With the country’s finances in despair, who thought a White House economic adviser could find the time and energy to be funny?
But then again, he does have a lot of material.
Winner of the “Washington’s Funniest Celebrity” charity event, Austan Goolsbee had the crowd convulsing Wednesday night at the D.C. Improv with his ingenuity and crafted delivery.
Goolsbee used two personas to tell the shameful story of our country’s financial crisis — the apologetic, talking-point White House staffer and the deep-voiced messenger of the obvious. The timing was key — with the slip of the slightest quip, the room exploded with laughter.
A highlight of Goolsbee’s act:
“I would like to say something about some of our major banks (ingrateful bastards) is that yes, they might have stumbled a bit (bankrupting your grandma). … And I do think that they have learned some important lessons from what just happened (like spend your bonus quickly).”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, was particularly amusing when he ventured away from the political sphere and knocked on his personal life.
Baratunde Thurston, master of ceremonies, recapped Norquist’s sentiments perfectly with, “Damn you, comedy, damn you for humanizing the people I disagree with.”
Other performers included: Sam Donaldson, The Examiner’s Mark Tapscott, Anna Mulrine, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., Richard Siegel, Andy Shriver, Robert George, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, Dan Glickman, Chef Geoff Tracy, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Matt Cooper, and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
The Examiner was a sponsor of the event.
