European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse F 2 400 jokes from 1989, one finds joke a ruler joke about the vice president although the its Quayle jokes for the year placed him third Ine Public affairs topics a behind the Envi-3 ment 174 and president Bush 143. Beyond transcribing and tallying the Center has the Good sense not to Analyse the jokes Quot Quot think in be actually seen some theses written about political humor and they were very said Dan Amundson research director of the Center. A if you tried to break Down a Quayle joke and say Why it was funny it would Joe first of All very difficult and second probably very after poring Over thousands of jokes though one can to help but notice some trends. Take your average Quayle joke for example like this one from a Jay Leno monologue last year a Quot on the news i saw president Bush. Did you see him they showed him raking leaves in front of the White House and having kind of a rough time of it. You know every time he got a Nice big pile going Dan Quayle would run Over and jump into that joke fits the general theme of Quayle As an immature Bozo. Other jokes compared him to a Finger painting kid a boy playing with Lincoln logs or silly Putty and As someone who likes the stealth bomber Only because it looks like Batman a plane. Quot one trend that we be noticed that really seems to hold up is that the Quayle jokes tend to be a Little nastier than the Bush jokes a Amundson said. Quot it a a a like this one from David Letterman a you know after his predecessor was assassinated last week the new president of Lebanon has taken Well extraordinary Steps to ensure his safety. In fact today he made Dan Quayle vice president. You wont see any car bombs Over there for a yet Quayle jokes Are not the Nastiest Amundson said a probably Jim and Tammy Bakker have fared the As in this joke from Leno a the judge says that if Bakker is convicted he will be allowed conjugal visits with his wife Tammy. Come on ladies and gentleman Hasni to this Man suffered enough a Bush jokes on the other hand Are More frequent but usually not particularly funny said Lichter who sees this As a a testimony to his image control. He presents himself As so Low key and non controversial and pleasant that it would seem Nasty to make jokes about him. That a the ultimate . but not ail the Bush jokes were in funny. Probably at least a few people laughed in december when Letterman presented his list of the a top 10 signs that Bush is still Tough on the chinese a which among others included a blocked their satellite feed of Leonard Duran fight a and a has threatened to open branches of american savings and Loans in though comedians tend to follow the headlines especially Leno whom Amundson called a the most topical of All of the there a some news that simply does no to make for Good jokes such As the move toward democracy in Eastern Europe. Johnny Carson did Register at least one biting hit on the topic during last Winters Holiday season however just after the execution of romanian despot Nicolae Ceausescu. A nah Christmas in Romania a he said. Quot where the dictators Are Hung by the Chimney with but Carsons most telling joke May have been one about yes Quayle. A Bush said that Quayle would definitely be on the ticket in 1992,�?� Carson quipped last november. A so from All the comedians in the world a thank you or. a by Dan Fesperman Baltimore Sun Lillja lbs a Malm 40? Fer 9,1mn David Letterman �?T6 Tod ten top ten iraqi nicknames for George Bush 10. Sherry Swilling yacht Monkey 9. Satan s lambada partner 8. Quayle picker 7. Four eyes 6. The never had anyone close to Marilyn Monroe president 5. Pork Rind munching goofball 4. Yale educated father of five of they re not All so bad 3. Nancy Reagan s dress Dummy 2. Trust fund Weenie 1. Or. Scared of Broccoli top ten reasons Congress deserves a pay raise 10. Many big corporations Are cutting Back on bribes. 9. Because of a Span they All had to buy hairpieces. 8. They re tired of carpooling with Barney Frank. 7. They re tired of congressman Fred Grandy s taunts about All the dough he s making from love boat reruns. 6. Most of . S topless bars have raised their cover. 5. Our nation s lawmakers ought to make at least a fraction of the annual income of the a hey Verne Guy. 4. They be worked Long hours trying to keep Down the minimum wage. 3. They d Stop complaining about their salaries and do something about the nations oppressive Speed limits. 2. Close to half of them have never been indicted. 1. If a raise does t go through they have vowed to turn the whole thing Over to Quayle. From the files of Center for Media and Public affairs sunday c Page 7
