The deep comedy recession caused by the election of Barack Obama as the United States' 44th president continues to bite, according to new data. The Comedy Central production The Daily Show has announced a fresh round of layoffs, while other outlets, for eight years oriented to bashing all things Bush are also showing signs of strain. According to Colbert Report (also aired on Comedy Central) producer Dan Long "Obama just isn't funny, there isn't much to make fun of. We are really beginning to feel the pinch here."
Other forms of protest media are also taking a hit, with Bush-watching websites like Crooksandliars.com and Mediamatters.org also announcing fresh layoffs today. Meanwhile, director Michael Moore has cancelled his latest feature film, stating "Oh, what's the point! Everything is going to be fine again."
But comedians and other protest-media types are fighting back. An association of these groups have penned an open letter to Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to bailout the comedy industry by announcing as soon as possible her candidacy for the 2012 Republican nomination. "Millions of jobs are at risk. She must act now to save an entire industry!" urged Jon Stewart, presenter of the Daily Show at a press conference yesterday.
Meanwhile, an Obama aide rejected the calls for a bailout, saying "They should have planned for this eventuality. They had years to plan jokes about President-elect Obama, but just dragged their feet instead. We have little sympathy." However, the aide also noted that the Obama camp had indeed named Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State as a concession to comedians. "We aren't entirely insensitive to the needs of the comedy industry," he noted "There should be some material there to at least tide comedians over until Governor Palin returns to the national stage."
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