Daily Show Comedian Mocks Politicians at IOP Event

Former presidential candidate Al Gore ’69 would have been better off running as a mime, comedian Lewis Black suggested last night at the fourth installment of the Institute of Politics’ (IOP) political humor series.

Almost no politician was spared from Black’s jabs, as he mixed comedy and insight to discuss the impact of political humor in front of an audience of roughly 400 students in a packed Leverett dining hall.

Black—who appears every Wednesday on Comedy Central’s news parody “The Daily Show” with his segment “Back in Black”—dismissed the power of humor to affect political decisions.

“Do you think people say, ‘Oh, Mr. Black said that, now I will follow?’” he asked the audience.

Responding to a question of whether he felt his own political humor has ever made a difference, Black quipped, “Well, they said that I ended World War II.”

After asking several questions of Black, moderator Joshua I. Weiner ’03, one of the founders of the humor series, launched into a lightning round.

“President Bush: underestimated or bumbling idiot?” Weiner fired.

“Idiot,” Black responded.

When a student in the crowd booed at that classification, Black asked if he was insane.

“To say that that man has any intelligence—unbe-fucking-lievable,” he said.

Bush was not the only object of Black’s criticism.

When asked what politician gave him the best material, Black mentioned several, including Vice President Dick Cheney, who he qualified as funny just by not being around.

“He looks suspiciously like my old shop teacher from high school,” he said.

Black is the fourth major comedian to come to campus to participate in the IOP series. He follows Al Franken ’73, Chevy Chase and Black’s colleague Jon Stewart.

When given a chance for closing remarks, Black combined the humorous with a message. He urged the students to take advantage of the freedom of being in college.

“Don’t let them take this time away from you,” he said. “Don’t let any adult in any way, shape or form tell you to mature. Your job as a student is to get as far away from reality as you possibly can.”

Black received a standing ovation from the audience. Many in the crowd seemed to enjoy his mixture of humor and political messages.

“I thought Lewis was very inspiring,” said Ken M. Walczak, a third-year student at Harvard Law School. “He was very inspired and he moved me with the kind of manic intensity that he does on his television show, but he was live.”

Black ended his time with a hint of competition towards his “Daily Show” companion.

“E-mail Jon and tell him that more students came to see me than came to see him,” he requested.