Give props to El Mundo Media, for trying to inject some humor into a governor’s race that hasn’t had very much.
Some of the best lines came from the host of the roast, El Mundo editor Alberto Vasallo III, who introduced the candidates.
He had some fun introducing Charlie Baker:
“Officially, he is our state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate,” he said, “but my personal favorite is his secret nickname, within his inner circle. Ladies and gentlemen the Great White Hope, right here in the crowd!”
And Martha Coakley:
“For some reason we had to show her to the head table- she went directly to the Partner’s Healthcare table and wouldn’t move from there, I don’t know why.”
And independent governor candidate Jeff McCormick:
“Get a good look at Jeff, ladies and gentlemen, because the media just doesn’t pay any attention to our independents,” said Vasallo, “and this is probably the first and last time you’ll ever see Jeff for the rest of your life, ladies and gentlemen.”
However, McCormick got in a couple of good shots at the front runners.
“Charlie actually didn’t make it last year, but that was before he got the memo that actually a lot of you vote,” he laughed. “Martha was there and everybody else was on the dance floor but she had to leave early because we actually broke out in a sweat, and broke out having fun.”
Coakley tried, but didn’t get many laughs:
“It’s tough for women candidates, you worry about your outfit, what are you going to wear… But now I have to worry about whether my hair is going to look better than Evan’s or not, and that is tough.”
But Baker simply wasn’t funny at all:
“I’ve been doing a lot of things differently during this campaign than i did in 2010. I yell a lot less,” he said.
This roast convinced me that, while we may elect an honest, sincere and hard working governor, we will not be electing one with a great sense of humor.
Don’t wait for a punchline…There isn’t one.