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Once upon a time…

..the big talk about political campaigns was about television. Kennedy looked better than Nixon in the 1960 television debate. Of course Kennedy looked better than Nixon period, but television was now king.

Today it’s not so much about television. The candidate who wins will need to garner positive “youtube points.” But it’s more than that. It’s not so much how one looks in online video clips. Certainly many people watched recorded excerpts of the debates and various speeches, but now one also has to be extremely careful not to be recorded saying or doing anything incriminating that can then be watched over and over online. And yet, the real issue may be the comedy clips that have been springing up since the campaigns began.

Sara Palin was skewered by her interviews with Katie Couric, but it is likely everyone will remember Tina Fey’s portrayal of Palin even more. It is the comedy clips that get forwarded ad nauseum. I speculate that it is more likely that a McCain supporter will watch a clip that humorously makes fun of McCain than watch a serious clip of an Obama speech. Comedy cuts through a lot of bias. Speaking of these creative comedy clips, why is it that most are coming from the left? Is it that there is a natural link between artistic creativity and a liberal temperament?

Will these comedy clips sway the vote? Or just reaffirm already held beliefs?

And just in case you missed any of those clips, here are some of my favorite:

I would like to think there is a link between creativity and more progressive leanings. But that’s just my bias. Anyway, I’m voting for comedy.

As a final note, Nixon did finally get his day. I guess looking back this is comedy too:

And maybe a little bit of tragedy as well.