Not that there was ever any question about Barack Obama having a sense of humor, but I haven't heard him being so laugh out loud funny before. Last month on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me, an NPR show out of Chicago, host Peter Sagal was reviewing 2008 and he finished it up with a couple of their Obama segments and best of all, an interview with him that had me guffawing. You can listen to it here. It's 19 minutes long and the last 15 minutes are priceless.
The first part is a rather lame bit in 2004 from an advertising guy trying to come up with some slogans to help Obama get past the potential problem of having a name so similar to that Al Quaeda guy. It's pretty short so bear with it. Trust me, it's worth it to get to the interview.
Then they go to a couple of Obama apologies. The first is a tape from 2004 of Obama calling a reporter from Georgia who was supposedly ticked off at him for interrupting him when he was trying to hustle a female news intern. Obama is contrite and charming as always. Then Sagal and his cronies mock Barack for the effect that he has on his adoring throngs of supporters, laughing at how the huge crowd yells and cheers Obama for apologizing just for blowing his nose at a rally last spring.
The fun part is the interview with him from August 2005. Although Obama had been elected to the U.S. Senate, he hadn't started his presidential campaign but he definitely, as they note, had a rock star aura about him. There is an audience in attendance and they loved and responded to him even back then, plus he cracks up the interviewers several times. Barack is his usual interesting and funny and deprecating self as he talks about being in the Senate and about eighth grade graduations. It's wonderful to hear him chuckle and his hearty laughter in some parts.
They wind up with 'Not My Job' where Sagal asks Barack three questions about baseball star Wade Boggs. Obama shows off his cocky side when he proclaims he knows his sports stuff. My favorite line that had me howling came during the second question although it got more of a gasp than loud laughter from the audience and the interviewers wouldn't touch it and moved on quite quickly! The raunchy side of Barack Obama! Too funny.
Click the 'Listen Now' button on the website and enjoy.