Have you heard this one?

"Hillary criticized Obama so strongly that at one point he yelled at her. He just said, `Hey, easy, lady, we're not married'" -David Letterman.

Or, how about this one?

"Hillary Clinton out on the campaign trail. She's very sly. You know, she's been campaigning about Black History Month, and she said today that America has come so far that a black man could one day grow up and possibly be vice president of the United States." -Jay Leno.

Here's one more:

"This campaign is kind of fascinating, because the three major candidates have to be very careful when they criticize each other. Like, you can't criticize Hillary. Ooh, that's sexism. You can't criticize Barack. Ooh, that's racism. And you can't go after McCain, because that's elder abuse." -Jay Leno

A recently published report by a University of Iowa professor contends that jokes like these are harmful to the American democratic system.

Russell Peterson, who is a former political cartoonist and stand-up comedian, recently wrote "Strange Bedfellow: How Late Night Comedy Turns Democracy into a Joke."

Peterson said repeated jokes that portray politicians as fools, corrupt, egomaniacs and laughable discourages participation the democratic process.

He told the McClathy-Tribune News Service, "I really do think that this sort of belief, that it doesn't matter, is one of the most damaging beliefs that a democracy can harbor. I don't think comedy invented that belief, but it's one of the most important avenues through which it is expressed."

Peterson also points out that making fun of politicians has become an industry onto itself. At one time, Johnny Carson was the only person on TV regularly turning out jokes about political leaders. Now there are Leno, Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher.

Many believe that the crowded field means the comedy has become more outrageous - that you have to be a little more over the top to get noticed.

Making fun of our leaders is a time-honored tradition in America. Will Rogers regularly made fun of Congress as a group and individually. Many of Mark Twain's writings included humorous commentary on political leaders.

Abraham Lincoln was even the butt of many jokes. Many historians point out that Lincoln was fairly thick-skinned and laughed at many of the jokes told about him.

There is some belief that comedy can have an impact on national politics. Chevy Chase's impersonation of President Gerald Ford on "Saturday Night Live" as a stumbling, bumbling guy who fell down a lot is believed to have weakened Ford politically.

But it's simplistic to place too much emphasis on comedy routines.

First, the best jokes and skits are based on the truth. Ford did stumble a lot and he was in a weakened position politically, primarily because of his pardon of Richard Nixon. Ford said he thought the skits were funny. The same holds true for jokes about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. The best ones are based on the truth. In fact, portraying many politicians as puffed up and out of touch is funny primarily because it's so close to the truth.

It's also interesting that in order to understand the jokes; viewers have to possess a certain amount of knowledge about the candidates and politics.

"The Daily Report," which features Jon Stewart is often full of a lot of nonsense. But if you watch the show, you can also pick up quite a few details on what's going on. It's not a replacement for reading a newspaper or magazine by any stretch, but there is some information conveyed along with the goofiness. So, maybe in some twisted way, comedy helps create a better-informed citizenry.

Primarily, I think professors sometimes make things more complicated than they are. Comedy is comedy and people watch and listen because they like to laugh. It may be that simple.

Editor Gary Sawyer can be reached at 421-6975 or gsawyer@herald-review.com.