198 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 78 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 5/1/18

Roast Beef (or Wolfing Down the Faux Outrage)

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment

Thomas Knapp
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Thomas Knapp

It's tempting to refer to the fallout from Michelle Wolf's White House Correspondents' Dinner monologue as virtue signaling ("the conspicuous expression of moral values done primarily with the intent of enhancing standing within a social group") but that gives it too much credit. There's a lot more noise than signal involved. The only real signal here seems to be that some people either can't take a joke or won't pass up an opportunity to feign outrage.

Most of the post-dinner heartburn centers around Wolf's pokes at White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. From some accounts, one might reasonably assume that Wolf simply took the stage, said a bunch of mean things about Sanders, and walked off to mixed moans and applause.

In fact, Wolf spent about a minute and a half, out of nearly 20, on Sanders. Oddly, I have yet to hear any conservatives complaining that Wolf (by way of putting recent misogyny scandals in perspective) called out the late Senator Ted Kennedy as a murderer, or slammed the Democratic Party for perpetually stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.

I watched the monologue (twice -- the first time I forgot to time Wolf's remarks on Sanders) and found it incredibly tame by comparison to a Friar's Club Celebrity Roast, or to any random five minutes from the oeuvres of Gilbert Gottfried, Sarah Silverman, or Doug Stanhope.

As one honest conservative commentator, Katherine Timpf, points out at National Review, there's plenty of hypocrisy on both sides: Those who gave Donald Trump a pass on his ugly jabs at Rosie O'Donnell and others lack standing to whine about Wolf's meanness, and vice versa. And at least Wolf has the excuse that she's a working comedian, not a president or presidential candidate.

Was she funny? That's in the eye of the beholder, but it's the only worthwhile question to ask about a comedian and her routine. I thought Wolf landed a few fun punches, but I'd be disappointed if I had paid a cover charge to watch this particular set at a comedy club. TV means I didn't have to spring for a ticket or gag down the rubber chicken dinner, so I got my money's worth. And I never turn down an opportunity to listen to put-downs of politicians and their flacks.

Perhaps the best example to follow here is that of Sarah Huckabee Sanders herself. At The Daily Caller, Benny Johnson relates that after sitting through the scorching from Wolf, Sanders attended an MSNBC after-party (she's obviously a glutton for punishment), all smiles, instead of crying in the beer that the dutiful daughter of a Baptist preacher probably doesn't drink.

It's good to see that SOMEONE can take a joke.

Must Read 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Thomas Knapp Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.


Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

2020: I'm So Sick of Superlatives

The Big Question About the UN Security Council's Gaza Ceasefire Resolution

America Doesn't Have Presidential Debates, But It Should

Hypocrisy Alert: Republicans Agreed with Ocasio-Cortez Until About One Minute Ago

Chickenhawk Donald: A Complete and Total Disgrace

The Nunes Memo Only Partially "Vindicates" Trump, But it Fully Indicts the FBI and the FISA Court

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend