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Many of the best satirical works, be they cartoons or articles, books or one-liners, are quite whimsical in nature and have a great propensity towards the absurd rather than the vitriolic. Being ridiculous is a big part of satire, which often seeks to create a silly, overblown caricature of its intended target. Satire has been a big part of the political debate for many years, with a significant proportion of the public consuming more political commentary through satirical media such as talk shows, panel shows or even puppet shows like Spitting Image in the UK, which many people credited with making a big dent in the Thatcher government in the 1990s. But can it really have much of an effect? I would argue that in some ways it can have more of an effect that conventional political commentary such as newspaper and blog articles or television news and politics shows. There are a few reasons that I think that. The first is simply because a purely informative article which seeks to put across a particular political viewpoint will often only be read by people who already hold the same opinion, or who are naturally inclined towards that position. But everyone likes to laugh, so if you can make something that is genuinely funny then it is more likely to be seen even enjoyed by people who could actually form an opinion, or change a previously held opinion, as a result. It is also true that the impact which any individual piece of commentary can have, whatever format it is in, will depend on how many people share it with their social network. This could mean sharing online content directly through social networking sites, or just repeating it (or a version / description of it) in a conversation with friends. And anyone will tell you that people are much more likely to share something funny than they are to share a dry political article, no matter how informative or well researched and persuasive it is. The only exception to that would be people who are passionate about and active within politics. And they are not likely to change their position much in any case. Also with things like internet memes and blogging networks like Tumblr there is a big, established community of people who can easily make and share funny stuff. Satire and political humor become part of this in a way that unfunny content cannot. So that is why I think that satire really can be a big part of the political debate, and that it could even help to shape the outcome of an election. But what do you think - could satire influence the results of the next election?
The 2012 election polls continue to show that the 2012 elections are going to be close. Some of the latest polls have shown conflicting reports, as some news outlets are reporting that Obama is leading the generic Republican candidate, while other polls are suggesting that Obama could lose the election in 2012 to any Republican candidate. Many people on both sides of the fence believe their candidate is going to win, but it seems that neither candidate is garnering a lot of support. Many Democrats can't be pleased with the job Obama is doing as President. Unemployment remains high with numbers above 8 %. Statistics show that an incumbent president has never won re-election when the unemployment rate is above 8%.
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