The Dance of the Comedians: The People, the President, and the Performance of Political Standup Comedy in America

Copyright

Copyright © 2010 by University of Massachusetts Press a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d Printed in the United States of America First printed in paperback 2011 lc 2009048474 isbn 978-1-55849-733-7 (cloth); isbn 978-1-55849-785-6 (paper) Designed by Steve Dyer Set in Electra by House of Equations, Inc. Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robinson, Peter M., 1958– The dance of the comedians : the people, the president, and the performance of political standup comedy in America / Peter M. Robinson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55849-733-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Presidents—United States—Humor—History. 2. Political satire, American— History. 3. Stand-up comedy—United States—History. 4. American wit and humor—History. 5. Presidents—United States—Public opinion— History. 6. Public opinion—United States—History. I. Title. E176.1.R644 2010 973.09'9—dc22 2009048474 British Library Cataloguing in Publication data are available. To Beth, Ryan, and Sarah, for their love of a comedian. ...