Why didn’t Obama cross the road?*

What are you, a purist?

* * *

Here is the formula:

[set up] Why didn’t Obama cross the road? [punchline, always Obama fan rationalization or word salad]

(Three engineering considerations for phrasing in the negative: The little variation on the old children’s joke is a hook for the memory; and has a slight connotation of cowardice and cluelessness (“chicken”; “chicken, head cut off”); and should bring to mind everything Obama did not do, which is a lot. Another critique, with which I agree, is that Obama normalized and consolidated everything Bush did, which is a positive achievement of sorts, but probably best skewered with a different joke.)

So herewith:

Why didn’t Obama cross the road?

Because we didn’t “make him do it!” (JH) Don’t question his motives this close to the election! (VL)

And of course the classics:

Why do you hate Obama? You’re a racist!

Also too:

What, you’d rather have Mitt Romney cross the road!? (VL) Nobody could cross the road in their first term! Because his heart was in the right place! Obama went near the road, and it was historic! (VL)

Historic indeed, also too transformational.

* * *

So, make up your own jokes! Or, NC readers being a smart and creative bunch, go meta, and make up your own joke-generating formulas!

NOTE * Big hat tip to VastLeft. I’m not linking to his FaceBorg page, because FaceBorg, but here is his site and his series of comics.