The White House Correspondents’ Association finally admitted to themselves what the rest of us have known for years: Comedians aren’t funny anymore. Instead of choosing another bitter philosopher king masquerading as an entertainer to headline its annual dinner, it announced that Ron Chernow, the famed and prolific biographer of American politicians, will speak.
Through seven seminal histories including the biography that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” arguably the most culturally significant musical of a generation, Chernow has probably shaped the American perception of the presidency more than any comedian in the country. Through earnestness of reporting and then through the earnestness of “Hamilton”‘s narrative, Chernow’s words have embedded themselves in the American consciousness, and his speech will no doubt be as instructional for the public as it will be for the president.
Plus there’s a little bit of schadenfreude to be enjoyed.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been dying a painfully slow demise for years now. How far the talent of reporters has fallen from legends such as Bob Hope and George Carlin to the forgettable Hasan Minhaj and the shrill and spiteful Michelle Wolf.
The last time I recall laughing at a WHCD performance was during Keegan-Michael Key’s rendition as former President Barack Obama’s “anger translator,” and that was almost four years ago. (Note: A good roast plays off of actual idiosyncrasies of the subject.)
Comedy isn’t dead, but comedians as a celebrity class certainly are. As it turns out, the few remaining actually funny ones couldn’t keep it in their pants around their female colleagues, so now we’re left with the bottom of the barrel — pathetic political commentary and terribly unfunny antics of Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah.
Celebrity comedians have abdicated their duty to make the public forget about the woes of the world just long enough that we can look around a club or a theater and finally laugh at them instead. What they don’t realize is that they aren’t that clever. Even the wokest comedians can’t hold a candle to legitimate liberal political commentators. They will fail as a sorry shadow of “Pod Save America.”
President Trump may still refuse to attend the dinner, citing his dislike of the press yet again. But he’ll certainly look far pettier refusing to watch one the preeminent historians of American heroism than he would watching people in no position to critique other people’s looks attacking his press secretary’s appearance instead of her lies.
Good on the White House Correspondents’ Association. Maybe comedians will finally take note and try to get us to laugh again and back in the public’s good graces in the meantime.
