2012-08-04
Explanation
This comic satirizes the common political trope of flattering parents by calling parenting "the hardest job in the world." A president is speaking at a "National Gathering of Parents" and begins by saying she wants to thank the people who do "the hardest job in the world." The audience of parents leans in expectantly, smiling, clearly anticipating the compliment.
The president then delivers the punchline: "Those guys who fish for crab around Alaska." She pauses, looks at the disappointed audience, and adds "Man, that looks rough." The joke is that she genuinely means the literal hardest and most dangerous job -- Alaskan crab fishing, which is famously one of the most perilous occupations -- rather than offering the expected empty flattery about parenting. The parents''' expressions shift from eager anticipation to visible deflation.
The votey panel continues the gag, with the president adding "And spelunkers. Oh, and astronauts!" -- continuing to list actually dangerous professions while completely ignoring the audience of parents who came expecting to be praised. The humor works because it punctures a bit of political rhetoric that everyone recognizes as hollow flattery, replacing it with a bluntly honest (if socially awkward) assessment.