TV comedians: We poke fun 'cause it's easy

At a time when the media is inundated with election coverage and commentary, comedians have managed to break the monotony by coming up with hilarious takes on the election. From Sarah Palin's winking to Joe Biden's hair, John McCain's awkward sense of humor to Barack Obama's celebrity aura, the comedians have jumped at the chance to poke fun at the candidates… and have succeeded stupendously.

The writers and hosts of late-night comedy shows say the campaign has simply provided some of the best characters in recent memory.

"There's just so much to play with here," said Eric Stangel, one of the head writers of CBS's "The Late Show with David Letterman." "There's been so much media coverage, so many investigative reports, so much out there about this election, and then Tina Fey holds up a flute, and that's what everyone's talking about." Stangel was referencing a segment on a recent "Saturday Night Live," in which Ms. Fey spoofed Gov. Palin's performance at the vice-presidential debate.

Political comedy, namely Ms. Fey’s hysterical impersonation of Gov. Palin, has lifted SNL’s ratings 50% compared with last year. The segment has become a hit on youtube and served as a reference point in political discussions, including on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Seth Meyers, head writer for SNL, said this election provides more fertile territory for comedians in part because much of the American public is paying attention. About 70 million people watched the vice-presidential debate last week (considerably less watched the Obama-McCain debate on Tuesday), "so you can make jokes about minutiae and people will get it," Mr. Meyers said.

Jay Leno, host of "The Tonight Show" on NBC, attributes the increase in political jesting to the sophistication of today’s views which makes them open to once-dangerous humor, and thus comedians can venture fearlessly into unchartered territory. "Audiences have grown up in the sense that you can do a joke about Barack Obama without people seeing it as racist" or one about Gov. Palin without automatically being accused of sexism, he says.