Entertainment: Political Humorists Thrive in Clinton Era
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton may be struggling with the outcry over his appointments and his $200 haircut, but he is generating big business for one segment of the economy -- political humorists.</br></br>"There's no recession in the comedy industry," says Elaina Newport, a writer-performer for the musical comedy group The Capitol Steps. The Capitol Steps performed 350 live shows in 42 states last year, and business is "up 12% from last year," Ms. Newport says. The group just wrote a song dedicated to dropped Clinton appointee Lani Guinier called: "When Lani Goes Marching Home Again."</br></br>Political comedy, once considered too narrow to sell outside the Washington Beltway, now has Washington performers taking to the road, often performing at functions for companies and trade groups. Political humor "has never been more popular," says John Simmons of Gross National Product, a group that performs a show called "Clintoons."</br></br>Gross National Product performed for private and public groups 207 times in 1992; that number has already been surpassed this year, Mr. Simmons says. GNP does skits about whatever is in the news, and the group rewrites the jokes every weekend. "The reason I picked David Gergen as my new director of communications is we found out that George Stephanopoulos is only 13," cracks Bob Heck, the actor playing President Clinton. "We were violating child labor laws."</br></br>Comedian Mark Russell, who once performed his topical jokes and songs almost exclusively in Washington, now is on the road 200 days a year before such groups as the American Association of Retired Persons. Indeed, the veteran satirist calls himself "the official rap artist of the AARP." He credits the media with making political humor more widely popular. "Less than 30 years ago the network news lasted 15 minutes. Now we're swamped with it," Mr. Russell says.