CMPA: Here Come the Romney Jokes!

What else do Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul have in common? Well, they’re all about to become the targets of a lot of jokes told by late night TV comedians. And that’s something that none of them had in common with most of the other Republican presidential candidates, before the Iowa caucuses established them as frontrunners for the nomination.

Republican presidential hopefuls accounted for five of the top ten joke targets of leading late night TV talk show hosts in 2011, according to the latest update of the Center for Media and Public Affairs political humor tracking project. Overall, Republicans were the targets of jokes by Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Jimmy Fallon almost three times as often as Democrats.

From January 1 to December 10, 2011, CMPA analyzed the targets and topics of all jokes about public figures in the opening monologues of the highest rated late night talk show hosts on the broadcast networks – Jay Leno (“Tonight Show”), David Letterman (“Late Show”), and Jimmy Fallon (“Late Night”). CMPA has been tracking the targets of late night TV comedians since 1988.

CMPA’s studies have found that presidents usually generate more comic material than any other politician, and 2011 was no exception. President Obama was the leading target in 2011 with 342 jokes. His fellow Democrat, the titillating Twitterer Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), was second with 220.

However, no other Democrat made the top ten list, which included declared GOP candidates Herman Cain (191 jokes), Rick Perry (186), Michelle Bachmann (128), Newt Gingrich (110), and self-declared “potential” candidate Donald Trump (122), as well as father figure and former GOP governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (142).

But the leaders in votes were the laggards in jokes. Mitt Romney was the lowest ranked major candidate, coming in 13th with only 79 jokes, behind non-candidate Sarah Palin (109) and Vice-President Joe Biden (82). Iowa runners-up Ron Paul (17 jokes) and Rick Santorum (16) finished even farther back in the joke race. Apparently it’s hard to vote for somebody while you’re laughing at them.

The presence of so many GOP candidates among the top-rated figures of fun is reflected in the overall proportion of jokes directed toward all GOP and Democratic targets. Officials and candidates affiliated with the Republican party accounted for 72 percent of partisan jokes, compared to 28 percent directed at Democratic candidates and officials.

Although Barack Obama was the overall target of more jokes than any other individual, his joke totals were well below those of his predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, each of whom averaged over 500 jokes annually, according to past CMPA studies.

Moreover, the three comedians differed sharply in their treatment of President Obama in 2011. (They did not differ systematically in their attention to the GOP candidates.) Leno told 156 jokes about President Obama, more than twice as many as David Letterman’s total of 77 jokes. Fallon was second with 107 Obama jokes.

Obama was the top joke target by far for both Leno and Fallon. However, he ranked only fourth on Letterman’s list, behind Anthony Weiner (85 jokes), Muammar Khadaffi (82), Rick Perry (81), and Osama bin Laden (79).
For all three comedians combined, joke totals for the top twenty targets of late night political humor were:

But that’s all old news. Now that the election preseason is over and the primary season has begun, get ready for a barrage of late night one-liners about Ron Paul’s disgruntled demeanor and eye-popping libertarian ideas, Mitt Romney’s changing positions and stationary hairdo, and Rick Santorum’s… well, the writers will think of something funny about him, as soon as they figure out who he is. Meanwhile, here as some typical jokes from the past year:

Mitt Romney is so worried, he’s sweating like Rick Perry on Jeopardy. – Leno

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney squared off at a big Republican debate. They only agreed on one thing – wash, rinse, repeat. - Leno

The economy is so bad, God is now calling Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann collect. – Leno

Newt Gingrich met with Donald Trump yesterday. That’s two guys, six wives, zero chance of either of them becoming president. – Leno

Disney World is the perfect fit for these candidates. Mitt Romney is Prince Charming, Ron Paul is grumpy, Rick Perry is dopey, and Michele Bachmann thinks she’s Snow White. – Leno

President Obama is more popular overseas than he is here. But then again, he’s created more jobs over there. – Leno

Did you know Rick Perry used to be a Democrat? But then again, Barack Obama used to be a Democrat. - Leno

Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are more mature than President Obama and John Boehner. - Fallon