Stumbling politicians at risk of Tumblr
The speed of the internet means any political gaffe is satirised and placed on 10 million screens within minutes today, it appears
The hashtag #eastwooding went viral on Twitter after Hollywood star Clint Eastwood's guest appearance at this year's Republican National Convention, where his ad lib speech focusing on an empty chair meant to represent Barack Obama baffled many. Obama's team tweeted a photo of the President sitting in a chair with his back to the camera, captioned: "This seat's taken."
A widely-viewed YouTube video managed to poke fun at the otherwise gaffe-free Obama. The spoof lip-read of the first presidential debate mocks the President's lackluster performance. At one point, a sleepy-looking Obama appears to be dozing on his feet. "Yep, er, he's asleep" a wide-eyed Mitt Romney quips.
Mitt Romney's "Big Bird" comment at the first debate featured widely on Twitter, with several parody accounts created. "I like PBS [the US public TV network]. I like Big Bird," Romney said at the debate, but nevertheless pledged to cut support for public television. The Twittersphere promptly exploded. "Obama killed bin Laden. Romney would put a hit on Big Bird," EliClifton joked.
Hot on the success of South Korea's "Gangnam Style" song, a comedy website called CollegeHumor put out "Mitt Romney Style" on YouTube. In a video meant to poke fun at the wealthy Republican challenger, a Romney look-a-like prances around horse-riding stables and golf courses to the rhythm of the original song and laughs at a waiter who has a "47%" sign on his back, a reference to his unguarded comment writing off 47 per cent of the US electorate.
Saying the middle class had been buried over the past four years, confusing Iowa with Ohio in a speech … Vice-President Joe Biden has attracted a lot of attention with his gaffes. YouTube is full of videos putting them all together. His gaffes have even spawned a new word, "Bidenism."
Paul Ryan also spawned a few chuckles when published photos of Romney's running mate pumping weights with a red cap on back-to-front. The shots spurred a rash of gifs (animated pictures), funny blog posts and a fake Twitter account called PaulRyansBicep. They were published on the day of the vice-presidential debate.
Jim Lehrer, a respected journalist, may have regretted his decision to moderate the first presidential debate this year. By the time the debate ended, the Twittersphere was busy poking fun at the 78-year-old Lehrer, who was widely regarded as not being tough enough, and a fake account called SilentJimLehrer sprung up, garnering thousands of followers.
