An American Mass Debate Gets Funny

From the sublime to the ridiculous, John McCain has turned to comedy in an attempt to spend what remains of his dotage in the White House.

He dropped in for a guest appearance on US satire factory Saturday Night Live this week and I fully expected him to make us cringe even more than when he called out theatrically for 'Joe the Plumber' at a rally on Friday, only for Joe not to be there.

As we over the pond know only too well, you can never get a plumber when you need one. I fully expect him to turn up next Thursday, tutting and shaking his head.

I wonder what the call-out charge is for a political rally? It's not exactly cheap when you need your sink sump tightened up, so God knows what McCain's bill will be.

Meanwhile, McCain is proving to be the Tom O'Connor of American politics, displaying the odd shaft of wit. There's room for a spoonerism there I reckon.

Obama though, is serious. He stopped baseball's World Series so he could force-feed the States with earnest words and pics of him baby-hugging. I had hoped he wouldn't be so predictable as to go all schmaltzy on us, but he did.

A bit of tele-visual onanism seems to be the norm Stateside, although whether it satifies the public or just the perpetrator is difficult for us Brits to fathom. The Americans don't really believe all that guff do they?

Perhaps comedy is the answer after all and McCain, despite my natural gag reflex, was quite funny in patches.

Let's hope this starts a worldwide trend. I can't wait for Gordon Brown's guest appearance on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, hopefully humming 'Sex On Fire' with Phil Jupitus.

Anyway, if you want real comedy Dubya's still in office for a couple of months yet, so stay tuned.