Speaking as a consumer, I’ve spent $20 for online, exclusive stand-up comedy specials: Ansari’s Dangerously Delicious, Gaffigan’s Mr. Universe and  C.K.’s Live at the Beacon Theater as well as his newly released Word. That’s the equivalent of one comedian’s regularly priced DVD special.

Normally I would just watch the specials on TV, choosing either to DVR them or to watch them live with commercials. So in effect I have already spent more money because of the availability.

C.K. faced an initial uncertainty due to torrenting and online piracy, saying, “I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without ‘corporate’ restrictions.” A large majority of the piracy C.K. speaks of takes place in foreign countries. China, Bulgaria and Armenia rank among the worst offenders due to the fact that content is not available or restricted in those places.

Yet piracy has obviously shown no sign of destroying the model. C.K. posted a picture on Twitter when his Paypal broke $1,000,000. And piracy has certainly not slowed online distribution of music or movies. Just last year Netflix surpassed BitTorrent in traffic. Think about it: when’s the last time you popped a CD into your car stereo? This is obviously a natural progression in the digital age. But can it work for all comics?

Kent Alterman, Comedy Central’s head of Original Programming and Production, has been quoted as saying that only “a very rarefied community of comedians” are likely to command an audience to recoup the costs.

What channels like Comedy Central, HBO and Showtime have done for years is provide a platform for comedians to appear on TV. Outside of appearing in five minute bits on late night TV, its the biggest way to break through for comedians. This is how they obtain a following.

C.K. claimed total production and distribution costs were roughly $250,000 of his own personal money. Obviously a comic that made his first appearance on Conan last week won’t have this kind of money. But the strategy for these lesser known comics follows a similar model where they release their material strictly online, cutting out things like video production and physical manufacturing and distribution costs of DVD’s and CDs.

Perhaps the key to understanding this shift to look at the demographics of stand-up comedy. Most consumers are male and a very large amount of them are younger, particularly in the 18-35 range. This age group lives online and has done so most of their lives.

But success does not guarantee repetition. Ansari’s special, after a two month run online, will appear on Comedy Central this Sunday and C.K.’s Live at the Beacon Theater was recently aired on FX.  In his AMA on Reddit.Com C.K. was enthusiastic about online releases but hesitant to fully commit. “As long as it stays a good idea. We’ll see. It’s been really fun to do it and learn about it. I think there’s huge potential. But potential means there might be nothing.”

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AC: The Steve Harvey Morning Show is broadcast on dozens of stations. What is it like going to work, knowing you’re going to reach that many people?

TM: You know, when you start thinking about it – I’m talking to 8-9 million people – and you start thinking about it, you start to panic. ‘Oh my god I’m talking to 8-9 million people!’ You go in with a relaxed mind. You’re not going in with notes, you’re not going in with index cards. You just gotta go in with your personality. I’m a wild and crazy guy, as long as I go in with that, I’m gonna do the job.

When we first started, I used to go in with all these notes. I’d go in with all this stuff. My backpack full of stuff and I’d jot it down. Steve was like ‘Why’d you bring all that shit? Why do you need all that shit for?’ I was like ‘Well I got this joke it would be really great.’ He was like ‘We don’t need that. You stay funny.’ I had to understand radio is spontaneous. Radio is about what’s happening in the moment. Theater of the mind. So you just gotta go with it.

AC: How did you get on the show?

TM: Steve Harvey is my uncle. I was out working with Luther Vandross ten plus years ago. We were doing concerts over in Europe. I came back home and Luther Vandross said ‘Hey I’m gonna take some down time and we’ll be back up in six months, I’ll write a new album and we’ll be back out on the road doing concerts.’  I decided to go to California. I reached out to this new manager, Rushion McDonald. He said ‘Why don’t you come up and get on the radio, hang out with us and talk smack with Steve like you guys always do? Come tomorrow like 5 or 530.’ I said no problem, we’re doing dinner? He said ‘No no no hang on. I mean 530 in the morning.’ I was like you got to be kidding me.

So I get out there, I go in for about a week and Steve and I are just dropping mad smack on the radio. And it became a hit. It’s this unc’ and nephew thing that just blows up and everyone likes it. They said hey, we want to do this all the time and I said hey, hang on, I work for Luther Vandross. So when Mr. Vandross decides we’re going back out on the road, I gotta go back out on the road. Truth of the matter is Mr. Vandross as you know, he got sick and we never went back out on the road. So actually I was given a job when I didn’t even know I needed a job. So that was the birth of me being on the radio with Steve and here we are ten years later and we’re still going strong.

AC: You’ve done scripted acting and improv on the radio. Which would you say is tougher?

TM: They both have challenges. Scripted you want to be as believable as possible. You want everybody watching you from the audience and say, ‘Wow, what a hell of an actor. He’s really got it down. He’s doing a great job.’ So it’s about your character.

I’m still a character so to speak on the radio show. But I’m coming from a different aspect. They both have their challenges. In this one I’m the loose cannon on the show. I’m the Barney Fife. I’m the trifling nephew who can’t do anything right. I gotta sell all of that. I gotta make you think I’m really that damn stupid. But I’m not. I’m the guy that has Shakespeare bouncing around in his head.

(In fact, during this interview, Miles rattled off not only a Shakespearean monologue, but also some lines from one of his biggest influences, Sidney Poitier.)

AC: Who are some of your biggest influences in comedy and acting?

TM: I think every comedian has Richard Pryor on their list. I like Bill Cosby. I like his cleanness. I like how he decided he wasn’t going to be a person that would use profanity and still deliver his message. Redd Foxx was just straight up triple-x, man. You look at Don Rickles. Don Rickles is funny. Lucille Ball — funny. It don’t get no better. Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett, oh my God. What are we talkin’ about? We’re talkin’ funny.

This will probably blow you away. Donald Sutherland I think is an awesome actor. He does not get the credit he deserves. Don Cheadle I think is a great actor. You ask anybody else they say they like Denzel, but I go way deeper. My greatest, to me, is Sidney Poitier. If you ask Denzel that ought to be his greatest too.

AC: You put out a CD last year called “Just My Thoughts” which featured your stand-up act. Are you looking to do more of that?

TM: Stand-up to me is fun to do. It’s not the ultimate goal. My background is theater. The ultimate goal is always film and television. If I could do 3 or 4 films a year, that would be one of my ultimate goals. I get phone calls because of who they hear on the radio. I get phone calls to do movies because of that. You get phone calls because of the popularity most of the time not ‘Oh shit he can really act.’ It doesn’t come out until someone gives me a role and says ‘Oh god, he nailed it.’ Yeah asshole, he’s a damn actor, he’s not just some dumb guy on the radio. If they’re calling because of the dumb guy on the radio, that must mean I’m really doing my job on the radio.

AC: Is your radio dynamic with Steve Harvey more of a working relationship or a personal bond?

TM: It’s more of a working relationship. I think the most important thing he taught me was there’s no show without business. You have to have the business side. You have to know what you’re doing on the business side. That’s one of the most important parts I needed to know. I made some decision where I say ‘Oh god I shouldn’t have done that.’ And then he’ll come to me and say ‘Ok here’s what you did wrong.’ You get more sharp in knowing how to handle business. And that’s really what’s gonna make you more successful in the beginning. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have this business thing down man, you’re gonna lose.

AC: Speaking of business, what do you have in the works for 2012?

TM: I got this special my manager is pushing me on. I do a lot of different characters. We put together this thing called ‘I Got People Inside My Head.’ It’s a special that would be me for about 30 minutes and I would be introducing my characters. So the same way that you see Eddie Murphy doing the Klumps and he’s in full makeup, the makeup is like that. Here’s a guy doing three or four people, but it’s all him.

I’m really excited about this prank phone call CD. It’s called ‘Church Folk Gotta Laugh Too.’ What I did this time is I created a theme and I pulled out all prank phone calls that I’ve done that have not been on any CD’s that are church related.

AC: Would you say the prank phone calls are your favorite part of the Steve Harvey Morning Show?

TM: These people are blown away by the prank phone calls. They love them. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite part. It’s what I’m known by radio wise. I’m known for so much, but I’m a guy who does these characters. More importantly it’s one of the killer spots on the radio. It’s one of our benchmarks so to speak that everybody likes it. The pranks are head over heels, they are the best things in the world.

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

Born in New York, Jackie Vernon was a gentle man. He was low-key. His stock in trade was a self-deprecating humor with an underbelly of social satire and caustic wit.  ”The King of Deadpan,” as he was known. A precursor to the comedy that Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg became famous doing.  A round peg in a square hole.  He knew what he liked to do: make people laugh…but man, did he have a tough time of it.

After kicking around the country for years, playing the aforementioned venues, he finally headed back to New York. Once there, he began to hang around other comics, people like Don Rickles, Jackie Gleason and Pat Cooper. He got an agent and went up whenever an opportunity arose. Soon, he began to get somewhat better jobs outside of New York and would travel frequently to work. While in a club in Winslow, Ontario, Steve Allen saw him and persuaded him to try out for his show Celebrity Talent Scouts. His career began to take off.  And it was just in time, he said in later interviews, as he was about to quit show business for good.

He put out recordings. He got a gig opening for Judy Garland.  He appeared a number of times on the Ed Sullivan Show, all throughout the 60s. He was a favored guest on The Merv Griffin Show. In the 70’s, he was always available to be on the dais for the latest Celebrity Roast, a fixture for television in those days. But he never really achieved the fame he deserved. Ironically, his biggest “successes” came from doing the voices for Christmas specials, most notably Frosty the Snowman and Frosty’s Winter Wonderland.

His was comedy that was ahead of its time, brilliant and occasionally caustic. There was a bit about turning a watermelon into a house pet. Another bit about traveling a great distance to see the Grand Canyon, only to find it closed. One of his best routines (shown in the video below) was called “The Vacation Slides,” which involved a “clicker” with which he gave a fake presentation of a slide show, making surreal comments the whole time. Audiences would roar.

His more famous quotes include: “When I was born my father spent three weeks trying to find a loophole in my birth certificate,” “I was so unpopular as a kid, Dale Carnegie once hit me in the mouth” and “I called Dial-a-Prayer and they hung up on me.”

You sensed he never really felt comfortable up there. He developed an affectation of carrying a cornet with him as a prop during his stand-up, like Henny Youngman did with his violin. Most times, he worked to the band or the club employees, who all thought he was a riot. Vernon was a comic’s comic before it became a way-too-common and overused phrase.

His is the story of many of the comics of the time…very, very funny but never really given his full due. After a while, he began playing Vegas, went the blue route, ended up opening for Rickles and many of his other cronies whose stars had risen faster and further than his.

Even his personal life was tumultuous. He was married a number of times, possibly eight or nine. Money was always an issue.  And through it all, there was a sadness there…. it made sense that he identified very heavily with Charlie Chaplin.  And when he finally died from a heart attack at age 63, the first lines from Chaplin’s most famous song resonated: Smile, Tho’ your heart is aching; Smile, Even tho’ it’s breaking…

(Larry Dorfman is the author of “The Snark Handbook” series. Follow him on Twitter @SnarkHandBook and on Facebook here. For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!)

I first began noticing the effects political satire has on its audience while watching Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. Maher is a big personality and a good host, but what really struck me was how in the middle of a panel discussion that included the best of politics and comedy (and guest star Fred Armisen) there was Maher himself, a stand-up comedian, using humor to lead and shape political opinion.

Real Time is just one of many shows centered on political humor. Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report create a very familiar news setting (Fox News anyone?) paired with satirical hosts both mocking and defying the ways we talk about and receive our news. Stewart does this with a neutral look at political issues while Colbert takes on the persona of a hard right-wing television host.

Not only do these shows make us laugh with their complete lack of subtlety describing America’s problems, but as an audience we are also getting actual news. Back in 2006 Indiana University did a study that found The Daily Show covered as much substance as conventional news stations. In a recent interview President Obama told Rolling Stone Magazine he finds the show credible.

Politics are an uncomfortable subject for anyone to discuss – Thanksgiving dinner has proven that – but what comedians like Stewart and Colbert do with humor is give that comfort to their audience while still reporting the same news as conventional channels.

While humor ads to the ways we receive and process our news it also adds to the control we feel over it. A good example of this is when Tina Fey began her famous impersonation of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. Though the skits were meant in good fun, their impact shaped the views around the Alaskan politician, especially for those already opposed to her. SNL is famous for its impressions of famous political figures and situational skits: Dana Carvey’s George Bush Sr., Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton, Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush and Armisen’s Barack Obama. Whether or not you like these figures, being satirized helps channel opinions in a safe and lasting way. If you thought Palin was a joke before, Fey’s impression broadcast that voice.

Comedians already have a larger than life presence over their audience that makes them appear to be an authoritative figure. Stand-ups like David Cross, Patton Oswalt, and Lewis Black all work political issues within their routines. Lewis Black has a trademark temper when it comes to discussing politics, which you can find regularly on The Daily Show. David Cross and Patton Oswalt both produced routines and albums that were very critical of the Bush Administration. Connecting with the comedian is connecting with their ideas. A major question is whether or not these comedians have any sway over the public’s opinion. There are many arguments but it seems more fitting to say that these comedians are gutsier and more controversial in their expression of these issues where the average audience member is not, taking the discussion to another level.

Comedians are charismatic, opinionated and possess voices that are hard to ignore. They certainly don’t run the world, but they can have a significant influence over it.

Waters spoke with AmericasComedy.Com about his journey in comedy, the highs of his career, and what drives him to keep getting better.

What were those first couple years like in S.F.? You were trying to find your voice as a comedian?

Once I got there, I was like, you know, I’m in S.F., I’m in California, I’ve always wanted to be here. I’ve finally finished school. I can finally chill out a little bit…I can actually just enjoy myself’…and that’s all I did. I never went back to work. I basically decided I was going to have fun, I was going to party. And two years later, I’m climbing out of an 18 month hangover.

Wow. So you weren’t doing a lot of stand-up?

Well there was. There was. I lived in Berkeley for six months…I was able to perform every week. There was this place called the Brainwash. There was this place in Emeryville. I definitely got around and did shows. But I just wasn’t very focused. Which was kind of the idea of going out there – was kind of being focused and finding which way to go. That part didn’t work. I think the sense of humor in the bay is a lot more experimental. It’s a lot goofier, and therefore a lot more forgiving. It was definitely good for me to experience. I think New York is not a place I would advise people to start out doing comedy. It’s not easy to move up…I feel like New York comedy has this veneer of cool. This veneer of harshness to it. Kind of like a bunch of Dave Attell clones floating around. That’s just not my persona.

That’s interesting that you brought that up. After listening to your album I was trying to figure out ‘What’s this guys persona?’ More to the goofy side you think?

You know what, my personality is goofy. Just when I’m hanging out, I’m pretty goofy and silly. But I really subscribe to this theory (from) Richard Pryor, there was a quote attributed to him where he said, ‘Most of what I say is to get the audience comfortable and feeling good so I can say the one or two things I want to say and they can accept it.’ So I talk about some serious things in my comedy, but they’re all within the guise of…they’re all dressed up really nicely so they can be consumed. Which I think is a good thing, because you want to say things in order for them to be received. If you want to make any progress.

You explain it really well. Because a lot of stuff about comedy, is people using humor to make a point, whether it’s about relationships, or society or whatever.

Yeah.

So there’s also that stereotype out there about comedians wanting people to like them. If that’s how you are I couldn’t tell from the album. Do you fit that stereotype?

Yeah…I do. I definitely do. I wish I could say no…I remember when I was very early into comedy, I was doing this open mic and I was very nervous, as I always was. And there was this guy doing an open mic and I don’t know who he was but he had some success, he did a couple TV spots or whatever. And he just had this fearlessness about him. And I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait until I get any level of success. Because then I can lean upon that. And I don’t have to be so concerned about how each individual set goes. And I’ll be that much better.’ And that was my thought. And I didn’t realize that you find new fears. It’s like at each point I’m finding something that makes me horrified to go on stage. It’s like any (good) thing that happens, I have something to prove. Now that I’ve done Ferguson and Letterman, now I have something to prove. I want to validate those things.

Would you say that some of those fears were conquered when you won those comedy competitions?

It did. But the flip side is I find new things that I’m fearful of. It’s just like I need to show that I’m talented, and then after the competition I need to show that I deserved to win that competition.

So you sort of feel like the work you put in to win wasn’t enough to validate you? Now you have even more to prove?

Yeah. I don’t feel like doing anything and doing your job, for me, never validates having done it. Now I’m not saying that’s the way it should be. It’s very much not the way someone should live there lives, but that’s just the way I am…It’s not necessarily humility. I think it goes beyond that…some kind of deeper need for validation. I don’t know, when good things happen, I always feel I need to show that I deserved that to happen. And it’s very motivating…I can’t think of anything that will happen to me where I’ll be satisfied and will not work hard. Because at each point in time I’ve found something new to get me off my ass, and it’s mostly fear, but it is what it is.

That seems tough to be motivated by fear though, if that’s what motivates you. It seems like a tough thing to carry with you. Wouldn’t you want to be motivated by something other than fear? 

I would love to be motivated by something different. I think that’s why we read self-help books. Haha. Um, yeah, you’re totally right about that. You’re totally right.

Yeah I wasn’t necessarily trying to make a point, but comedians are very interesting and I appreciate how thoughtful you are…figuring yourself out and what drives you. 

Yeah, it comes with a lot of failure. Haha. It’s like how do I not wind up back in this ditch?

It’s interesting for you to say that it comes with a lot of failure. I mean, you got into Columbia, you’ve been on Letterman, you put out your album. But you still bring up your failures?

Yeah I’m like a football coach. As a football coach you win the game and your happy for like the night, and you get ready for the next game. But you lose a game  it just sticks with you for five or six days, until the next time you get to win. The failures always go much farther than the successes. Which is really kind of how I was raised, was to really focus on what you can do better and never be satisfied…because you’re always looking for the next thing. (That’s) what drove me to get to Columbia and graduate. And then in my mid 20′s, by the time I was in S.F. I realized that leaves no room for happiness. So I can’t actually enjoy anything. So that’s no good…I kind of had to step back from that a little bit. From time to time I look back on my career… if I never did any more standup, I could walk away and look at the stuff that I did, and say you know what – I think I can conclude I was pretty good. I think it was a good choice that I made to do standup. Which is validating, you know? They can never take away Letterman, they can never take away Ferguson or The Daily Line or “Tea with Tyson” or any of that stuff. And I’m proud of all that…I feel like I’ve done well.

Well I’m glad you brought up Tea with Tyson because I wanted to ask you, what’s the hardest part about interviewing Mike Tyson? Or what’s the scariest part? Because I’m always worried that the person interviewing Tyson is going to get punched in the face for saying the wrong thing. Haha.

To me the best comedy – and you can get away with being in your head in standup to a certain extent – but definitely with sketch or imrpov, it mostly works when your’re really present. But in order to be in the moment you can’t have any fears. you can’t be afraid of the guy you are working with and how he might react…so I’m sitting there interviewing him and I’m terrified ‘casue I dont want to piss him off and, you know, I’m trying to do comedy on top of that so it’s not like it can just be a straight interview…like I’m trying to have jokes. So I’m sitting there trying to make jokes and not piss him off..I finally at some point was just like ‘Ok, you’re just going to have to be really dry and try to do comedy without him knowing you’re doing comedy.’ And that’s how it came off.

Yeah, that’s brilliant. That’s exactly how it came off. 

I was actually with him for two and a half hours. We did – I interviewed him for about ninety minutes. And they cut it up into four and a half minutes. And I asked about getting the footage…I’m sure there’s more stuff we could do (with it).

Another cool moment you had was on the Dave Letterman show. And the thing I noticed about that was he made a joke about how you were going to be performing in Brunswick, New Jersey. And he had the crowd rolling about that. Did it throw you off right before you came out or did you just sort of go with it?

No I was not even remotely paying attention. I just wanted to get up and get my first joke in. I was so nervous – I mean I’m always nervous. A friend of mine runs a show at a cafe in Silver Lake and there’s eight people, ten people in the crowd and I’m nervous. I’m always nervous. It’s a different kind of nervous…At some point you just got to play the game. You can obsess about what might happen…At some point it just becomes useless and can almost be harmful if you’re just going to think and think and think about it. You just go to play the game. So, the waiting is definitely the hardest part.

How has the reception been from your album, and are you working on another one?

Yeah, it’s actually been very, very good. The interesting thing about recording an album is when you record it, you want to include all the best stuff you’ve been working on at the time. And the catch 22 is that jokes get better. You know? So I already have extended jokes that I have on the album and made them into a whole other beast…And I’ve been traveling around a lot basically since we recorded the album back in August. I’ve been on the road. And I’ve actually got a lot of material just writing and being in different places. So I’ve got this idea about a travel album. That’d be pretty cool.

That would be. And I read on your website that you were in Salt Lake City. I bet you could definitely draw some humor out of being there.

Oh yeah, oh yeah. Salt Lake City was hilarious. I think the place I actually wrote most about was Seattle. I got a lot of stuff out of Seattle…Canada, going to Winnipeg and Vancouver. But then South Africa, I was there for two weeks in Novemeber and I probably wrote a half hour about being there.

What was it about South Africa that got you going?

It was just very funny. Like I wasn’t prepared for how many white people that were there. And I wasn’t prepared for how many Indian people that were there. There was really neat people in District Nine…I was there for a comedy festival so they had us stay at this five-star hotel and casino and the entire staff was black Africans and everyone staying there were white English businessmen. And then you have these Americans with jeans and a t-shirt…People asking me why am I not in uniform….I talk about a lot of racial stuff just in general and to go to a place that has a lot of baggage with that, and write about that, and have people to tell me that I got it right, it’s a very big fulfilling thing to have happen.

Yeah definitely. Well I’d love to interview you again sometime…I really appreciate you taking time to do this. 

Cool same here man.

To read more about Reese Waters check out his personal website reesewaters.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ReeseWaters. His album The Content of My Character is on sale at RooftopComedy.Com.

For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.Com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

May I call you Clark? Now Clark, recently you’ve gotten yourself all up in arms because the lovable Jewy Jon Stewart took a jab at you folks by putting a picture of a manger in front of a vagina. Despite what I can only guess is a massive fetish fan base within Catholicism you’ve remained obstinately against this piece of satire/softcore porn. Honestly Clark, let the good Mench go.

Now Clark, I don’t claim to be holier than thou but me and my fellow Protestants have been making you look the fool since the whole 95 theses debacle. And I don’t know that the fast track out of Purgatory involves boycotting late night TV. I’m not sure if you’re aware what Civil Rights constitutes beyond the official sounding ring it has to it. (Hi, I’m Nate, Comedy Writer and Civil Rights Awareness Dude. LOL look how smarter I just made myself!)

But stuff like free speech is typically covered under that. If Jon Stewart wants to make Baby Jesus manger porn than he is allowed to do so. As long as he films it of course—otherwise it’s just prostitution.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you, Clark, expended as much outrage and energy trying to rid your church of its rampant pedophilia problem as you do needlessly badgering a televised comedy show? From what I can tell, maybe you guys should be more vagina friendly. As a man who came out of one I can confirm that they are pretty darn cool!

Clark, I’m going to guess that most Catholics aren’t any more proud of your boy touching priests than they are the sale of indulgences or the Spanish Inquisition. Sometimes you do crazy things for the people you love. Even if the person you loved pretty clearly said to “love your enemy.” Then again I can’t read Catholic so it may say something completely different in your Bible. However our civil and religious liberties are not in danger because of a Comedy Central graphics team. Stop being a martyr. Stop needlessly crucifying yourselves. That job has already been filled.

Love,

Nate Rankin

P.S. What’s this I hear about you being upset with the foxy Kate Upton? Last I checked all of your nuns were wrinkly and mean, or at the very least super un-Kate Upton-y. Who knows, maybe this whole nun-kini thing could be a big selling point for hot girls who are interested in marrying Jesus. I mean come on, the guy died for your sins the least you could do is throw him some hot tail.

 For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

“Mr President,” chimed Kimmel, “Remember – remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.”

In any other setting, this joke is considered child’s play. At a dinner which featured much of the president’s base – who, as any political junkie well knows is extremely sensitive to the slightest criticism thrown his way – and the President himself (on the verge of a re-election campaign) it was a dagger.

“You know, there’s a term for guys like President Obama…probably not two terms, but there is (one),” joked Kimmel.

“Even some of your fellow Democrats think you’re a pushover, Mr. President. They’d like to see you stick to your guns, and if you don’t have any guns they’d like to see you ask Eric Holder to get some for you,” Kimmel added, in reference to the Justice Department’s embarrassing Fast and Furious, guns for drugs program.

“It’s incredible. What a collection of people. Here in one room we have members of the media, politicians, corporate executives, advertisers, lobbyists, and celebrites. Everything that is wrong with America is here in this room tonight,” exclaimed Kimmel.

 Indeed, it’s hard to be funny with the political climate we live in today. But jokes about an administration’s shortcomings are not rare. It’s expected at dinners like these. Kimmel probably could have got away with this material, but what really seemed out of taste was when he started the show off with his White House Correspondents’ Dinner version of “This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.”

Within 30 seconds, the crowd got an earful via edited video of President Obama mouthing “A cock that I can suck.” I don’t know if it was because I was watching with my 79 year-old dad – a.k.a Obama Super Fan – but it was hard to sit through.

The second most interesting part of the dinner was, of course, Obama himself, and his expertly written monologue. I thought he performed exceptionally well. He made everyone laugh. His jokes were seemingly used as a way to poke fun at himself while also showing a lack of fear about the absurd rumors he’s had to deal with since he took office.

“Tonight for the first time, I am releasing my official birth video,” Obama joked.

Topics of his monologue included the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, celebrity Kim Kardashian, teleprompters, drunk texts from Hilary Clinton, Congress and much more. Enjoy video of the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner here:

 For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!

Monday, April 23: 

Tuesday, April 24:  Residents of the Austrian berg of Fucking will be voting on whether to change the town’s name. They’re tired of the crank calls and practical jokes. One local suggested just making the “F” into an “S”, saying it would be easy to paint over all the signs and besides, it’s a somewhat safer practice…around the world.

Wednesday, April 25: Think Like a Man handily beat out The Lucky One at the box office last weekend…with most men thinking, “I AM definitely the lucky one for not having to sit through another crappy weep-fest from Nicholas Sparks.”

Thursday, April 26: Details on the Secret Service scandal continue to come out. The latest is that the lead agent assumed the cost was $47 when, in actuality, the hooker wanted $800…serves ‘em right for bringing on agents that used to protect the congressmen working on the budget committee.

Friday, April 27: A new study finds that more Mexicans are now leaving the U.S. than entering, reversing a four-decade wave of immigration. Given the economy, the job situation, and the tough laws that have been coming from the Border States, it makes sense. So basically, the wealthy will now have to raise their kids themselves.

(Larry Dorfman is the author of “The Snark Handbook” series. Follow him on Twitter @SnarkHandBook and on Facebook here. For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!)

George Wallace grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, in a religious family… so it made sense that one of the first appearances he made was dressed in the robes of a Preacher. His monologue that night was an improvised send-up of the many Bible-belters he had watched as a youth…and he was a natural. He killed. A comedic star had arrived.

(Larry Dorfman is the author of “The Snark Handbook” series. Follow him on Twitter @SnarkHandBook and on Facebook here. For more comedy news and exclusive interviews visit our AmericasComedy.com Facebook fan page and follow us on Twitter @AmericasComedy!)