Comedians’ quips about Boehner
Highlights from comedians’ riffs on Rep. John Boehner:
“You know who Boehner is, right? He’s that orange-looking guy. See, for Republicans that counts as diversity.”
— Jay Leno
“And Boehner, very serious about cutting back on spending. I saw him today, touching up his tan with an orange Sharpie.”
— Jay Leno
“What do you think of the Republican landslide victory on Election Night? No one’s laughing at my John Boehner tattoo now.”
— David Letterman
“Ohio Republican John Boehner will take over for Nancy Pelosi. Those are some big eyes to fill.”
— Jay Leno
“John Boehner will be the new speaker unless, out of habit, he blocks his own confirmation.”
— Stephen Colbert
“Happy birthday to Rep. John Boehner from Ohio. If you want to get him a present, you can’t go wrong with bronzer. Or you can get him a giant bed so the banking, oil, and defense industries can get in it with him.”
— David Letterman
“Rep. John Boehner is the new speaker of the House. Turn-ons include tax cuts and spray tans.”
— Craig Ferguson
“Isn’t fall in New York City great? The colors are brown, gold, and orange. And that’s just John Boehner’s face.”
— David Letterman
“You know what, you independents? If you can vote for Bush one year, and then the next election vote for Obama, and then go back to John Boehner, you’re not independents, you’re schizophrenic. You’re Norman Bates ... ”
— Bill Maher
“Well, it looks like John Boehner will be the new Speaker of the House. He is the son of a bartender, one of 12 children. He grew up in a two-room home with just one bathroom, worked his way through school, became the first person in his family to graduate from college. And, sadly, fell in with the wrong crowd and wound up in Congress.”
— Jay Leno
Source:
Daniel Kurtzman’s Political Humor blog on About.com
HAMILTON — You could say it comes with the territory.
With the rise of the political stature of Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., the speaker of the house-elect has lately become a favorite target of political comedians, talk-show hosts and cartoonists on the national media stage.
And it can be a rough place, with cracks, one-liners and jokes aplenty picking on Boehner’s smoking, tendency to cry, conservative political philosophies and orange hue; Stephen Colbert, host of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, in July referred to Boehner as a “tangelo-American” and said his “tanning bed is also his bed.”
Being in the pop-culture spotlight, though, is OK by Boehner.
“What I think about most is not letting it change who I am,” he said. “I’m still the same person who grew up in Reading, worked my way through night school at Xavier, and ran a small business in West Chester. I mow my own grass, iron and wash my own shirts. I eat at Skyline, the Meadows in Middletown, and I still run to Walmart every time I’m home.”
Maybe some upcoming cartoon will, um, depict Boehner shopping at Walmart, doing housework or cutting his grass? We’ll see.
Many of the latest jabs at the 20-year, 8th Congressional District representative followed his Election Night sobbing and now-infamous “60 Minutes” interview with Leslie Stahl, during which he broke down crying more than once.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich, for instance, depicted Boehner crying from the speaker’s dais with someone on the House floor asking, “OK, who mentioned puppies this time?”
The cartoons poking at his politics are a little more cerebral, such as CagleCartoons.com cartoonist Taylor Jones’ depiction of Boehner, lit cigarette between his lips, brandishing a pack of “Reform Ultra Lights.”
But regardless of the attention, Boehner said his focus isn’t on the late-night talk shows and political cartoons.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about what needs to be accomplished for our country and our children.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or mpitman@coxohio.com. Follow at
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