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.
