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U.S. political satirists from the 1950s-today

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Satire has long been a tool of political criticism. In the United States, political satire can be traced to pre-Revolution days and the likes of Benjamin Franklin. This guide focuses, in chronological order, on the comics and social commentators of the mid-20th century up to the cable TV stars of today. NOTE: Items linked to in this Guide might contain language or opinions considered offensive.
U.S. political satirists from the 1950s-today
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Introduction to political satire

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PBS introduction to political satire
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/satire.html
PBS provides an excellent selected history of American political satire, dating to Ben Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanack" and continuing through editorial cartoons and on to the fake news cable shows of today.

About.com's roundup of political humor
http://politicalhumor.about.com/
Daniel Kurtzman's blog is a go-to source on the Web for political humor and cartoons. It's updated daily with jokes,  satire, videos and funny news.
Interview with author of "Seriously Funny"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1334777
NPR's 2003 interview with the author of the new book "Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s." Gerald Nachman asserts that pioneering humor by the likes of Mort Sahl paved the way for the outspoken comedians of later eras.
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/may/20/opinion/op-dalrymple20
Conservative Anthony Daniels, writing in the Los Angeles Times under his pseudonym Theodore Dalrymple, takes popular culture and its impact on society to task. Daniels offers his conviction that many people take their moral and political opinions from celebrities like Bono, Rosie O'Donnell and Jon Stewart -- and it's ruining our ability to think seriously.

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Mort Sahl

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Mort Sahl
In his trademark V-neck sweater, with the day's newspaper tucked under his arm, Mort Sahl revolutionized the world of stand-up comedy beginning in the Cold War with a fresh combination of political awareness, fearless criticism of the government, and a willingness to draw on personal experience. His involvement with John F. Kennedy and fascination with his assassination nearly cost him his career. But Sahl enjoyed a resurgence during Watergate and continues to make appearances on TV.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/sahl_m.html
http://www.mortsahl.com/
"Cyber library" of photographs, albums, quotes, articles, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Sahl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQy-9womeQs&feature=related
Sahl discusses the 2008 presidential campaign and other political headlines.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =xQy-9womeQs&feature=relat ed
Sahl discusses the 2008 presidential campaign and other political headlines.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93736024
Interview from National Public Radio, 50 years after Sahl appeared at the Hungry I in San Francisco.

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/04/theater/hold-the-borscht-here-comes-mort-sahl.html?pagewanted=1
Sahl brought a one-man show to Broadway in 1987.

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097329,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810308-1,00.html
Time magazine reviews Sahl on Broadway: "In a Broadway theater grown intellectually a little stuffy, Sahl is a kind of nice fresh breath of carbon monoxide."
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/cmcmagazine/2008winter/mort_sahl.pdf
Time magazine 1960 cover story
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,939769-1,00.html
Sahl was the first political/stand-up comedian to appear on the cover of Time.

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Lenny Bruce

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Lenny Bruce
Bruce drew national attention in the 1950s and '60s with his daring style of satire, in which he probed taboo subjects such as racial fears, sexual fantasies, Jewish-Christian tensions and presidents and used "dirty words." Being an innovator and defender of free and protected speech made for a difficult life, as he was charged with obscenity multiple times. Nightclubs started to refuse his act to avoid police trouble. Bruce died of a drug overdose in 1966 at age 40.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce
http://www.lennybruceofficial.com/
Web site with contributions from Bruce's daughter, Kitty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCmfEWDU7pQ
A clip from Lenny Bruce's second-to-last performance, touching on his legal troubles and observations about religion and race.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =TCmfEWDU7pQ
A clip from Lenny Bruce's second-to-last performance, touching on his legal troubles and observations about religion and race.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uu9QMSodxk&feature=related
The comic keeps it clean, yet still controversial, on national TV.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =-uu9QMSodxk&feature=relat ed
The comic keeps it clean, yet still controversial, on national TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiBy3wAEOn8&feature=related
Hoffman was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, and the film was nominated for best picture.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =XiBy3wAEOn8&feature=relat ed
Hoffman was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, and the film was nominated for best picture.
Documentary "Swear to Tell the Truth"
http://www.duckprods.com/projects/lennybruce.html
Read here about the documentary featured on HBO in 1998. Includes interview with the director and articles about the film from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other publications.
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1225432,00.html?iid=chix-del
Time tribute from 2006, 40 years after Bruce's death at age 40.
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George Carlin

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George Carlin
George Carlin started in the '60s as something of a traditional stand-up comedian. But around 1970, he swapped his suit and tie for jeans and a T-shirt and let his hair grow. His anti-war, anti-establishment persona did not play well at first, but Carlin quite simply expanded free speech in this country -- and not just via the case of the "Seven Dirty Words." Everything from religion to politics to motherhood to baseball came in for equal ribald treatment.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin
This entry includes links to Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision stemming from Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" routine. The ruling defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission over "indecent" material.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91802870
Radio interviews from 1990 and 2004 with National Public Radio's "Fresh Air."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaa9iw85tW8
Carlin's appearances, interviews and routines (including the 'dirty words') are all over YouTube.com. This one with a political/religious bent  is from the comic's last HBO special, March 2008.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =gaa9iw85tW8
Carlin's appearances, interviews and routines (including the 'dirty words') are all over YouTube.com. This one with a political/religious bent  is from the comic's last HBO special, March 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgl0DiG4Is
His take: The planet is fine; it's people -- including environmentalists -- who are messed-up.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =jhgl0DiG4Is
His take: The planet is fine; it's people -- including environmentalists -- who are messed-up.

http://www.motherjones.com/media/1997/03/george-carlin
Carlin speaks up about what's wrong with Mickey Mouse, baby boomers, private property, and political activism in a Q&A from Mother Jones magazine
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat/331953
Carlin died on June 22, 2008. A blogger for The Nation.com remembers his impact.
Carlin mourned as free-speech hero
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=20207
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/george-carlin.htm
Official site
http://georgecarlin.com/
This site does not appear to have been updated in some time but includes a professional and personal timeline; DVDs, books and other items for sale (including his first book, "Brain Droppings," and  his last HBO special, "It's Bad for Ya"); and images of documents such as the arrest report after Carlin's 1972 "Dirty Words" routine in Milwaukee.

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Smothers Brothers

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Smothers Brothers
While going up against "Bonanza," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (1967-69) became one of the most influential and controversial TV programs of the Vietnam War era, due to being politically left. Material that was critical of the political mainstream and supportive of the counterculture/drug-using lifestyle led to censorship and ultimately the show's cancellation by CBS.

A history of the show and its controversies
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/smothersbrot/smothersbrot.htm
The brothers' desire to provide a space on TV for the perspectives of a disaffected youth movement ran counter to CBS' tastes, and the network demanded to review episodes in advance. Among guests and performers who were censored are Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte and baby expert Dr. Spock.

The brothers' official site
http://www.smothersbrothers.com/
With updates on what Tom and Dick are doing now, merchandise, and an episode archive.
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=14027
Interview from May 2001.

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Arts/68512-Interview-Dick-Smothers/
"We wanted our show to be relevant," the performer says.
http://www.sptimes.com/News/110500/Floridian/The_Zen_of_Tommy_Smot.shtml
"I wonder sometimes what would have happened if we'd been allowed to go on," Tom says. "I'm sure it would've been fun, because what we were doing up until then was fun. Fun and very, very frustrating."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPHdkxApd9E
In the opening clip, the brothers poke fun at CBS' censorship. (Interestingly, cigarette commercials were not yet a problem for television.)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =pPHdkxApd9E
In the opening clip, the brothers poke fun at CBS' censorship. (Interestingly, cigarette commercials were not yet a problem for television.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVzjr-5F3ZM
Among the clips are the brothers singing about the Vietnam War, and Walter Cronkite announcing on the evening news that the show had been canceled.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =hVzjr-5F3ZM
Among the clips are the brothers singing about the Vietnam War, and Walter Cronkite announcing on the evening news that the show had been canceled.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4qDZ4B1kww&NR=1
From October 2008.


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =n4qDZ4B1kww&NR=1
From October 2008.

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Pat Paulsen

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Pat Paulsen
Paulsen, a deadpan comedian on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," ran for president in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1988, 1992 and 1996. While his candidacy was more for comedic than political purposes, he did generate some protest votes. Paulsen died in 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Paulsen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4kWLUnorTU
Paulsen's satire skewers Social Security, gun control, health care. Today's audience might be reminded of the double-talk from Stephen Colbert's "The Word" segment on "The Colbert Report."


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =x4kWLUnorTU
Paulsen's satire skewers Social Security, gun control, health care. Today's audience might be reminded of the double-talk from Stephen Colbert's "The Word" segment on "The Colbert Report."

Paulsen for President site
http://www.paulsen.com
Includes link to an older site, created in 1997. The authors say Paulsen was the first presidential candidate to start an Internet site, in 1993. Paulsen's son Monty is reported to be keeping the Paulsen legacy alive with a 2012 presidential run.



Also on the site, Tommy Smothers pays tribute to the senior Paulsen, saying, "His '68 run was one of the best satirical things ever done in politics."



 

http://www.humorproject.com/blog/?p=14
Humorous interview from 1993. Includes Paulsen's "Constitution"

http://www.lubbockonline.com/news/042697/pat.htm
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/pat_paulsen.html
Album:
http://www.answers.com/topic/pat-paulsen-for-president
1968 mockumentary of Paulsen's nomination for the presidency is strung around a series of soundbites taken from his editorial monologues on the Smothers Brothers show.

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'Saturday Night Live'

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fey as palin
After the Smothers Brothers, and before cable really took off, the cast of "Saturday Night Live" and the show's fake-news "Weekend Update" segment best filled the satirical void on TV. Fittingly, George Carlin hosted the first show, in 1975.

With Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton referencing an "SNL" skit about her debates with Barack Obama, the show enjoyed renewed attention during the 2008 presidential race. Some critics say the show is more parody than satire, though.

Blog on how
http://blogs.tampabay.com/media/2008/10/how-snl-changes.html
A well-thought blog entry by St. Petersburg Times TV/media critic Eric Deggans, looking back at "SNL" impressions of politicians starting with Chevy Chase as a bumbling, stumbling Gerald Ford.

The 'SNL' effect
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-snl-effect-satire-or-something-more.html
Tina Fey discusses Palin and satire on NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96494481
Former "SNL" head writer Fey talks with Terry Gross of NPR's "Fresh Air" in November 2008.

Chevy Chase on Ford and 'SNL
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/03/chevy.chase.snl/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Did Chase's impersonation cost Ford the presidency? "I think there was no question that it had major effect ," the comedian says.

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Mark Russell

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Mark Russell
The Washington-based Russell has done comedy specials on PBS since 1975. The shows, with an old-timey feel, are a mix of political stand-up comedy covering current events and musical parodies, in which Russell accompanies himself on the piano.

http://www.markrussell.net/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Russell
Includes a list of his quotations and jokes.
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/7264
Click on the video at the 40:11 mark for an interview with Russell from October 1994.

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Bill Maher

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Bill Maher
Maher gained fame as the host of "Politically Incorrect" from 1994-2002, on Comedy Central and then ABC. Maher is not one to pull punches, and ABC declined to renew his contract after he said that the 9/11 terrorists were not cowards and that U.S. servicepeople were cowards for lobbing bombs from miles away. Since 2003, he has hosted "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.



He describes himself as a libertarian but also has been tagged as a liberal. Maher is known as a critic of organized religion and in 2008 wrote and starred in the comedy/documentary "Religulous."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Maher
http://www.billmaher.com/
"Real Time" official site
http://www.hbo.com/billmaher/
With audio and video links, Maher's New Rules, episode guide and merchandise links.

Mother Jones magazine interview
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2008/09/mojo-interview-bill-maher
Interview from fall 2008, in which Maher discusses religion, Republicans he admires, a Democrat he despises, the death penalty and more.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/8485
From May 2007: The comedian discusses the Iraq War, George W. Bush, the 2008 campaign and more with Rose.
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Jon Stewart

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Jon Stewart
Since 1999, Stewart has hosted Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," which, though touted as a "fake news program," has gained a reputation as a primary news source among younger people (18-34). Presidential candidates, including Barack Obama, have been among Stewart's guests, making the show one that viewers and politicians cannot ignore. In 2003, Sen. John Edwards announced his run for the White House on the program, making him the first presidential candidate to launch a campaign on a TV comedy show. The Emmy-winning show also won Peabody Awards for its 2000 and 2004 election coverage. Stewart most recently drew headlines for his criticism of financial network CNBC and TV host Jim Cramer for their coverage before the stock market crash of fall 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Includes video of full episodes and bios of the star and his correspondents and contributors.

http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/america_the_book/
Links to reviews of the 2004 bestseller by Stewart and "The Daily Show" staff. The book was No. 1 for 18 straight weeks on the New York Times' list. The recording of the book won the 2005 Grammy for best comedy album.



The New York Times' Tom Carson has this to say about the spoof of an American history textbook: "As with ''The Daily Show' itself, the book's artfulness is in maintaining a balance between pointed satire of the political travesties and media bamboozling [that] Americans should be fed-up with, and the sort of sublime silliness that implies equanimity."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
In October 2004, Stewart appeared  on CNN's "Crossfire" and pleaded with hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala to "stop hurting America." "He accused them of "partisan hackery" and said they "fail miserably" in their responsibility to the public discourse.  Stewart's appearance is later cited by CNN president Jon Klein when he announces the show's cancellation in January 2005.



 


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =aFQFB5YpDZE
In October 2004, Stewart appeared  on CNN's "Crossfire" and pleaded with hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala to "stop hurting America." "He accused them of "partisan hackery" and said they "fail miserably" in their responsibility to the public discourse.  Stewart's appearance is later cited by CNN president Jon Klein when he announces the show's cancellation in January 2005.



 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwUXx4DR0wo
Financial TV host Cramer offers a mea culpa on "The Daily Show."


Click to Close Video Player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =dwUXx4DR0wo
Financial TV host Cramer offers a mea culpa on "The Daily Show."

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/jonstewart/a/jonstewartbio.htm
Kurtzman writes: "Stewart employs a deft comic touch as he levels hilariously deflating broadsides at America's political landscape. Mixing piercing satire with spontaneous wit, Stewart essentially sits in the back of the country making wisecracks and throwing spitballs, as he once put it."
Interviews with and praise from Bill Moyers
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04272007/watch.html
High praise comes from PBS' Bill Moyers in the first  of two interviews (from 2003 and 2007) available on this site:



"When future historians come to write the political story of our times, they will first have to review hundreds of hours of a cable television program called 'The Daily Show'. You simply can't understand American politics in the new millennium without 'The Daily Show.' "



 



Their dialogue begins:

[B]MOYERS:[/B] I do not know whether you are practicing a old form of parody and satire. Or a new form of journalism.

[B]STEWART:[/B] Well then that either speaks to the sad state of comedy or the sad state of news. I can't figure out which one. I think, honestly, we're practicing a new form of desperation. Where we just are so inundated with mixed messages from the media and from politicians that we're just trying to sort it out for ourselves.

Section

Stephen Colbert

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Stephen Colbert
Colbert, an alumus of Jon Stewart's show, adopts the persona of a blowhard Republican commentator (a la Bill O'Reilly) on his own Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report." (The t's are silent in both words.) His over-the-top act in turn skewers the very conservatives he purports to defend. Colbert is a winner of multiple Peabody Awards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert
Official "Colbert Report" site from Comedy Central
http://www.colbertnation.com/home
Watch full episodes and join Colbert Nation here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15116383
Colbert discusses his show and his book "I Am America (And So Can You!)" with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air" in 2007.

Book reviews of
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/i_am_america/
Colbert's 2007 book plays off his idea of "truthiness" -- "truth that comes from the gut, not books." As he explains in his introduction, this book is "not just some collection of reasoned arguments supported by facts. That's the coward's way out." Instead, it's a primer on what to believe about America.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/12/08/national/a135405S48.DTL
A term coined by Colbert sums up the news year, according to dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

Colbert  at the 2006  White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/05/01/colbert/
With the president sitting just a few feet away, Colbert's biting irony and satire surprised the press and George W. Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSE_saVX_2A
Colbert runs for president
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert_presidential_campaign,_2008
In shades of Pat Paulsen, Colbert announced on Oct. 16, 2007, that he was going to run for president on both the Republican and Democratic tickets, though only in his home state of South Carolina. The "campaign" was short-lived. Colbert elected not to pursue the Republican primary because of a $35,000 filing fee, and on Nov. 1, 2007, the Democrats voted to deny him a place on the ballot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QquTUR9nbC4
Colbert stays in character on the Fox News show hosted by the man he emulates and calls "Papa Bear," Bill O'Reilly.


Click to Close Video Player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =QquTUR9nbC4
Colbert stays in character on the Fox News show hosted by the man he emulates and calls "Papa Bear," Bill O'Reilly.

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Lewis Black

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Lewis Black
"Daily Show" contributor and Comedy Central and HBO performer Lewis Black is known for his trademark rants. He once described his humor as "being on the Titanic every single day and being the only person who knows what is going to happen." His 2006 Carnegie Hall performance CD won the Grammy for best comedy album.

http://hubpages.com/hub/lewisblack
Includes video links.
http://progressive.org/node/4677
Black explains in this 2007 Q&A that he doesn't consider himself a political comic but a social satirist "because my setup is information."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Black
http://www.lewisblack.com/index.asp
With video, audio, tour dates, an Q&A and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc
Here's a slice of Black's political humor, from a Broadway appearance.

Click to Close Video Player
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =4mCDZMWVWuc
Here's a slice of Black's political humor, from a Broadway appearance.
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