Now that the Iowa Caucuses are (finally) over, it turns out the candidates that late night comics made fun of most fared worse than those who consistently got a pass from David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon.
According to a study from George Mason University’s Center for Media and Public Affairs the top three candidates out of Iowa — Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul — were joked about the least in 2011 within the GOP pack. “It’s certainly no coincidence that the candidates who did the best in Iowa had the far fewest jokes about them,” CMPA President Robert Lichter explained. “If you said something stupid and the late night comedians didn’t exist to comment on it, it wouldn’t ripple out among the electorate, so I think these comics do have an impact,” Lichter added.
What’s harder to decipher is exactly how much of an impact comedy has on candidate performance because comics are often picking on candidates’ sex scandals, senior moments and gaffes that, by themselves, can derail a campaign, Lichter noted.
Looking at the late night shows through 2011, the study found that President Obama took the top spot for the number of political jokes. (That’s the typical result). After that came disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner followed by Herman Cain and Rick Perry. Michele Bachmann, who dropped out of the race Wednesday, was ranked at No. 7 and Newt Gingrich at No. 10.
Of the candidates who performed well in Iowa, Romney was the most giggled about, at No. 13, while Paul and Santorum didn’t even make the top 20.
