Can We Still Take a Joke on Presidential Joke Day? [PHIL-OSOPHY]

Saturday, August 11 is National Presidential Joke Day, and I'm wondering, when did we forget how to take a joke?

For that matter, modern day jokes have been the demise of stars like Roseanne Barr and others. So, when and why did joke telling become a "dying art?" I'm not going to overthink this; after all, we're talking about jokes here. But I miss the days before political correctness, when we weren't always offending someone with every attempt at humor.

Right there, someone reading this will take exception, thinking there are some things you can't joke about--especially if a group finds the joke offensive. But I think part of the joke's purpose is to be a "back eddy" to modern day conformity and group think.

And while I'm at it, why is the F-word a fixture in joke telling nowadays? Johnny Carson, Rodney, Flip and Carol, I really do miss you. There's a popular saying: "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny."

In general, like blogs, jokes benefit from brevity containing no more detail than is needed to set the scene for the punchline at the end. So, let's see if I can sum things up with my presidential joke:

President Clinton looks up from his desk in the Oval Office to see one of his aides nervously approach him.

"What is it?" exclaims the President.

"It's the Abortion Bill, Mr. President - what do you want to do about it?

"Just go ahead and pay it."

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Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos.