What Now, Jon?

Yes, satirists and late-night comics seem to have trouble finding Obama jokes, but they'll survive, writes Dan Kois in New York magazine. What worries Kois is that his beloved Daily Show may not be so fortunate. Jon Stewart and crew simply may not have it in their hearts to take potshots at the new regime, and an Obama-happy audience may not want to watch it anyhow. “We're very worried that an Obama presidency might send Jon Stewart's show speedily on the road to obsolescence," says Kois.

The Daily Show, whose strength lies in its genuine outrage at the powers that be, could instead target Republicans and other Democrats, the media, Obama fans' oversized expectations, and celebrities. But sadly, Kois notes, “it's a lot less fun—and brave—to kick the losers than it is to take the winners down a peg. And political satire that only goes half-heartedly after the ruling party sacrifices relevance.” Kois predicts that the Colbert Report ultimately will eclipse the Daily Show as Comedy Central’s late-night star.
(More President Obama stories.)