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    To me Purple People are those of us who are neither Republican Red nor Democrat Blue; we find ourselves in between. The internet often represents those on the far left or the far right; this site is for those of us in the middle.

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Humor as a Remedy for Hubris

Senator McCain’s sense of humor has been both an asset and a liability over the years.  It is certainly part of his basic appeal, and it is one of the reasons he relates so well at town hall meetings as his humor creates an immediate connection with the audience.  His detractors will note that some of his jokes have been inapprporiate, and in some cases that’s true, hence his humor as liability.  It can also cause problems because in print, jokes often don’t come across the way they do in person.  For instance, during the primaries Senator McCain jokingly called a student who asked him a somewhat inappropriate question ‘a little jerk’ (clip below).  There was quite a buzz in the papers until people actually saw the clip, and it was quite evident that he was joking.

So now comes the humorous and sarcastic McCain ad The One. In this case humor turns out to be the perfect remedy for an over-inflated ego. It’s hard not see lines like, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” or “a light will shine down from somewhere” as flat out funny. To add to this Obama’s reaction is priceless. His stern condemnation of the ads ‘juvenile’ just shows his inability to laugh at himself. You know that if you make a joke at Senator McCain’s expense he’ll likely be the first one to laugh (as he has done numerous times when teased about his age). On the other hand, Senator Obama blew it by taking this joke and himself so seriously.

7 Responses to “Humor as a Remedy for Hubris”

  1. [...] Humor as a Remedy for Hubris [...]

  2. Obama is better off staying away from humor, judging from his earlier attempts at it.

  3. Reading your manifesto to the left, I cannot see why are you all are so in love with McCain. I don’t think he meets even one of the criteria you listed. How about a REAL Libertarian candidate for once, rather than just following along with whatever buffoon the GOP nominates?

  4. Me - As I stated in my “manifesto” I’m not a full-on Libertarian. I don’t agree with the Libertarian approach to foreign policy, and while I appreciate the push to reduce the size and influence of government, I think Libertarians can often take that desire too far particularly when it comes to issues like education. As for Senator McCain, he’s been a long-standing champion of fighting government waste, and his foreign policy credentials are superb. I don’t agree with him on everything, but I do think he is an excellent choice for president at this point in history.

  5. Obama is weak, confused, and unpatriotic. In contrast, McCain is strong, gounded, and is a war hero. Thus, since McCain has proved himself, he is the default choice. Ultimately, this is a referendum on Obama.

  6. [...] Humor as a Remedy for Hubris [...]

  7. kmorrison33
    I actually agree with most of what you have in your stated positions. I do not support McCain, though I did like him in the past, because he seems to be morphing into another GOP stooge, and I feel the Johnny Mac of the past might have come to believe that the GOP can win him this election, but that he can’t on his own. I am not impressed with his campaign thus far and I hope against hope that at some point these people will talk about real issues and stop all the silly stuff that we saw so much of this last week.

    I do appreciate that in defending your support, you cite actual positions on actual issues and specific credentials, rather than slinging empty accusations against patriotism which is so 2004.

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