Barack Obama, a local Chicago comedian hoping to break through nationally, performed in front of a packed house tonight in Washington DC.

Mr. Obama appeared nervous and was clearly flustered when one of his first jokes about tax cuts did not get a response from the audience.  But Obama bravely moved on, kidding that “I thought I’d get applause for that.”

Known in Chicago for his sarcasm and irony, his brand of humor was on full display.  After a few clunkers Obama had his first big laugh of the night with a joke about excluding lobbyists.

“We didn’t see that joke coming” said one critic in attendance.  “But it was fantastic.  I mean, excluding lobbyists?  We were all in stitches.”

Obama picked up steam after that.  His next joke, about transparency and posting everything online almost brought the house down.

“This is the most ironic comic I’ve seen in awhile.  Posting everything online?  Transparency? He had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand” said another critic.  “It was pure genius.”

He also displayed a minor mean streak with his joke about “with all due respect to separation of powers”, a dig at the Supreme Court.  The members of the Court, who were in attendance, clearly were not amused but the rest of the audience loved it, with many standing up and making “whoop whoop” noises.

“The joke was edgy.  It was hip and it poked fun at old people.  How can you go wrong with that” said an audience member.

If there was one criticism of his performance it was that it went on for too long.  Many in the audience started to leave after the 50 minute mark.  Obama made the classic mistake of a newcomer – he overstayed his welcome.  Clearly he could not keep up the momentum and his final joke about having combat troops out by August was met with stony silence by the audience.

By the time he closed with his now trademark “change we can believe in” joke he had a grimace on his face, as if he were saying to himself, “Gee, that line goes over big back home.”

Factoring in the length of his show and a few jokes that tanked, what seemed to hurt his performance the most was the bizarre appearance of an elderly gray-haired man who sat behind Obama during his entire show.  This man, seen here

has not been identified.

“It was crazy.  He just looked goofy” said a patron.

Mr. Obama will be continuing his tour and will be perform tomorrow night at the Bananas comedy club in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.  Tickets are still available.

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