The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
While reading John Dickerson’s book, “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency,” I came across a quote from former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that said having a sense of humor may be the most important requirement for the presidency.
I immediately thought of the late Morris K. “Mo” Udall, an Arizona congressman for 30 years and a presidential candidate in 1976, who was noted for his political and self-deprecating humor.
This country sure could have used a president in the last four years who had a sense of humor and could poke a little fun at himself, one who could laugh about how difficult it was to be president. Instead, we had Donald J. Trump, who seemed to consider name-calling a form of humor. Just one glaring example would be his mocking of disabled New York Times reporter Serge F. Kovaleski during the 2016 campaign.
In contrast to Trump, Udall said the best jokes “are those that succeed in making all of us laugh together not at someone or some group or someone’s religious beliefs. Done well, a good joke can always make us feel a little better, and done in poor taste, nothing can make us hurt worse. Good political humor is never cruel, ridiculing or belittling. It must be gentle, nudging at a weakness rather than a glaring personal characteristic.”
Even the dour Lyndon Johnson could have some fun. “If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River,” he said, “the headline that afternoon would read: ‘President Can’t Swim.’”
Udall knew the power of humor. “Political humor leavens the public dialogue; it invigorates the body politic; it uplifts the spirit.” He suggested, for example, that Congress should “turn inflation over to the post office. That’ll slow it down.”
Udall has been described as a tall (6’5”), Lincolnesque figure with a self-deprecating wit and easy manner. “I am often accused of having a sense of humor,” he said, “(but) it’s better to have a sense of humor than no sense at all.”
His colleague, Arizona Rep. James McNulty, observed, “A sense of humor ... up here (on Capitol Hill) kind of disarms people, especially in a forum where folks tend to get rather agitated on short notice.”
“Lord,” Udall would say, “give us the wisdom to utter words that are gentle and tender, for tomorrow we may have to eat them.”
During the 1976 election, Udall joked, “When you come to Congress, if you’re under 65 and not under indictment, you’re presumed to be a presidential candidate. ... The urge to be president gets into your bloodstream and can be removed only by one substance, embalming fluid.”
Mo often told a story about campaigning in New Hampshire in the early days of the primaries. Walking up to a group of elderly men, he introduced himself and told them he was running for president. “Oh, yeah,” they said. “We were just laughing about that.”
After losing the 1976 presidential primary to Jimmy Carter, Mo recalled that Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., was defeated for the presidency in 1964. “Between us we’ve made Arizona the only state where mothers don’t tell their children they can grow up to be president.”
Udall also remarked after he lost to Carter, “The voters have spoken — the bastards.” He stole that joke, one among many, but he said he would credit the original teller the first two times, and “then the hell with them.”
Because of his wit, columnist James J. Kilpatrick deemed Udall “too funny to be president,” which ended up being the title of Mo’s autobiography in the 1980s.
Udall used to listen to someone speak and then jump in to say, “That reminds me of a story.” He knew dozens of jokes, some poking fun at himself, others about politics, and one or two risqué ones. But, he remarked, “Off-color jokes are not worth the risk, and if you rely on them, you acquire a reputation you hadn’t bargained for.”
Once when playing golf, he was asked what his handicap was. Udall responded, “Handicap? I’m a one-eyed Mormon Democrat from conservative Arizona. … You can’t find a higher handicap than that.” He had lost an eye in a childhood accident.
That quip led him to remark in 1978 that he might run for president again. “I call on one-eyed people to arise. We have nothing to lose. Throw these two-eyed people out. They have screwed up our country. It is time to give one-eyed government a chance.”
Udall’s older brother, Stewart, who served in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations as secretary of the interior, once said that people placed way too much emphasis on Mo’s sense of humor. His brother’s life, he said, was more about guts than laughter. Stewart no doubt referred to Mo’s opposition to the Vietnam War and his efforts to protect the environment, both controversial issues in his time.
President Joe Biden, who is known for his folksiness as well as gaffes when he speaks, faces a host of serious issues as he assumes office. Let’s hope he finds the wherewithal to balance the downside of it all with the upside of humor. Maybe he could even borrow a joke or two from Mo.
