Leno proved, week after week, to be the only late night host willing to mock the president, a basic task humorists did with regularity before January 21, 2009.
Would Leno’s replacement, Jimmy Fallon, continue that tradition? Conservatives were understandably skeptical. “Late Night with Jimm Fallon” famously played the song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” as guest, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn), strode toward the show’s couch. Fallon apologized via Twitter for the rude greeting.
During the heat of the 2012 presidential campaign Fallon invited President Barack Obama on to “slow jam” the news with the administration’s spin.
During the first few months of Fallon’s “Tonight Show” tenure, the former “Saturday Night Live” star occasionally followed Leno’s lead. He poked fun at the president’s foibles when appropriate, and never in a mean-spirited fashion.
Last night, Fallon revisited his “slow jam” gag, but this time in the defense of Obama’s recent immigration decree. The host, along with biased news anchor Brian Williams, painted the GOP as obstructionists during the segment:
For those who think political satire doesn’t matter and has no effect on the voting populace, ask yourselves why both CNN and Washington Post would fact check “Saturday Night Live” sketches critical of President Obama.