the the political debates, or maybe some who don't care. I feel that this is a good way to get more people out to vote, and also have people get to know the candidates.

Role of Comedy in the Election Process

As the person before me has mentioned, the Tina Fey impersonation of Sara Palin is absolutely hilarious (if you've ever heard either of them speak before). After watching the clip and wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes, I got to wondering about the role of comedy in the election process. To what extent does making the public laugh (hopefully not at you) help swing their vote in your favor?

For example, both Obama and McCain were guests on the Ellen Degeneres Show in the past year. When McCain came out, he had a simple smile and a wave for the audience. However, Obama came out dancing and lef the crowd laughing and cheering hysterically (possibly at the idea that a presidential candidate was willing to dance by himself on national TV). Which favored the candidates more - McCain's serious "let's get the job done" attitude or Obama's "who gives a crap, I'm gonna dance because I like this song" attitude? Is being able to laugh at a candidate more or as important as understanding their outlook on life and our country?

When the shows were shot, the election process was in the middle of the Primaries (look, a reference to class material), in which it was more important to get to know the candidate, rather than all their positions. In the context of when the shows were taped and aired, I feel as though they favored Obama much more than McCain. A sense of comfort is needed early on for candidate identification. However, now that most Americans know the candidates, and if those programs were aired today, I feel as though Obama would get lesser end of the bargain. Many people would look at him and call him a jokester, and McCain the more serious-natured man (or woman) who is ready to be president of our country.

My question for all of you who spent the time to read this post is, which matters to you more - being able to laugh and identify with your candidate or get the impression of "get the job done"?

Youtube of Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWpvkLCvu4
Youtube of McCain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRw0zyGg1nE