Stand-Up Guy: John McCain's Campaign Trail Comedy

Jan. 17, 2008 — -- Everyone knows John McCain is a war hero. And he has a national reputation as straight-talking political maverick. What probably few people realize is that he can be very funny.

Running for political office, of course, means giving speeches, lots of speeches.

. In an era in which informality — plain speaking, as Harry Truman titled his autobiography — has replaced the orotund oratorical style of old, humor has become almost a required component of the stump speech.

At every campaign stop — from Muscatine, Iowa, to Peterborough, N.H., to Holland, Mich., to Lake Wylie, S.C.— McCain can be depended on to toss out one of a dozen or so surefire jokes to loosen up the audience.

But the jests are not entirely just for laughs. Some of them also carry a subtle or even subliminal political message.

What follows are a few of McCain's greatest hits, if you will, and my interpretation of what they really mean.

McCain: "Ronald Reagan used to say, and I've quoted him a lot over the years, and it's a good line: 'Congress spends money like a drunken sailor, but I never met a sailor with the imagination of Congress.' Well, that's a pretty good line, but true story: About six months ago I got an e-mail from a guy who wrote: 'As a former drunken sailor, I resent being compared to Congress.' You can't blame him."

Analysis: All of the Republican presidential candidates like to drape themselves in the mantle of Ronald Reagan. With this joke, McCain let's you know right away that he knew the man himself — perhaps less well-known: his political career began as a Reagan protege.

He also sends the message: "I may be a veteran of Congress but I don't like the wasteful spending ways of my colleagues any more than you do. And you don't even know the half of what's really going on!"

McCain: "Congress spent $3 million for a program to study the DNA of bears in Montana. Now, I don't know if this was a criminal issue or a paternity issue —"

Analysis: This guaranteed crowd pleaser reinforces McCain's complaint that the federal government is spending taxpayer money like, well, like the aforementioned drunken sailor.

But you can assured, he is also saying that this insanity has not escaped his attention: "Elect me and this will stop."

He also occasionally mentions the veto pen that Reagan gave him and vows to wield that very same instrument to cut the pork from the federal budget. I've even seen the senator pull out the pen — or at least a pen — and wave it in the air. A nice flourish.