June 19, 2009
Justice Department: Secrecy Necessary Because Politicians Fear Ridicule
The "Daily Show" Defense?
The "Twinkie Defense" refers to testimony regarding Dan White, Harvey Milk's assassin. Though his lawyers did not actually argue that junk food was responsible for his mental state, the media took it that way, and lawyers now use "Twinkie Defense" to refer to any desperate and/or ridiculous defense strategy.
Cheney v. "Daily Show"?
Dick Cheney's lawyers, on the other hand, are afraid of "The Daily Show". I am not making this up. At issue is Cheney's interview regarding Valerie Plame. Justice Department lawyers argue that this interview should not be available for review, citing fear of ridicule as a compelling factor. As laywer Jeffrey Smith said: "I don't want a future vice president to say, I'm not going to cooperate with you because I don't want to be fodder for 'The Daily Show'."
Wow. That's a Twinkie defense if I ever heard one. Apparently U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan agreed. He told the lawyers they'd better come up with a better argument for keeping information secret.
Still, "The Daily Show" should be proud that it strikes fear into the heart of a man who has been described as pure evil. Then again, those are the types that most fear ridicule -- supposedly, being laughed at was Hitler's biggest fear. And I can think of no better indication that the "Show" is good satire, the point of which is to keep public figures on the straight and narrow by ridiculing them when they deserve it. That's the part the lawyers left out.
I love the idea of a "Daily Show" defense, and I think it should become a new item in the legal canon. And there should also be a psychological corollary, "fear of comedy", to describe the mental state of thoe who are so self-important they think their actions are immune from satire.
