April 21, 2015
When I published \”Say It Ain\’t So Jon\” a-few-weeks-back — I didn\’t realize that Trevor Noah had been picked to replace Jon; nor had I factored in a possible run for the presidency by Jon. Of course Jon won\’t run against Hilary in this 2016 election — he may be looking ahead to 2020 — and use the time between now and 2020 to gain some real, down-and-dirty, political experience.
Since he announced his departure from the today show — he hasn\’t been nearly as funny or topical as I once found him to be (at least in the shows that I have managed to tune into). Which is probably good preparation for the presidency — where one very quickly loses one\’s sense of humor. Even Dubya didn\’t sport his shit-eating grin much towards the end. I did, however, (thanks to an enlightened student) manage to catch President Obama\’s \”schtick\” with Keegan Michael-Key at the White House Correspondent\’s dinner. That was pretty damned funny!
So, since I can\’t seem to get my \”On Being Black in America\” essay off-the-ground — I thought I might muse about Jon\’s potential political aspirations, and, about seeing a mixed-race South African comedian succeed him in his \”news\” chair.
Trevor Noah is a whole different kettle-of-fish from Jon: while Jon is definitely capable of throwing solid punches against members of the American bourgeoisie — he does not disarm them. Trevor, on-the-other-hand, is a bare knuckler and will not pull his punches: he will bring his opponent down! After all, he knows what it\’s like being down — having been born into apartheid S. Africa in what he terms an illegal coupling of a Swiss father and Xhosa mother. As Trevor suggests — he was a criminal from the get-go.
I recall Trevor\’s first \”schtick\” with Jon, comparing S. African Blacks to African Americans in Detroit — it seemed that the S. African Blacks were having a much better time of it.
But back to Jon…I believe he would be our first, Jewish president — but like my brother-in-law (and other Jews I\’ve met) Jon is not a \”good\” Jew: he takes plenty of pot shots at his ethnic background (though recent genetic research suggests that Jews have a \’special\’ gene that might qualify them as a race). And, if there really is an Israeli Junta in D.C. — then perhaps Jon will be able to handle them better than anyone…
Jon would also be the first comedian ascending to the American presidency (though some might suggest that Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan qualified as such). And really, why not? American politics are a joke — so why not have Jon push the joke as far as possible? We have all the solutions to our problems — but the capitalists and serving politicians have their dicks shoved so far up each others\’ asses (and a few clits) — that they revel in, and are consumed by, a mass orgy — daring us to wade through the bodies covered, er, wrapped in, red tape!