Jimmy Fallon: Health Care Hits Karaoke

On Wednesday night, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon had a karaoke competition again.

Here are a few of the past karaoke segments:

Rush Limbaugh Karaoke, June 18, 2009
Mark Sanford Karaoke, June 26, 2009
Rush Limbaugh Karaoke, July 31, 2009
John Madden Karaoke, September 1, 2009
Rush Limbaugh Karaoke, November 9, 2009

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon features the bit relatively frequently. It's among the regular spots.

Other than the John Madden edition, I have never seen the bit done without the Right being mocked. Not once. If someone can point to a time that the Left was the target, I'd love to hear it. As far as I know, it never has happened.

Wednesday night's karaoke theme was "Health Care Hits."

"Audience members set the words of conservative talk show hosts opposed to the health care bill to beautiful music."

The actual words of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh were sung by three contestants.

Video.

Health Care Hits Karaoke, Part 1 (3-24-10)

Health Care Hits Karaoke, Part 2 (3-24-10)

I don't have a problem at all with the words of conservatives being mocked in this karaoke bit. It's comedy.

However, what I'd like to see, after over a year of Fallon's show being on the air, is a karaoke bit that makes fun of the idiotic things said by liberals.

There was a Mark Sanford segment. It was really funny. So why wasn't there an Eric Massa segment? That would have been hilarious.

Jimmy Fallon did play Massa in a mock interview with Larry King. He didn't give the guy a pass.

In fact, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, more than any other show, doesn't shy away from doing jokes about Obama. Quite unusual.

I give the writers credit for not considering Obama untouchable in terms of comedy, but the karaoke segment remains a liberal-free zone.

Rush Limbaugh is frequently the subject of ridicule in these karaoke competitions. Why not highlight the ramblings of Ed Schultz or Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews?

I assume that's because those liberal extremists are on MSNBC, NBC's exceedingly liberal propaganda outlet on cable.

It's too bad that the Late Night writers apparently consider them off limits.

But there are other libs. Why not use Nancy Pelosi's gibberish? Joe Biden's words would make for some great karaoke.

The beauty of Biden's words lends itself to song.

Obama Broke Boy's Arm in 'Tickle Fight'

When Obama was growing up in Indonesia, he broke a boy's arm while they were riding a bike together. Apparently, the accident was the result of a "tickle fight."

From New York Magazine:

After canceling his trip to Indonesia this week, President Obama tried to make up for it by gamely sitting down for an interview with Indonesian news network anchor Putra Nababan. At the end, Obama was tossed a range of softballs about his time growing up in the country (e.g. "Is it true you used to tease your female classmates to get their attention?"). Then, out of nowhere, Nababan came at the president with: “Do you remember breaking someone’s arm?”

“Yes, I do,” Obama responded, after a brief pause. “We were riding a bike together. And he fell. I was very traumatized. We fell on the bike. Please tell him that I apologize. I felt so bad. I remember feeling terrible."

While our initial reaction was surprise that whoever this victim was hasn’t tried to cash in with an OK! magazine interview or something, we were even more intrigued when we noticed on a second viewing that Nababan murmured something about a "tickle fight" causing the accident. Of course. Just when it seemed like there might be something even vaguely scandalous lurking in Obama’s past, it somehow turns out to be just another adorable anecdote.

Just to point out--

There are things that are more than "vaguely scandalous lurking in Obama's past."

That whole illicit drug use thing is certainly more than "vaguely scandalous." His "goofing off," as he calls it, was relatively intense.

"Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though. ..."

How adorable!

Although he smoked pot and used coke, Obama says he didn't use heroin. That's so cute!

I don't consider the story of his street drug use to be just another "adorable anecdote."

The breaking the boy's arm in Indonesia was a childhood accident.

Whatever role the "tickle fight" played in the incident, it seems innocent enough. I mean, it doesn't sound at all like an Eric Massa-style 50th birthday party sort of tickle game.

If Obama was so traumatized by breaking the boy's arm, I wonder why that didn't make it into one of his books.

Maybe it was so traumatic he couldn't bear to recount it.

A "tickle fight" and a bike is a dangerous mix.

Video.

Krauthammer: Rahm Emanuel and Eric Massa

Charles Krauthammer discusses Rahm Emanuel's steam room encounter with Eric Massa.

Video.

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: I think [Rahm Emanuel's] career was on the skids when you had all the stories in The Post about how smart he was and how much of a dummy the boss was, but I think he's been revived by Eric Massa. Any guy who does an Easter promise like a steam room knockdown of another congressman in the full monty deserves respect and I think he'll get it now.

BRET BAIER: And do you think how this health care situation is being handled now is in some way redeeming for White House, for chief of staff Emanuel?

KRAUTHAMMER: Look, if they win, everybody's a, you know, everybody's a winner and everybody is the father of victory. But if he loses, it'll be Emanuel's, I think it's going to be a real target and he may be the fall guy.

I have to disagree with Krauthammer.

Emanuel's steam room tactics don't deserve respect at all.

SNL: Eric Massa - Jerry Seinfeld, Seth Meyers (Video)

On Saturday Night Live, Jerry Seinfeld joined Seth Meyers on "Weekend Update" for a segment about Erica Massa, called "Really!?! with Seth & Jerry."



Video here.



Transcript

SETH MEYERS: Really, Eric Massa? Really? First you claimed you were leaving Congress for illness, then you said you were forced out by the White House, then you said it was because you groped a staffer, and then you topped it all off by being the crazy one on the Glenn Beck show. I mean, really.

JERRY SEINFELD: And Eric, when you finally admitted you groped a male staffer you insisted it was just during a tickle fight? Really? You know, if a grown man is willing to say it was just a tickle fight, what really happened was probably A - worse, and B - illegal.

MEYERS: And really, you have to stop saying this happened on your 50th birthday as if that makes it OK. That's not what happens on 50th birthdays. On my dad's 50th birthday, we got him a gift certificate to Morton's and a Band of Brothers DVD. Really, that's a 50th birthday. You're thinking of your 5th.

SEINFELD: And when Larry King asked you if you were gay, you said, 'Ask my wife or ask the 10,000 guys I served with in the Navy.' Really? First off, ask your wife, really? Can I assume if you are gay she might be the last person you'd tell.

MEYERS: Also, really, when crafting a sentence denying your homosexuality, try to leave out phrases like '10,000 guys' or names of Village People songs like 'In the Navy.' You might as well have said, 'I'm not gay. Just ask the fellas down at the YMCA.

SEINFELD: And by the way, we didn't have time to ask all 10,000 guys, but we asked three, and they all said you were gay. I mean, really, you even had a reputation for giving out special massages that you called 'Massa massages.' Really, Eric? If you're gonna sexually harass people who work under you, dude, don't trademark it. 'Hey, in case you forget I groped you, here's an easy way to remember my name.'

And why do I have a sinking feeling that 'Massa massages' were quickly followed by 'Massa-bations'?

MEYERS: And really, Eric Massa, the worst part of this story is that it ruins snorkeling for me. Before you came into my life, snorkeling was a thing kids did on vacation. And now if I walk by the pool at Disneyland, it's gonna look like a weird underwater sex club.

SEINFELD: And I can't stop thinking if that's snorkeling, what's scuba diving? What's a two-man submarine?

MEYERS: I don't think I want to know.

SEINFELD: No.

MEYERS: At the same time, we want to applaud your accomplishment. It is truly incredible to be New York's biggest disaster at a time when David Paterson is still governor.

SEINFELD AND MEYERS: Really! Really?

__________________

Video of SNL's cold open, which also lampooned Massa.