Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Barack Obama.

Barack Obama who?

Barack Obama who is here to tell you that the people living in this house are a middle class family suffering from our failing economy and unfair tax and education systems and the burden of a foreign war fought on behalf of big business and conservative religion.

Errrr……ha ha???

Yalies seem to think that Obama World will be like Disney Land for liberals. But come on, Yale. Nothing’s ever THAT good. Right? I mean, yeah, the rides are fun and the show’s pretty cool, but who can afford the hot dogs? What I mean is, Barack Obama may fix the economy. He may cause a polar bear baby boom and make the world look like Fern Gully. He may end hunger, poverty, cancer, obesity and Intro Psych reading responses. But even perfection has its flaws …

We can’t make fun of him.

The Clinton era was amusing: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman … wait maybe I did.”

George Dubya Bush was really funny: “Nucular. America. Weapons of Mass Destruction. You can’t fool me twice.”

This election year, MaCain and Palin were hysterical: “Joe Six Pack. You Betcha. Maverick. I read all magazines. I can see Russia from my front door.” Saturday Night Live hasn’t been so good in a decade.

Barack Obama … well … he’s killed comedy. At least comedy as we know it.

Wednesday morning, I awoke with a headache, a pea coat covered in Obama stickers, and memories of laughing, crying, hugging, kissing, singing and chanting in an Old Campus riot-circle of people drunk on euphoria, drunk on relief and just plain drunk. Facebook pictures posted that morning resembled images of Woodstock, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, or Free Burrito day at Moe’s.

I made myself a large mug of coffee and snuggled into my cozy couch, noticing that the sun was shining brighter than the day before. I opened my laptop to indulge in a comforting dose of my favorite pastime: satire. I had missed “Indecision 2008” — Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s coverage of the election from the night before — and had high expectations for it because “Indecision 2004” left me (and all eight democrats in Rock Hill, S.C., who were gathered at my house nursing beers) in stitches.

Only this year, it wasn’t funny. Not even a little. God knows they tried, reverting to gross animal-abuse jokes, innuendo — “Can you say cockatrice on television?” — and racist remarks — “Young terrorists support Obama; terrorists between twenty-five and thirty support McCain … What about terrorists over thirty? … You clearly know nothing about terrorists.” Then comes a skit in which black anchors take over all news shows. At the end, when Obama wins, all members of the staff collapse in faux tears, crying that they are now just as jobless as the investment bankers and have no purpose in life.

And it’s not just the election coverage. Last Thursday, I watched the Obama infomercial and found myself horrified that even though all sentiments expressed were ones with which I wholeheartedly agreed, I could not help from judging it as cloying and overly-earnest. And have you seen his Facebook page? “Song of Solomon,” “Moby Dick,” “Self-Reliance”! Come on Obama! Be cool!

Luckily, we — the youth audiences of today — have grown up with irony-driven sitcoms like “The Office” and “Arrested Development.” We mock rather than play practical jokes. Banana peels and weird scenarios don’t do it for us anymore. The funniest characters are always the most sincere. So maybe Obama will be the next Kenneth (30 Rock’s page) — a loveable guy who lives in a world of flowering trees and birds that chirp “hope! hope!”

Hooray! Right?

But there are still options for America’s most judgemental comedians. Bush won’t go away completely. I’ve heard he called Obama to congratulate him on his victory with the words “what an awesome night for you.” Awesome? Really? I’m going to miss you a little, Dubya. That funny quote calendar in Mamoun’s that I always read at 3 a.m. on Saturday would be emptier by half without your eloquence.

Besides, we’ve always got Joe Biden.

And I can’t WAIT for Palin 2012!!!!