Analyzing Obama's Perfect Dick Joke
Ten out of ten. Miles better than the Gettysburg Address.
Now we all know that Barack Obama is one of the greatest orators in recent political generations. However he hasn’t really had a moment to rival the greatest speeches in American history. But this week he surpassed himself with the perfect dick joke. It was flawlessly written and executed. Let's have a look at it in full:
The Context
One of the things the Dems are actively trying to highlight is how impetuous, reactive and chaotic Donald Trump is. Of course saying that is the first thing but like with every form of rhetorical persuasion it works best if you show people.
In 2016 the strategy was to take Trump somewhat seriously and that backfired as it legitimized the absurd. In 2020 the strategy was fear. This man will kill us all. That worked but barely. In 2024 they've settled on the best way to deal with tyrants - to mock them. He is weird and is surrounded by weirdoes. I am glad they are saying that, finally.
A petulant name caller could never do what Obama did in this speech. To write and execute a multi-layered joke that makes numerous references and still retains a sense of class and dignity is so far beyond the skillset of Trump it only goes to deepen the feeling that he is a clown in contrast.
The Setup
As a poet, I immediately picked up on alliteration. I am a sucker for a little (a lot) of alliteration in my writing and so it was a delight to hear it.
Childish nicknames
Conspiracy theories
Crowd sizes
It also helps set up the very subtle potential for other c-words. I can think of two that are relevant...