Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Josh Blue gets political

From The Rocky Mountain News July 8:

Denver's famous stand-up comic Josh Blue is relieved that his last name isn't Red.

"If the red convention was here, I definitely would not be sticking around," Blue said about the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul that follows the Democratic National Convention here Aug. 25-28. "Or maybe I would, just to harass them. As you can imagine, I could stir up some trouble with the Republicans."

Blue, the winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing last year, doesn't depend on politics in his humor, but he's got plenty to say about his left-leaning point of view. "I'm supporting (Barack) Obama. I think he's a great human being, and he'll help us out with relations with the rest of the world because a lot of countries hate our guts right now."

Since Blue won the televised national comedy competition, the city threw him a parade, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has declared Aug. 25 Josh Blue Monday.

"I didn't even know the convention was here," he joked. "I thought they were all coming into town for my holiday."

In honor of the DNC, the comedian who uses his cerebral palsy in his act, is working on some anti-John McCain jokes. "Have you ever driven behind a 72-year-old man? You don't want him driving the country and bumping into other countries. 'I'm sorry Canada - I nicked Vancouver.' "

Next up: His own half-hour special, Comedy Central Presents Josh Blue, which will air next year.