The joke that didn’t leave ‘em laughing

White House correspondents may have shown more true color than humor Saturday night when comedian Jimmy Kimmel slipped in a joke about Operation Fast and Furious that may not get as many laughs as Tuesday’s threatened May Day protest in Seattle.

Among Seattle liberals, it’s just not polite to joke about a scandal that – had this occurred with a Republican in the White House – would be front page news. It's toxic. The subject is so sensitive that a discussion about a possible contempt charge against Holder was locked by an administrator over on the Northwest Firearms forum. Those guys are normally a barrel of laughs.

But at the moment, there is likelihood that Fast and Furious could bring down the Obama presidency and most assuredly Eric Holder’s job at the Justice Department, if only the press – including those in-the-bag White House reporters – would expend even half the energy that reporters of an earlier generation invested in Watergate.

Obama is “Seattle’s president.” A city that keeps sending Jim McDermott to Congress and anti-gunner Adam Kline to Olympia doesn’t warm up to jokes that have the Obama administration’s political blood on them.

Kimmel fired one off Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ dinner as President Barack Obama sat nearby, and the line only elicited tepid laughter from the audience and a pity-smile from the president.

And what was so un-funny?

“Even some of your fellow Democrats think you’re a pushover Mr. President. They would like to see you stick to your guns — and if you don’t have any guns, they would like to see you ask Eric Holder to get some for you.”—Jimmy Kimmel at White House Correspondents’ dinner

They’re talking about this humor bomb in the Daily Caller. It’s made for some interesting copy on Pajamas Media. They’re not talking about it in the Los Angeles Times, but Breitbart.com made up for it with this observation:

This joke was not well received, but what do you expect? The majority of the people in that room have gone to great lengths to avoid it, except ABC’s Jake Tapper. Mr. Tapper is one of the few in the White House Press Corps asking questions about it. The media knows the scandal could devour this administration.

This column noted the other day that Republicans are getting ready to file a contempt charge against Holder for withholding tens of thousands of pages of documentation that have been subpoenaed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Our exclusive interview with South Carolina Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy left no wiggle room.

The freshman lawmaker and former federal prosecutor made it clear: One way or another, Holder “will comply” with the subpoenas, and he will do so before the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Tuesday could be an interesting day in Seattle, and anywhere else that the Occupy movement plans for demonstrations celebrating May Day.

It will also be interesting to see whether Republicans follow through or, as Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars has suggested, back away from a full court press for contempt.

But this scandal has dragged out long enough, critics are grumbling. It’s time for the House leadership to lead, follow or get out of the way.

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