Republican Humor

(Newser) - Asked to name their favorite Republican president, the six men vying to chair the RNC delivered a unanimous verdict: Lincoln, Schmincoln—bring back the Gipper of yore, said they. At a debate yesterday, the would-be chairmen labored mightily to top each others’ love of Reagan, Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post. Each was “excited,” “inspired,” or even “moved” by Reagan. The only thing they agreed on more was how crappy the GOP’s gotten since. More »

(Newser) - President Bush never quite got the book thrown at him for invading Iraq, but the next closest thing happened today, CBS News reports. A correspondent for a Cairo-based Iraqi TV station hurled a pair of shoes at the outgoing president during a press conference in Baghdad, shouting, “This is a farewell kiss, dog,” Bloomberg reports. More »

(Newser) - Just one night after their chilly final debate, Barack Obama and John McCain spent another evening in close proximity, with much different results. They poked fun at themselves, and each other, at New York’s Al Smith Dinner, an annual political roast that raises money for charity, reports the New York Times . The candidates sat at the same table, “without preconditions,” Obama noted. Each delivered a comic monologue that both tweaked and praised his opponent. Some samples: More »

(Newser) - Sacramento Republicans yesterday removed images from their website urging voters to “Waterboard Barack Obama” and declaring “The Only Difference Between Obama and Osama is a Little BS.” State party leaders condemned the content, with a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calling it “completely and totally inappropriate,” the Sacramento Bee reports, but the county’s GOP chairman was unapologetic. More »

(Newser) - David Letterman was not kind to the Republican vice presidential candidate last night—his Top 10 list  focused on "Things Overheard at Sarah Palin Debate Camp." Among the highlights: "Any way we can just get Tina Fey to do it?" "Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be any questions about Iraq, taxes or health care." "Let's practice your bewildered silence." Watch the full list or click the link below. More »

(Newser) - A cancer diagnosis with a 95% chance of survival, while it might not let one “stare death in the face,” at least gives PJ O’Rourke a chance to muse on the end of the road. At first, he “cursed God, as we all do when we get bad news and pain,” he writes in Search magazine. But then he reconsidered: perhaps death really helps us “learn right from wrong” in a chaotic world. More »