Entertainer In Chief

The Presidents Changing Role in Modern Politics

Medha Gupta

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In the 17th century, William Shakespeare, in As You Like it, through the character of Jaques said, All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players.1 He could not have been more right nearly half a century later. The stories people tell, and the narratives shaping everyday lives have become, especially in recent history, a crucial way that Americans digest and approach daily lives, especially presidential elections. In the modern world, presidents are now entertainers in chief; they are the stars of their own movies, soap operas, or reality television. Especially from the election of Ronald Reagan, an experienced actor and entertainer, this concept has become fixed in our current society and discourse. Even with the way that news is approached and digested nowadays, there is an alternative, more entertaining method of getting the news, one was pioneered by Saturday Night Live. The concept of needing to be entertained, while new, is one that was embraced famously by then presidential candidate Bill Clinton as a part of their 1992 campaign for the presidency, and now, has become even more important in the upcoming 2012 elections. The Concept Entertainer in Chief, and its purpose The stories people tell are an endemic part of any functioning society. In a world where tabloids sell, because they tell stories of lives led by celebrities because just their job is not enough, the President becomes a part of this cycle. After the advent of television, and especially as the concept and genres of popular media evolve, the skill of entertaining becomes something that every modern president is required to have. Fred Siegel of the New York Daily Times argues that the fact that periodicals such as US and

William Shakespeare, As You Like It (Oxford: W.W. Norton & Company , 1997).

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People, that are really celebrity magazines, and the rise of television programs such as Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood means that the old 1960s slogan that the personal is political has become frighteningly true.2 Although it would seem that a political life would be purely professional, and the candidate would be judged merely with that criteria, this has become something else over the years. Siegel continues to argue, our political culture, which depends on a public life of relatively reasoned debate has been overtaken and undermined by our celebrity-mad popular culture which, by focusing on the private lives of public figures, turns politicians into personalities.3 This attracts the common man, especially voters that do not watch the news on a regular basis, but strive to vote someone into office that is one of the people or someone that a person can have a beer with. This desire places an emphasis on seeing a candidate as approachable, and also humanized. Siegel argues that the upshot has been that rather than push voters to rise to the occasion by grappling with sometimes difficult an unfamiliar issues, politics has often been reduced to the personal foibles we can all relate to without effort.4 This way, if an audience connects emotionally with a candidate or one of their surrogates, they can forgive them for what is, in their eyes, a minor setback, but if they had heard the story that they were judging earlier, than it would have been a much larger deal. An example of this is the largely known Republican emphasis on family values and that they, by and large, decry teen sexuality and pregnancy, but in the case of Sarah Palin and her daughter, Fred Siegel, "The presidential soap opera is degrading our political process," NY Daily News, September 7, 2008, http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-0907/news/17906243_1_palin-candidacy-sarah-palin-political (accessed December 1, 2011). 3 Ibid 4 Ibid
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this merely became a minor pitfall, and they readily forgave the family, even though if this had been a setback on the other side, then they would be attacked quite fully. These are the kinds of mindless reversals that happen when Oprahfication the elevation of mushy narrative nonsense over all else carries the day.5 Although Siegel is not too keen about this method used by American voters, he realizes, even in 2008, that this is a key part of electability. Over the recent elections, especially after the ubiquity of televisions in the home, the election has become something that has been personalized. Television demands on a day to day basis that coverage be focused on individuals, and news is created in terms of this oversimplification. Ronald Reagan, a retiree from the acting industry, was probably the first president that shaped this world and changed the way a president can inherently communicate. Reagans triumphs as a two-term governor of California and then a twoterm president of the United States derived in great measure from the expressive skills and popular rapport he acquired as an entertainer. Using broadcasting and acting as stepping stones to political activism and then candidacy, he was the first president to take advantage of the experience and name recognition gained as a performer in radio, motion pictures and television.6 As someone who could step up in front of a camera and perform, Reagans entertainer prowess became incredibly important. He could, at the drop of a hat, become charismatic

Ibid Gary Arnold, "Silver Screen to White House; President Drew on His Entertainer's Training.," World & I 19, no. 7 (August 2004).
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and connect to individuals, something that is an incredibly important skill for an actor to have. Up until that point, presidents who where credited with being skilled actors were often done so sarcastically and it would not be a compliment. However, in the case of Ronald Reagan, this did become a very important part of the election and how future presidents would use this charismatic approach to connect to their voters, who had now become their audience. The real exciting entertainer-in-chief aspect occurred the moment that President Bill Clinton appeared on MTV to appeal to the youth vote in 1992. He appeared on the program Choose or Lose and answered questions from younger voters. The program was created in 1992, in order to energize the youth and persuade them to go to the ballot box. The incumbent president, George H.W. Bush rejected all invitations to appear on the show saying, Im not going to be a teeny-bopper at 68.7 Ross Perot also had some major qualms about going on the show asking the question, Im not going to have people jiving behind me when I answer questions, am I?8 This became especially important when Bill Clinton and Al Gore decided that they were not above such television programs and appeared, answering the questions from the youth, helping to revitalize the campaign and effectively showing respect to the young voters that the previous candidates refused to do. By not showing up, Bush and Perot unwittingly alienated a large base of voters and did not grant them the respect that was now granted by Clinton and Gore. For years the MTV generation was dismissed as the American electorates

qtd by Joshua Hammer and Adam Wolfberg, "Not just hit videos anymore," Newsweek, November 2, 1992: 93. 8 Ibid.
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Gupta most politically apathetic. But in a year of an unpredictable surge of voter interest, the 18-to-29 age group is emerging as a potent force. Polls find that nearly 75 percent say they will vote in November, compared with just 40 percent in 19889

The youth involvement in politics seems to stem, in this case from the yearn for change that the entire population faced in 1992, flushed with broken promises of no new taxes and a desire for something new. The MTV vote especially aided in the campaign to get more voters out to the booth and since the primaries in February, 1992 proved to be a year where, coupled with MTVs Choose or Lose campaign and the Rock the Vote registration, the youth became an incredibly powerful voting bloc. These programs worked mostly to the Democratic advantage because Clinton and Gore embraced the spirit of youth and made themselves look as if they were respecting this voter base rather than Bush and Perot who outwardly denied going onto the program, effectively alienating them. Jennifer Frey, in a 2004 article of the Washington Post, used the term Entertainer In Chief to describe George W. Bush. At the 60th annual Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner, after a series of opening remarks that threw jabs at various members of his cabinet, Bush went on to poke at his own malapropisms before unveiling a slide show titled White House Election Year album that had the crowd chuckling. He jabbed the Democrats a few times, especially his challenger, John Kerry. Bush opened his album with a picture of himself looking at trading cards on a plane on his way to the G8 summit and said, Once I got these trading cards, its easy to remember Joshua Hammer and Adam Wolfberg, "Not just hit videos anymore," Newsweek, November 2, 1992: 93.
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the names of the foreign leaders, amidst laughter.10 Mostly, though, he put up dorkylooking pictures of himself. A recurring joke involved photos of the president in awkward positions- bent over as if hes looking under a table, leaning to look out a window accompanied by remarks such as Those weapons of mass destruction gotta be somewhere! and Nope, no weapons over there! and Maybe under here?11 He intercut those pictures with a screen that popped up saying, as if in a comic book Zing! Good one George! He followed that with pictures of soldiers that were killed in action. The music played during this montage was rather slapstick and goofy. This served to humanize him, and make fun of his prior setbacks, showing that he is a candidate that can laugh at himself and thus creates someone that was much more accessible to the voting population. This would hopefully make him more endearing to the population, even though, by using the serious images, he subtly reminded the audience of the necessity of his bottom line to stay the course in Iraq. This humanizing aspect is one that has been so essential in our modern narrative, even though it is such a recent development. Even talk show hosts like Dr Phil in 2004 emphasized the importance of Bush and Kerry appearing on his show. In a Washington Post article in 2004, they address this phenomenon of the president appearing in other media. On Dr. Phil, Bush gets an opportunity to soften his hard-edged, warpresident image by sitting next to his wife and talking about his family. And Kerry gets a chance to sell his personal life story that is, the one

George W. Bush, "Bush at 2004 White House Correspondents Dinner" (Washington, DC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EbssUgHj4, 2004). 11 Jennifer Frey, "George Bush, Entertainer In Chief," Washington Post, 3 25, 2004.
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Basically this concept became something absolutely endemic to the election, and the concept of entertainer in chief was further ingrained into the society. Even though merely a few years ago, George Bushs father had dismissed this as a way of pandering to voters, his own son was one that embraced it, and his ability to connect to the audience, and John Kerrys lack thereof, regardless of experience and ability to do the job, became the key to winning the election. Ronald Reagan

pioneered the concept of being an entertainer and connecting to the American population, and although George H.W. Bush did not continue this trend, he was arguably riding on Ronald Reagans coattails, and the reason he was elected was because he lived out the post-Reagan success. However, after a term of broken promises, when Americans wanted change, they turned to someone who did not marginalize their views, who did not put himself over his voters, going to them, instead of having his voters come to him. Bill Clinton furthered this trend, and made it clear that he was not above the entertainment, and embraced his stories. George W. Bush, while he did not further this mobilization, did find a way to embrace being entertainer-in-chief, and his ability to be one of the people and a humanized president got him far, and was most of the reason that he could win the election twice, both over Al Gore and John Kerry, the latter of which had an incredibly difficult time connecting to his base. How does Obama play the role? Barack Obama became an incredible example of Entertainer-in-Chief. He embraced Washington Post, "Dr. Phil's Advice to Candidates: Come on My Show," The Washington Post, September 29, 2004.
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new and social media, mobilized the youth vote, and because of his ability to connect and be one of the voters, completely brought a new meaning to the term entertainer-in-chief. From the stories he told, to the surrogates he employed on a day to day basis, he created a compelling and electable narrative, especially one in 2008 that countered John McCains. During the election, he, like Bill Clinton, appeared on television programs designed to: mobilize the youth vote such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live; mobilize the female vote such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show, and people who do not normally watch the news and the late night audience such as the Late Show with David Letterman and Tonight with Jay Leno. These appearances serve to humanize him and bring him to a new group of viewers that do not watch Sunday morning news programs and nightly news programs. These appearances are largely for people who do not follow politics, but still have a chance of showing up to the voting booths and could potentially be mobilized. Also, they serve to energize his base, especially now, as the base itself is growing more and more weary of the current situation.

For the youth vote, Barack Obama appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. For the interview, he was fairly casual, wearing a suit jacket, a white-collar shirt and no tie. He was very laid back, sitting back in his seat, slouching a little bit, trying to come off as young and approachable, demonstrating his ability to be casual and appeal to the younger generation. He stresses the importance of the young vote on his appearance, speaking about the importance of this voter base, calling up the recent memories of older voters and the Clintons campaign. Although Jon Stewart was heavy on the jokes during

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the interview, highlighting the insanity of the elections, and Obama takes the jabs, but manages to keep his message clear and keeps repeating his message, bringing it out to the young voters. Jon Stewart, however, does recognize the narrative aspect of the election and asks, Do you feel youre stuck in a narrative now? And the narrative is, Hillary Clinton is unlikeable but knows what shes doing, Obama is inexperienced but brings change, and that narrative, no matter what you do because its easily categorized, the media, or everyone else will slip whatever happens into those two narratives. 13 Jon Stewart, in this interview, recognized the importance of the narrative in Barack Obamas candidacy, and strives to question the importance of it, and Obama also recognized the change, and also addressed that they will find something new to use, and that is exactly what happened. After obtaining the presidency, Barack Obama continued, as a way of campaigning to govern, to appear on these entertainment platforms in order to present his campaigns and reach the voters. President Obama will make the fusion of politics and comedy official tonight by becoming the first president to appear on Comedy Centrals Daily Show just days before the crucial midterm elections that could reshape his presidency.14 In this interview, Obama is making his case wherever anyone gats their information. This is especially important because it furthers the notion that voters do not watch the news anymore, especially the vast majority, who watch entertainment programs in order to receive information. This is also a different audience than the ones Barack Obama, interview by Jon Stewart, "Barack Obama," The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, August 22, 2007. 14 Michael D. Shear, "Obama to Appear on 'Daily Show'," The New York Times, October 27, 2010, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/obama-tovisit-daily-show-as-campaign-nears-end/?partner=rss&emc=rss (accessed December 1, 2011).
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who watch the news on a day to day basis, and this information would get out to those who do not have a chance to see Obama on CNN, MSNBC, or FoxNews. Regardless of that, his appearance on the Daily Show also served to cater most to the base that helped elect Obama in 2008, he hoped that this would be a way to re-energize the same youth that helped him out and would get young voters excited and out to the ballots for the midterm election which would have been a landmark one. Mr. [Robert] Gibbs said the administration was not concerned about mixing politics and entertainment.15 He states that it is especially important that attempts that endeavor to get people excited about politics regardless of the medium is important. Barack Obamas recent appearance on Tonight with Jay Leno also makes this concept apparent. He used this interview to separate himself from the chaos, and to create an image for himself which was above the fray. This interview was one that had been planned long in advance, and Jay Leno played softball with the President, shying away from hard hitting news questions, mainly because he is not a journalist. Obama also used this time to trivialize the Republican platform, stating that the race was more akin to the show Survivor, waiting to make his move until he could see who got voted off the island. This pop culture reference painted him as hip. His appearance was both casual and confident, and he also took the time to take light jabs at both himself, and Michelle, casually making fun, but not going too far, of her efforts to create a healthier nation. This self-deprecation also served to show that he could laugh at himself, using humor as a way to cope with the truth, something Jon Stewart has been arguing since the very beginning of his own show.

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Ibid

Gupta How does he employ other actors in his narrative?

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Michelle Obama plays a huge role as a surrogate for Barack Obama, and especially in this continuing narrative of Entertainer in Chief. The stories he told about his family are especially important. In 2007, Barack Obama appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, this show is particularly high in the ratings for daytime television, especially scoring high with women and attracting a large female audience. During his campaign, he appeared on the show, dancing with Ellen at the beginning. On the show, he sat down with her, and they made a call to a viewer who asked how it was, balancing family life with his life in the senate. He introduced Michelle and his two daughters Sasha and Malia and then talked about how hard it was being away from the wife and the family during his campaign, but stressed the importance of keeping his family together during this tumultuous time, especially the importance of keeping the girls in a good place. The tone during the interview was generally lighthearted, and he could speak about the importance of his family.16 This is a huge example of the narrative a president is a part of and furthers his story, demonstrating that he is not only a politician but a concerned father. He paints the picture of himself and Michelle as very involved parents who want to give their daughters an easy time during a campaign he knows will be hard on them. The viewer who asked the question, was in fact a mother, and he shows to her that he cares and he will do whatever it takes to become a healthy presence in his childrens lives. This story became of the defining aspects of his campaign. Barack Obamas mother S. Ann. Soetoro, and the fantastic job she did raising him became another part of the longstanding narrative in 2008. In April 2008, Time Magazine Barack Obama, interview by Ellen DeGeneres, "Barack Obama on Ellen: Balancing Family," The Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC, October 30, 2007.
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did a profile on Barack Obamas mother, comparing her with her son, furthering the story he told. When I think about my mother, Obama told [the author] recently, I think that there was a certain combination of being very grounded in who she was, what she believed in. But also a certain recklessness. I think she was always searching for something. She wasnt comfortable seeing her life confined to a certain box.17 The authors notices that Obama is a direct contrast of his mother because even though she swept her children off to unfamiliar lands and even lived apart from her son when he was a teenager, Obama has tried to ground his children in the Midwest.18 This also serves to demonstrate his familial strength, and his abilities as a father. The story of his mother is one where there was a lot of adversity to overcome, a common narrative loved by Americans. Her story is one of constant upheaval, and violent divorce. When her son was almost 2, Ann returned to college. Money was tight. She collected food stamps and relied on her parents to help take care of young Barack.19 This further humanized him in the eyes of voters, creating a narrative that alludes to the notion of The American Dream, the notion that anyone, no matter what background, can do what it takes to survive in this nation if his heart is pure. Americans see what is inherently American with this notion, and this furthers the Hollywood-esque story that Barack Obama has. American voters, time and time again, admire stories about overcoming odds and adversity, and through his mother, Obama tells that story. The 2012 campaign will depend on these stories about overcoming odds and adversity. On the Oprah Winfrey Show, in a joint appearance with Michelle Obama, Amanda Ripley, Zamira Loebis and Jason Tedjasukmana, "A Mother's Story," Time Magazine, April 21, 2008: 36-42. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.
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Barack Obama stated that he wants to be the president who restores peoples belief in the American dream.20 The appearance on Oprah, while fulfilling the intentions of a president who wants to appear outside of the traditional audience, made it evident that he and Michelle were a unit and they are still a very strong familial unit. They continued the narrative that they are a family in Washington, no matter what. Michelle shared, during this interviews, that Malia has begun to do the laundry. This served to demonstrate that they are untouched by the glamorous life, and still teaching their children how to be independent and self fulfilling. These stories create a whole different world for Barack Obama, making the presidency about much more than just politics. The stories people tell are so important, and the various parts of his life become just a part of that. These stories will play a major part in Barack Obamas campaign in 2012 and he will probably use them to demonstrate the hardships that he had to face and overcome, hardships that took well over four years to fix. But he did overcome them and find success, and this narrative will prove especially important in the coming months. The Junction of News and Entertainment: Saturday Night Live INTRODUCTION Although Saturday Night Live is primarily a comedy show, using sketches to lampoon societal trends, for the past thirty years, it has taken an absolutely crucial role in American politics. Weekend update expanded the parameters of what is allowable on network television as well as [it pulled] together this segment [which] had to pay close attention to the traditional new, media, resulting in the SNL office in many ways

Darlene Superville, "Obama Wants to Restore Belief in American Dream," Associated Press, May 2, 2011.
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resembling a real media newsroom.21 Weekend Update was a part of the SNL format from the very first show, beginning with Chevy Chase sitting at the news desk. Lorne Michaels, the creator of SNL, saw Weekend Update as one of the most important parts of his broadcast. This show was created at a very tumultuous time in recent history, the Nixon scandal had just occurred, and the Vietnam war had just ended. These two events led to the creation of the news parody format. It was a very political time, said Lorne Michaels, We had all just gone through watching Watergate, you know, almost everyday, so people were very familiar with news and news anchors and how the news was presented.22 Although it was meant to be primarily satirical, it was important that it portrayed the news as it was. The writers strived to keep it very much up to date, and there were even a few times when Chevy Chase was handed new material while he was on the air.23 As an adept improviser, this never became a particularly huge problem for Chase, as he could comment on these new additions very easily, demonstrating how important it is to be an established improvisational actor for these types of political satires. This segment has done so much for the concept of news and entertainment today. By using non-journalists, like actors and comedians, to play the role of the news desk, they can jab and provoke the discussion. It tries to develop the narrative of the American people, and serve as the voice of the American people as they respond to events occurring around the world. In one particularly funny segment on Weekend Update called Really?! Aaron Reincheld, ""Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update," Journalism History 31, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 190-197. 22 Qtd by, Aaron Reincheld, ""Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update," Journalism History 31, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 190-197. 23 Aaron Reincheld, ""Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update," Journalism History 31, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 190-197.
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With Seth and _____, Seth Meyers, sometimes alone, sometimes with a guest, expresses his frustration at certain news stories, mirroring the frustrations of the American Public and providing a very humorous way of addressing very frustrating topics. By taking what they do seriously, the cast and crew of SNL have fulfilled a need in American society: to give a mainstream voice to alternative points of view and to question publicly the system and governmental leaders. Although, through taking that oppositional stance against authority or typically being cynical about the story in question, the show has its limitations. The goal of those behind the show is to counteract this constant negativity by spreading it across political and ideological lines to be consistent and evenhanded by attacking everyone.24 Weeekend Update has created a culture where political satire has become mainstream, where shows such as The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report can exist. By truly channeling the frustration faced by the viewing public, Weekend Update set a standard for fake news and has become something that politicians, celebrities, and the viewers at home take incredibly seriously. Another huge facet of Saturday Night Live as an institution is the presidential impersonation aspect. I can see Russia from my house, has become a line that many people attribute to Sarah Palin, but it is, in fact, a line written and delivered by Tina Fey in her Emmy winning portrayal, impersonated her in Saturday Night Lives 2008 coverage of the presidential elections. Throughout her sketch with Amy Poehlers Hillary Clinton, she made 44 body gestures, she pushed out her chin and placed her upper lip Aaron Reincheld, ""Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update," Journalism History 31, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 190-197.
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over her bottom lip fourteen times, waved her hands seven times, raised her hand with her finger pointing four times, mouthed words without sound while shaking a clenched fist while nodding her head three times, licked her upper lip twice, and once she placed her elbows on the podium and made a grabbing motion and afterwards hugged Hillary Clinton while squinting. The visual images and dialogue of [Tina Feys sketches] provided a connotative interpretation of Palin as an unsophisticated, unworldly, inexperienced state politician, talking about subjects beyond her depth of knowledge and even one who is undereducated with a poor grasp of basic grammar, which the skits illustrated with inarticulate direct quotations of homespun haikus.25these served to create Sarah Palin herself into a caricature with those outside Palins close fan base, and ultimately really made a huge impact on the election. This impersonation was not just a first time thing either. Chevy Chase made himself very famous with his Gerald Ford impersonation. His biggest contribution was the way he made Gerald Ford look like a bumbling idiot. The show made Ford took clumsy not only physically but also mentally. For example, Chase delivered this joke in 1975, "Commenting on the early polls, Jimmy Carter said he didn't care much, but Ford's comments were, 'The Poles are an independent people and autonomous people, and I don't think they consider themselves to be under Soviet domination.'

Ahrlene A. Flowers and Cory L. Young, "Parodying Palin: How Tina Fey's Visual and Verbal Impersonations Revived a Comedy Show and Impacted the 2008 Election," Journal of Visual Literacy 29, no. 1 (2010): 47-67.
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This became a way for viewers to discuss what they had seen, and by their impersonations, Saturday Night live became an institution, which sparked discussion. Jason Zinoman of The New York Times also looked at the importance of the presidential impersonations, and compared Fred Armisen, who plays Barack Obama, to Dana Carvey who famously played George H.W. Bush. Zinoman argues that SNL generally adopts a more detached approach26 while comedy by Jon Stewart uses a more direct line. Both Bill Clinton and Al Gore received harsh treatment form SNL as Republicans have, in a way for the show to remain as one that has no anger or agenda.27 When it comes to stamping a politician in the public consciousness, Saturday Night Live has no equal. Will Ferrells George W. Bush was so popular that it spawned a Broadway show. It didnt matter that Gerald Ford was an athlete: Chevy Chase, who made little effort to look or sound like him, convinced America that Ford was a graceless klutz. As Sarah Palin, Tina Fey probably had the biggest impact of any comedian on the last election.28 But he goes onto argue that Obamas impersonation is not as imaginative as the previous ones were, and is too tied down to the real world. Although Armisen has accomplished the cadence necessary to imitate Barack Obama, it does not quite capture the brilliance that Dana Carvey espoused. By the time Mr. Bush was elected, Mr. Carveys complete sentences turned into checklists of catch phrases and elaborate evasions of anything Jason Zinoman, "Comedians in Chief Mustn't Be Prudent," New York Times, December 5, 2011. 27 Jason Zinoman, "Comedians in Chief Mustn't Be Prudent," New York Times, December 5, 2011. 28 Jason Zinoman, "Comedians in Chief Mustn't Be Prudent," New York Times, December 5, 2011.
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concrete.29 Armisen, however, has trouble capturing the true parody of Barack Obama, and does not take too many chances and risks, the same chances and risks that made impersonators like Chevy Chase, Darrell Hammond, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, and even Tina Fey thrive. Regardless of the apparent inability for Armisen to capture the elusive Obama satire, Saturday Night Live has become a societal institution. It is at the center of both politics and entertainment and serves to spark political discussion in a markedly different way than the press. It also serves as a very important way that humor can be used to digest what is going on in the media. Entertainer in Chief is a huge concept espoused by this junction mainly because it does the same thing that the Entertainer in Chief is determined to do. It opens political discussion up to a brand new audience while catering to their needs as viewers.

Conclusion The concept of Entertainer In Chief is a very important part of the American political discourse. Because it opens up to a different audience, it has become a very crucial part of any president, or potential presidents campaign. The mainstream media remains a very huge part of the political discourse, but often falls to a narrow audience, and many of the candidates target voters can fall outside of the demographics of Sunday Morning, or nightly news. Through alternative outlets such as comedy shows, talk shows, and late night shows, candidates can have alternative discussions while telling their stories and putting importance on their narratives in a casual, laid back setting. Also, Jason Zinoman, "Comedians in Chief Mustn't Be Prudent," New York Times, December 5, 2011.
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Gupta because the stories they tell are so important to a voter, these outlets become almost as

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important as debates themselves. Where the news and entertainment meets is also at the crux of this discussion, as these alternative ways to get the news, such as Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report, are humorous and also attract a much wider audience than traditional news outlets. They provide a way to digest the stories told by the politicians, and by sparking more discussion, continue various narratives.

Gupta Bibliography Arnold, Gary. "Silver Screen to White House; President Drew on HisEntertainer's Training." World & I 19, no. 7 (August 2004).

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Bush, George W. "Bush at 2004 White House Correspondents Dinner." Washington, DC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9EbssUgHj4, 2004. Flowers, Ahrlene A., and Cory L. Young. "Parodying Palin: How Tina Fey's Visual and Verbal Impersonations Revived a Comedy Show and Impacted the 2008 Election." Journal of Visual Literacy 29, no. 1 (2010): 47-67. Frey, Jennifer. "George Bush, Entertainer In Chief." Washington Post, 3 25, 2004. Hammer, Joshua, and Adam Wolfberg. "Not just hit videos anymore." Newsweek, November 2, 1992: 93. Obama, Barack, interview by Jon Stewart. "Barack Obama." The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy Central. August 22, 2007. Obama, Barack, interview by Ellen DeGeneres. "Barack Obama on Ellen: Balancing Family." The Ellen DeGeneres Show. NBC. October 30, 2007. Reincheld, Aaron. ""Saturday Night Live" and Weekend Update." Journalism History 31, no. 4 (Winter 2006): 190-197. Ripley, Amanda, Zamira Loebis, and Jason Tedjasukmana. "A Mother's Story." Time Magazine, April 21, 2008: 36-42. Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. Oxford: W.W. Norton & Company , 1997. Shear, Michael D. "Obama to Appear on 'Daily Show'." The New York Times. October 27, 2010. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/obama-to-visit-

Gupta daily-show-as-campaign-nears-end/?partner=rss&emc=rss (accessed December 1, 2011). Siegel, Fred. "The presidential soap opera is degrading our political process." NY Daily News. September 7, 2008. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-0907/news/17906243_1_palin-candidacy-sarah-palin-political (accessed December 1, 2011).

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Superville, Darlene. "Obama Wants to Restore Belief in American Dream." Associated Press, May 2, 2011. Washington Post. "Dr. Phil's Advice to Candidates: Come on My Show." The Washington Post, September 29, 2004. Zinoman, Jason. "Comedians in Chief Mustn't Be Prudent." New York Times, December 5, 2011.