What’s the difference between Dana Milbank and a collection of cliches?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one… opening salvo to an oped by Dana Milbank

There is something entirely appropriate about holding the State of the Union address on the same day as Mardi Gras.

There is?

One is a display of wretched excess, when giddy and rowdy participants give in to reckless and irresponsible behavior.

Hm.

Question:  Why would I even bother reposting the punch-line?  Why would Dana Milbank even bother including it?  Everyone knows what the next line is, and they can conjure it up in the head without any effort — moving on the “plague on both sides” commentary on the current politics.

Sigh.

Okay.  Fine.

The other is a street festival in New Orleans.

And that’s what’s called “Hack Punditry”.

It’s a joke which, at this point I think should now be reserved wholly for a sort of anti-comedy, where the “sensible first item” being described for discussion by the description of the second item is ever more contrived, ever more forced, ever more meta in its awareness of a set up.

Or perhaps the other way to do it is to set the joke up as ever more obvious…

You know… the two things I wake up to the morning are my bowl of Fruit Loops and the commentary of Wayne LaPierre, and that somehow seems entirely appropriate.  One is… blah de blah… loopy fruit things… and stuff…

And the other is, er, a bowl of cereal, with milk in it.

 

Leave a Reply