2015-01-06
Explanation
The Joke
The comic proposes the idea of "pre-presidential roleplay" -- forcing political candidates to act out being president before they are elected, so voters can see how they would actually behave in office. During presidential elections, candidates make generic, crowd-pleasing promises ("No, not American cheese. Go that presidency!"), but once elected they have very little incentive to follow through. The comic argues that if candidates had to roleplay specific scenarios -- like responding to a crisis from "the Grid" or handling defense policy -- voters could see past the vague campaign rhetoric.
The comic gives increasingly absurd examples: a candidate who demonstrates understanding of "the inherent unfairness of regulatory compliance," another who promises "I am a better slayer" and will "audit the Fed and go home before dark," and concludes with a call to action: "Call your senator -- demand pre-presidential roleplay NOW!" with the extra joke of "See if you can get them to respond in Klingon."
The Humor
The humor operates on multiple levels. First, there is the inherent absurdity of the concept itself -- making politicians do improv theater as a vetting process. Second, the comic satirizes how empty and performative campaign promises already are, suggesting that even forced roleplay would be more informative than actual campaigns. The escalating absurdity of the scenarios (from policy questions to speaking Klingon) mocks both the superficiality of political discourse and the wishful thinking of voters who want more substantive engagement from candidates. The final punchline about Klingon implies that getting any genuine, unscripted response from a politician would be as unlikely as getting them to speak a fictional alien language.
References
The mention of Klingon refers to the constructed language from the Star Trek franchise, often used as shorthand for extreme nerdiness or absurd demands.