CENTER FOR MEDIA AND
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
November 30,
2007
Contact: Donald Rieck
TV Writers Strike Helps Hillary Most
Study Finds Ms. Clinton Is Top Target of TV Comedians
Candidate Portrayed as Cold, Dowdy, Dumpy
WASHINGTON, DC - TV
comedians have joked about Hillary Clinton almost as often as all the other
Democratic presidential candidates combined, according to a new study by the
Center for Media and Public Affairs. The main targets of their humor were Sen.
Clinton’s personal appearance and her chilly personality. The study also
found that Democratic candidates were joked about more than Republicans.
The study analyzed all
jokes from January 1 through October 10 in monologues by Jay Leno and Conan
O’Brien on NBC, David Letterman on CBS, and John Stewart, and Stephen
Colbert on "Comedy Central." According to CMPA President Dr. S. Robert
Lichter, "The jokes about Ms. Clinton make fun of her inadequacies as a
woman. They seem to suggest that she’s not man enough to be
president"
MAJOR FINDINGS
Hillary Clinton has been
the butt of 186 jokes by TV comedians this year, nearly as many as all her
Democratic opponents, who combined for 197. Running a distant second in the
humor race was Barack Obama with 56, followed by John Edwards (43), Dennis
Kucinich (34), and Joe Biden (26).
The jokes about Ms.
Clinton focused heavily on her physical appearance, including her taste in
clothes (29 jokes), her alleged lack of emotional warmth (43 jokes), and her
marital problems (21 jokes). Among the other candidates only John Edwards
attracted frequent jokes about physical appearance, often about his hair. (See
below for sample Hillary Clinton jokes.)
Overall the comedians
found Democratic candidates (383 jokes) funnier than Republicans (312). Rudy
Giuliani led the GOP contestants with 72 jokes, followed closely by Mitt Romney
(68) and John McCain (54), with Mike Huckabee (27) and Fred Thompson (24)
trailing behind.
Only "Daily
Show" host Jon Stewart targeted any other Democratic candidate more often
than Hillary – he told 27 jokes about Sen. Obama vs.25 about Sen.
Clinton. But there was more variety in the choice of Republican targets: Leno
zinged Giuliani most often (37 jokes), Letterman focused mainly on Romney (18),
McCain led Jon Stewart’s list (25), and Colbert zapped Huckabee most
(14).
But the presidential
candidates have had plenty of competition from other newsmakers this year; only
Ms. Clinton and Mr. Giuliani were among the ten most frequently joked-about
public figures. The top ten targets of the TV jokemeisters were topped by
George Bush with 826 jokes, followed by Paris Hilton (258), Dick Cheney (197),
Hillary Clinton (186), Bill Clinton (142), Larry Craig (116), Alberto Gonzales
(103), O.J. Simpson (87), Al Gore (84) and Rudy Giuliani (72).
Sample Hillary Jokes:
If Fred Thompson runs
against Hillary, it’ll be "Law and Order" vs. "Cold
Case." - Leno
Bill Clinton says that
he’s been very conditioned about global warming. As a matter of fact,
last week another chunk of ice fell off his wife. – Letterman
During a recent campaign
speech Barack Obama called John Edwards "kind of cute." Then he said
Hillary Clinton has a really great personality. – Conan O’Brien
Hillary is dressing
sexier and sexier. Yesterday she was seen shopping at
Sen. Clinton said that as
president she would bring the troops home. The troops? She can’t even get
Bill to come home. – Leno
Over 18 million American
men currently suffer from erectile dysfunction. Doctors say that number could
double if Hillary gets elected. – Leno