My Review of the White House Correspondent's Dinner Comedy Routine

In case you haven't seen President Obama's speech at the White House Correspondent's dinner it's worth a look. I enjoyed most of his comedy routine. The man is an impressive speaker. His notorious laid back manner was augmented at one point by an "anger translator" which was pretty edgy so he get's extra credit for that. If you'd like to see it you can click on the following link.

Link to President Obama's White House Correspondent's Dinner

From the his introduction through the end he gets to lampoon all the stereotypes that have been used against him. And he takes shots at CNN, MSNBC and Senate Democrats just to prove he can be an equal opportunity offender. Overall the man can do comedy. He's got serious speaking skills and having a President that can speak in public is just great in my book.

But there was one little thing I have to point out. A fun reference to the "pot smoking" Bernie Sanders was enough for me to criticize. I know stoner jokes are fun, but when people are sent to prison for life because they might have know a few people who said they thought that person probably conspired to import pot to this country, well fuck that. How about some midget jokes? You know short people are so funny. Or why not some good old Chicago Polack jokes. Nah, there's too many people that would be hurt by that, I guess.

But how many people have been given prison sentences for associating with midgets or polaks? Google has not returned any meaningful results on the search terms I've tried.

So laugh it up all you Potheads. The Federal Government has your number. All you sick patients in California, you think your safe? Your not. Same with you Coloradans and Washingtonians. Until the Federal Laws are fixed, you can be named in a conspiracy and get your very own federal prison term. That's why I'm writing these letters. Because that shit just isn't very funny.
Here is my letter For April 26

April 26, 2015

Mr. Barack Obama

President

United States of America

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr President,

Congratulations on your performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. I enjoyed your speech and the comedy routine. You dispatched quite a few sacred cows with your insightful writing and your skilled oration. Once again you have helped me to be proud of our country and also glad that you represent it. 

Of particular interest to me was the “Bucket List” routine. Nobody could have delivered it better. The way you satirized the Republicans was also enjoyable. I’m sure you won’t get any public recognition from Ted Cruse or Rick Santorum or Donald Trump (although he seemed to be laughing). My opinion is that exposing the claims which these “conservative” people make to your wider audience was long over due. 

The fact that you can use humor in confronting their ridiculous claims and still keep a sense of humor about yourself and your situation I believe gives the rest of us hope that we can make progress toward making the world better for our children. 

A legacy for the Koch brothers might not be much of a problem for them. If they can spare a billion dollars for the next Republican nominee. I’m sure their children will find their way in the world. But the anti-climate, anti-democracy agenda does continue to trouble me. I thank you for seeing the need to take it on. 

I’m slightly confused about solving our immigration problems. I understand that delaying the prosecution of people and families who lack the proper documentation is within your purview. But I don’t believe the debate has been framed correctly. A lasting, workable, fair, common sense solution should be proposed and I believe congress might be shamed into acting on it, just because the Hispanic demographic is a growing source of voters. 

I’m fairly certain at least half of the mail you get this week will be critical of one joke or another. Everybody’s got an opinion and a solid majority of people could use a better sense of humor. I’d like to believe there is nothing wrong with my sense of humor but I might be dwelling on this one issue just a little bit more than the average person. The bit about Bernie Sanders running for President. “Another pot smoking socialist”. And that he would represent a third term of your policies. Maybe some less informed people enjoyed it. Me? I just don’t know.

The government is continuing to prosecute and jail people who use marijuana. I understand this is not at the forefront of your concerns right now. I see there are other problems which you and your administration believe should take priority. Still, for those of us with family members serving excessive prison time, punch lines about pot smoking socialists kind of fail. 

Remember back when racist stereo types were funny?  Yeah, me either, but here’s the important thing, lazy Mexicans and crazed black jazz musicians are the stereotypes that your continued “War on Drugs” is predicated on. Scholarly works like the “The New Jim Crow” have effectively illustrated this. The fear and bigotry and hate that has sustained these laws is being exposed for what it truly is.

The failure of these laws to achieve a utopian “drug free” society is apparent. The (perhaps) un-intended consequences of the law enforcement approach is also just as apparent. If you believe we need to keep on this course I have greatly miss-understood who you are. 

“It is not the fact of liberty but the way in which liberty is exercised that ultimately determines whether liberty itself survives.” Dorothy Thompson’s quote was a fine way to end your talk. Theatrically it was a very strong way to restore seriousness to the office of the President and to you as the man who holds that office. 

But I hope you will reconsider the “War on Drugs”. Another quote from Dorothy Thompson is "Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict."

As you are a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize it would be silly for an average guy like me to lecture you, the leader of the free world, about peace. But you should know that you alone have the power to end this made up (Nixon created) “War on Drugs” and free the POW’s from that war. It would be an audacious move. But it is something you alone could do. I think you could add it to your “Bucket-list” without much trouble at all.

 And in the following weeks when everyone forgets about it. You will have the lasting gratitude of those people who were wronged by an oppressive government and rescued by you. 

  

Sincerely yours,

Tom Walters