ABSTRACT
Some presidencies have a defining moment that crystallizes their historical significance for posterity—Washington's Farewell Address, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Richard Nixon's White House tapes, Bill Clinton's White House trysts. This chapter discusses of late night jokes, focuses on the highest-profile targets in American politics: presidents, the vice presidents who serve with them, and the major party nominees for these high offices. In fact, Clinton proved such a popular target for comedians that they stayed on his trail even after the end of his presidency. Despite leaving office in January 2001, he outpaced incoming president George W. Bush that year to retain his number-one ranking as a joke target. Clinton was a tough act to follow, but George W. Bush managed to provide the late night comics with considerable material of his own to work with. The chapter shows that presidents are the favorite targets of late night humorists, but not all presidents are berated equally.
