Vermont Business Magazine If you’re a loyal watcher of “Saturday Night Live” like me, here’s a conclusion you reach after watching the show: Republican presidents are dopes. From Chevy Chase portraying Gerald Ford as a stumbling goofball, to nowadays, when Alec Baldwin assumes the character of Donald Trump and plays him as a hapless fool, there is one thing for certain: On “SNL” if you’re a Republican president then you’re portrayed as stupid.
Ronald Reagan was made to look clueless when Phil Hartman played him. Dana Carvey dumbed-down George H.W. Bush while impersonating him. And Will Farrell, while portraying George W. Bush, constantly mocked his intellect. You may have a policy gripe with one or more of these recent Republican presidents, especially if you are a Democrat, but are they really stupid?
“SNL” skewers Democrats, too — Bill Clinton as a womanizer and Barack Obama often bewildered by events engulfing him — but only Dan Aykroyd, playing the role of Jimmy Carter, had a critical edge to his skits. At “SNL” if you’re a president who’s a Democrat, then you may have many faults, but the most damning of them, being stupid, isn’t one of them.
“Saturday Night Live” isn’t the only place you’ll find unflattering portrayals of Republican presidents. Late night comics routinely slam Republicans, disproportionately. And again, their focus is mostly on a Republican president’s intellect. Supporters of “SNL” and late night shows will say that this is satire and the comic’s job is to make fun of people and events, especially presidents and their policies. Of course, they’re right. These programs are not news organizations, and they have no obligation to be fair, or even accurate.
So, if this is just comedy, then why should any of this matter? The answer is discouraging: Many Americans are likely to obtain their news from a comedy version of it. In other words, fake news. Whether it’s from “SNL,” late night comics, or other comedy shows — that look and feel like real news programming — the main goal of comedy news is to be funny. It’s not meant to represent an accurate portrayal of a politician. Unfortunately, this further blurs the lines between fake and real news.
If it’s not the comic’s job to be fair or truthful, then whose responsibility is it to ensure that there is a real and accurate picture of these presidents? Not surprisingly, it’s a reporter’s job to be more diligent in his or her coverage and not allow the comic portrayal of a Republican president to creep into the reporting. The burden is on the reporter to portray the truth and to be fair in that portrayal.
But too often, a comedy routine will become the narrative of news organizations. Let’s take Gerald Ford as an example. President Ford was the most accomplished collegiate athlete of any recent president, and before his ascension to the presidency he was considered an able and smart member of the House of Representatives. But when Chevy Chase took those falls on live television and wandered around the stage mocking President Ford as dazed and confused, then every future stumble or fall by Ford — even ones on ski slopes where most of us fall — was widely reported, and soon the news narrative began to mimic the comedic portrayal of Ford as clumsy and awkward and, by inference, perhaps a dimwit, too. The comedy versions of Reagan and of both Bushes surely influenced how they were covered and eventually depicted in the media. Although the comedic depiction of Carter was perhaps the harshest amongst recent Democratic presidents (remember the killer rabbit trying to attack him?), it still does not compare to how harshly Republican presidents are portrayed. In fact, both Clinton and Obama had an aura of sophistication attached to them in both comedy and the national media that no Republican has recently enjoyed.
Which leads me to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where reporters, politicians and entertainers meet at a glitzy affair for a night of comedy. First of all, this is an antiquated tradition, started when politicians and reporters had an unhealthy coziness. As a result, reporters routinely catered to the wishes of politicians. For example, even though the media knew the truth, they helped hide Franklin Roosevelt’s disability from the American public. Coziness can be corrupting, especially in the news business. But more importantly, this dinner represents to many Americans a Washington elite getting together to enhance its own status. It exposes to many an incestuous and exclusive system focused on self-preservation and enhancement rather than focusing on the interests of those outside of Washington. It is easy to conjure up a picture in one’s mind of a capital city that emulates a “Hunger Games” atmosphere where responsibility for others is supplanted for one’s own self-aggrandizement and comfort. If there is no dinner this year because President Trump will not attend, then that is a good outcome, not a bad one. A permanent discontinuance of this dinner is an even better outcome.
On the other hand, when a news organization becomes an adversary of a president, or a political party, primarily because it will boost readers or viewership and increase profits, this can be as dangerous as being too cozy. With a decision to oppose rather than report, a news organization may abandon the principle of unbiased and fair coverage. Contrary facts can be easily ignored or minimized because they don’t fit the narrative when news organization are bent on being adversarial at all costs.
One of the distinctions between democratic rule and tyranny is an independent and respected press. Do away with the relevance of the press and government is unencumbered by restraints; therefore, it becomes unaccountable and able to do as it pleases without repercussions. It may seem insignificant to blur the lines between comedy and news; it may prove profitable to be critical of only a certain part of a political establishment; and it may even be beneficial to schmooze with Washington elites; but in the end all of this undermines the credibility of all news organizations, a very disconcerting notion for any democracy.
Mike Smith is the host of the radio program, “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5, 98.3 and 101.9 FM. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to Vermont Business Magazine, The Times Argus and Rutland Herald. He was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Gov. Jim Douglas.