ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the content of late night political humor—the jokes themselves. It examines this body of work by late night comics in some depth, it is apparent that the overall message being sent is overwhelmingly negative. The book provides an overview of the evolution of political humor on late night television, from The Tonight Show and its competitors to Saturday Night Live to Comedy Central's political humor programming. It focuses on the highest-profile targets in American politics: sitting presidents, vice presidents, and candidates for these offices. The book focuses on shifts from who's funny to what's funny in late night comedy. It also examines how late night humor interacts with the news in shaping the public images of political leaders. The book explores the role of late night talk shows as stopovers on the road to the White House.
