Don't Hate on Specter

In this week's Washington Post Magazine, Gene Weingarten writes about Arlen Specter's 2nd place finish at the annual Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest. Weingarten complains that

"the septuagenarian lawmaker [told] jokes he may well have heard from his grandpa. They [were] as stale as the air in the mausoleum, as rancid as last Thursday's sushi, as desiccated as a mummy's dandruff."

This may be true. But I give credit to Specter for having the guts to attempt stand-up at the DC Improv for 10 minutes straight. Performing stand-up comedy has to be one of the most difficult skills out there in show-biz (and that includes politics, too). And seriously. Would I rather have Specter burning the midnight oil coming up with original "funny" material or trying to solve some of our nation's problems?

So sure, Specter is no Jerry Seinfeld, but Weingarten should at least cut him a little slack for putting himself on the line. And wow, I would give him first place just for throwing out the "ringing the doorbell joke" - classic.

You be the judge: