You might call it a decided understatement. Still, it was refreshing to hear a member of the White House press corps state an inconvenient truth about Pres. Obama: that he is under-supplied in the sense of humor department.
Julie Mason, White House correspondent of the Washington Examiner, offered the observation this afternoon on MSNBC. She was on to discuss the awkward situation created by the separate meetings with Pres. Obama that Hillary and Bill Clinton are having this afternoon.
When Monica Novotny asked whether PBO might take the occasion to rib her about her sharp response to the student in the Congo who asked about Bill's views, Mason offered her candid comment.
MONICA NOVOTNY: Julie, do we know any more about the relationship that the President and Secretary Clinton have developed personally, now? I'm just wondering, we heard those quotes from her last week, she was on the defensive when she thought she was being asked a question about her husband. So I wonder if she walks into a meeting today, can he rib her about that a little bit in person? Or do they just not go there?
JULIE MASON: Well, President Obama doesn't have like a very robust sense of humor. He's not a jokey guy. He's not President Bush in that way. So it's hard to see the two of them having really a joshy relationship.
Mason went on to say that the pair have a very good relationship based on mutual respect. Could be. But spending time in those two's company wouldn't be my idea of a laff riot.
Note: speaking of senses of humor, Mason surely has one of the sunniest dispositions around. It's rare to see her in an interview without a smile on her face and an incipient chuckle in her voice.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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You're right...she usually
August 18, 2009 - 16:57 ET by bigtimerYou're right...she usually always does have a smile on her face...which is a rarity.
Lets see...Bush was a guy who had a sense of humor, despite what was dished out to him over the years...O doesn't, why he's always serious....and so smart too don't ya know.
Can't wait to hear what the left will make of that....I can already hear it.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
I think Obama's ego has
August 18, 2009 - 17:44 ET by jgarciaI think Obama's ego has sucked the humor out of him..=)
jc... Hey gal, me thinks
August 18, 2009 - 19:16 ET by bigtimerjc...
Hey gal, me thinks you're right ...
Great seeing ya here...which is rare these days.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
In other words...
August 18, 2009 - 19:23 ET by Tom1969ca"WHY SO SERIOUS?" ;-)
=====
Daily Sarah Palin fact:
Sarah Palin can joke about herself, much to Alec Baldwin's chagrin.
Obama's Sense of Humor
August 18, 2009 - 17:03 ET by justbob223Obama doesn't have time for a sense of humor. Shredding the Constitution and destroying the republic is serious business.
jb... One thing about
August 18, 2009 - 17:15 ET by bigtimerjb...
One thing about exactly what you mention....he is being stopped by our voices, what we can that is...so far.
The leftists aren't happy with him either...
His poll ratings are sinking faster than Rosie O'Donnell's ratings on the debut of her latest new show...that is now GONE.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
No joke
August 18, 2009 - 17:16 ET by QueenMumI know the word has probably been overused on N.B. But a search of the term "narcissism" explains fairly clearly why Pres. Obama's sense of humor may not be "robust".
Pres. Bush was often self-deprecating and usually laughed when someone pointed out a foible or gaffe.
"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out
of other people's money."
—Margaret Thatcher
Liberals in general have no
August 18, 2009 - 20:03 ET by motherbeltLiberals in general have no humor.
Their idea of humor is to imply that conservatives drink babies' blood or suggest they should be killed, and then crack "Just kidding! It's a joke!!"
The problem is
August 18, 2009 - 17:15 ET by 10ksnookerWhen you spend your formative years in a foreign country, you answer questions with things like '57 States'.
You are hardly American
edit
August 18, 2009 - 18:15 ET by the struggleredit
Oh there's quite a few
August 18, 2009 - 18:29 ET by Jack BauerOh there's quite a few things Obama doesn't have a sense of, beside humor...
Obama doesn't have a sense of shame. Hence his propensity to brazenly tell lies.
He doesn't have a sense of propriety. Hence his continuous campaign since he took office
He doesn't have a sense of the public purse. Hence him hopping on Airforce One more times since January than Bush in his first term.
Jack!
August 18, 2009 - 18:54 ET by MrShyThumbs up on that!
Btw, got your email. Yes, I could do a direct-into-computer thing with an 1/8-inch cable... might be a bit noisy, but I could try this. I have a barely working mixing board, too. :p Let me know when you have something ready :)
Funny thing, Jack, I caught
August 18, 2009 - 20:05 ET by motherbeltFunny thing, Jack, I caught a few minutes of Hannity's radio show tonight, and he had Pat Buchanan on. Pat said he thought Obama really liked being President, to which Hannity responded, yeah, he likes the airplane, and the helicopter.....all that stuff.
He does enjoy the trappings of the office!
mb - I think he especially likes living at 1600 because he KNOWS
August 18, 2009 - 21:43 ET by Cape Conservativeif 'we knew what he knew' he wouldn't be there! He is a master of deceit and I think many who were basking in the glow of his presence are beginning to wake up! When can the impeachment proceedings begin?
Did anyone else read this one tonight? Very interesting...time to start checking 1957 hospital records/personnel!!! Could this be the reason why he doesn't want to disclose ANY of his records???? Or was it just another play by the inside crowd to keep things stirred up among those of us non-believers?
http://patriotupdate.com/stories/read/813/Obamas-MySpace-page-Im-52-years-old-not-48
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
CC... Wow...that's a new
August 18, 2009 - 22:03 ET by bigtimerCC...
Wow...that's a new one.
Won't go anywhere either.
I'm just going to have to be satified watching him self-destruct, along with a whole heck of a lot of the rest of his party.
Will be glad to see Pelosi not popping up anymore...and then there's Fearless Leader Reid...nothing could be better than to see of them gone.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
I think the fact that your
August 18, 2009 - 18:42 ET by Indiana JoeI think the fact that your average leftist doesn't have much sense of humor has been pretty well established. As Obama is turning out to be an uber-leftist, it's not surprising that he has even less than most.
If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
"Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 1
C'mon, you know Obama gets a
August 18, 2009 - 18:59 ET by Dan DiegoC'mon, you know Obama gets a good laugh if Bush, Cheney, conservatives, TEA party goers, etc are the butt of the joke and any joke he tells.
Dan - the few times I've witnessed 'the one's' laugh, I get the
August 18, 2009 - 21:46 ET by Cape Conservativecreepy crawlies - it is sinister...like he's twisting your arm behind your back ready to break it and 'laughing' the entire time he's doing it!
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
Creepy--yes
August 19, 2009 - 11:16 ET by StarAZWhat big teeth you have, Mr. President. He can't even READ a joke. Then he looks back and forth with his parakeet on a perch maneuver waiting for praise, which the jackanapes immediately supply, of course.
Parakeet on a Perch?
August 19, 2009 - 11:21 ET by BlondeI think of it as his Centre Court action....while watching two baseline players exchange lobs.
I hope he fails, too.
Okay, Back to Basics....
August 18, 2009 - 20:05 ET by BarkerEven you "professional" comedians can join in this one (don't be scared).
Why did Obama cross the road?
~Hmmm
August 18, 2009 - 20:11 ET by choselife3xWhy did Obama cross the road?
Because "You can't just listen to Rush and get things done."
Because he "won."
Because the other side is where all the America-hating leftists hang out.
Because he saw Sarah Palin coming and he was trying to get away.
Dissent: It's not just for liberals anymore.-kudzupolitics, USA Today
To lure his Granny under the bus! Ba-dump-bump! Is this Mic on?
August 18, 2009 - 20:12 ET by BO STINKS"...it must be known that we are at all times ready for war." G. Washington
Why does Obama
August 18, 2009 - 20:51 ET by Dan DiegoWhy does Obama want to raise the taxes on aspirin? Because it works.
Oh, and did I mention it's white?
Hmm
August 18, 2009 - 20:56 ET by danebramage1. To get to where the American people were?
2. To pretend he was born there?
3. Because the road refused to go along with Obamacare? ("Cross" as in "oppose")
Dunno. I give up.
Because his puppet
August 19, 2009 - 10:21 ET by sherylsimsBecause his puppet master told him to?
The teleprompter made him do
August 19, 2009 - 10:38 ET by mattmThe teleprompter made him do it.
Uh...
August 19, 2009 - 11:14 ET by StarAZTo go over the middle and get to the left?
By the way
August 19, 2009 - 11:21 ET by StarAZI am sure he will never hear of this, but in our paper here in Phoenix this AM, there was a letter to the editor saying what gives with the family Grand Canyon vacay, the fancy hotel, the massages, the golf--on our nickel. Out here, some parents are even inquiring about turning their kids over because they can't provide for them, we are upsidedown in our prisons (houses), some gangs are terrorizing people in downtown Phoenix, we have a crazy ass sheriff rounding people up, etc.
Because his ...ahem... wee
August 19, 2009 - 11:41 ET by RESTLESS 1Because his ...ahem... wee wee was stuck in the chicken?
"This liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
and the chicken didn't even
August 19, 2009 - 19:30 ET by Dan Diegoand the chicken didn't even notice