Bob Morris introduces us to a political satirist who has kept America laughing through many administrations.

NATURAL SOUND - TV show open… "Thank you. Good evening. Thank you. Welcome back…"

NARRATOR
Comedian Mark Russell has been making fun of American politics and politicians for more than 40 years.

NARRATOR
His comedy is enjoyed on national TV, in newspapers, and on the Web. Give him a piano and an audience, and he'll highlight the absurdities in politics that make people laugh. It's a type of comedy known as "political satire."

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MARK RUSSELL
"It's holding up to ridicule. That's a general term -- whether you're holding up a situation to ridicule, whether you're holding up a public figure up to ridicule… There was the classic story, 'The Emperor Has No Clothes'…

PRESIDENT CLINTON
"I did not have sexual relations with that woman…"

MARK RUSSELL
…In the case of our recent emperor, sometimes he literally had no clothes at the White House."

NARRATOR
Mark Russell works in his home office, scribbling thoughts that will become material for his many performances. Events, such as the collision between American and Chinese military airplanes, are on everyone's mind.

MARK RUSSELL
"China makes the preposterous claim that our propeller-driven plane rammed their jet…. In other words, 'you hit my fist with your nose.' "

MARK RUSSELL
"Well, I'm part of the balance. The satire, the comedy, the humor, the topical humor, is part of the balance. Because without it, we would just be puppets bowing down to our masters."

NARRATOR
An expert on freedom of the press, Paul McMasters of The Freedom Forum sees political humor as an important way for citizens to maintain perspective.

PAUL MCMASTERS
"Political satire and political humor fall beautifully within that tradition and are absolutely necessary, I think, for the viability and the vitality of a democracy."

ANNOUNCER
"…From the NBC studios in Burbank, 'The Tonight Show' with Jay Leno…"

NARRATOR
McMasters believes that American late night TV shows have a decisive impact on their viewers.

JAY LENO
"Special bulletin-this just out. Just got this from the White House… President Bush's yellow cat, Ernie, is missing…."

PAUL MCMASTERS
"I cannot imagine that the people holding the highest offices in the land, and on down to people sitting in their living rooms, don't have their opinions and their actions influenced in some manner by what transpires in political humor or political satire."

ANNOUNCER
"It's 'The Late Show with David Letterman'…"

NARRATOR
Former President Clinton will long be a candidate for ridicule because of his notorious affair with a White House intern.

DAVID LETTERMAN
"One day you're the president of the United States, and the next day you're buying a beer for the hooker at the end of the bar. No, wait a minute. I'm sorry. He did that when he was president." (laughter)

NARRATOR
Yet, current office holders are subject to the sharpest satire, such as this jab at President Bush for his abuse of the English language.

MARK RUSSELL
"But our education President said it best, and I quote, 'If a student takes up reading, him or she could pass a literacy test.' Of course, him is absolutely right.''

PAUL MCMASTERS
"Democracy cannot survive unless citizens have the maximum freedom to criticize their leaders. Satire and political humor fall directly into that category."

NATURAL SOUND - Mark Russell on stage
"Meanwhile, the White House went on full alert. They were gathered in the War Room armed with five dictionaries.…"

NARRATOR
When Russell started doing his political satire, he worried it would get him into trouble.

MARK RUSSELL
"Not only was I working in Washington, I was working in a bar a block from the Capitol. And if the politicians themselves weren't in there, their employees were. And I thought, 'Gee, I could get fired, and I won't be able to put my kids through college, and I won't be able to pay the rent.' I don't worry about that anymore. I'll tell you. There are no boundaries. None."

NARRATOR
…Which means, for American politicians, there is no place to hide as long as Mark Russell and other humorists are around to make fun of their weaknesses and missteps….

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NARRATOR
Bob Morris, VOA -TV.

Mark Russell's Web site can be found at: http://www.markrussell.net/index.html

The Freedom Forum is at: http://www.freedomforum.org/