Last week, the website Funny or Die posted an episode of the satirical talk show series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis in which guest interviewee “Community Organizer” Barack Obama deflected the host comedian’s standard daft questions and plugged the Affordable Care Act website, healthcare.gov.
The video, which had received 18 million views after a week online, provoked a storm of criticism hailing from conservative politicians and pundits. Foremost among them was Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly, who reproached the Galifianakis interview as unbecoming of the president and inconsistent with the projection of strength necessary for the administration to challenge Russia’s recent intervention in Ukraine. O’Reilly’s two criticisms are equally flawed—the first misinformed, the second an attempt to undermine a clear political victory for the president.
In reality, Obama’s Between Two Ferns interview is merely the latest installment of the president’s signature mix of dry wit and level-headed pragmatism that has paid political dividends. From his infamous June 2009 fly-swatting CNBC interview to successive White House Correspondents’ Dinners to a Mad Men reference in the 2014 State of the Union, Obama is, far from demeaning the office, no stranger to connecting to voters through humor.
Moreover, Obama’s appearance comes with significant precedent. According to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who fact-checked O’Reilly after his criticism aired, presidents including Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, and W. Bush made appearances on comedy programs during their tenures. Presidents have often used public engagement to cultivate an image, address a demographic or direct a policy agenda directly to the American people—consider FDR’s fireside chats and the contemporary mythology of Kennedy and Reagan.
Indeed it is the sheer spectacle of Obama’s appearance that highlights what is perhaps O’Reilly’s greatest oversight—that the interview, however much a stunt, achieved its desired effect. Healthcare.gov enrollment, especially among the coveted younger demographic, has skyrocketed almost 40 percent since its release. O’Reilly’s suggestion that the interview damages the administration’s international credibility is a poor bid to sour Obama’s political win.
Ultimately, Obama’s Between Two Ferns appearance did more than boost website traffic and reaffirm his administration’s media savvy. It delivered a satirical censure to critics who selectively idealize the presidential office as both above the common American and above the use of media to advance a political agenda. Parody interviews might not be the most romantic form of political salesmanship, and they might not meaningfully question the president where he merits being questioned, but they do effectively communicate a message. It may have been Obama cracking them, but the jokes ended up being on O’Reilly and other conservatives.
