Editorial of October 23, 2025

Humor and Politics?

When asked back in 1979 why he avoided controversial topics on “The Tonight Show,” Johnny Carson said that his role was not to address serious issues or to influence public opinion, but rather to entertain. He joked about personality versus policy, and did not believe comedy should be used for political gains.

“Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import, and you know, strangely enough, you could use that show as a forum,” Carson is quoted as saying. “You could sway people, and I don’t think you should as an entertainer.”

While we agree with the king of late-night television that comedians have no place in politics, we do think perhaps politicians need to lighten up a bit.

Take Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, who is currently something of a TikTok sensation thanks to his memorable one-liners, unique sense of humor and down-home way of expressing his opinion. Anyone who has witnessed Kennedy hold forth in Congressional hearings or in press interviews knows what we’re talking about.

Whether we agree with Sen. Kennedy politically, we find his humorous candor to be a welcome respite amid all the grandstanding, shouting, cursing and finger pointing that marks much of today’s political discourse.

Some of his classic comments include:

“Leadership in politics is like herding cats; everyone’s got their own bad idea.”