I doubt that Michele Bachmann will be making any repeat appearances on The Jimmy Fallon Show. Apparently, his house band The Roots took the opportunity of her introduction to play the Fishbone song “Lyin’ Ass Bitch.” She of course was none the wiser. Now, naturally, the right-wing is comparing it to the NASCAR fans who recently booed the First and Second Ladies. And I guess that’s fair to a certain degree. A backbench member of the House making a late-night television appearance is definitely comparable to the wives of the president and vice-president making a pitch for military families at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.
If I were Jimmy Fallon, I’d be upset with my band. You don’t want to be known for screwing over your guests. But we are not at a time in our history where politicians of any stripe should expect to be respected. The president was interrupted by a mic check today during his speech in New Hampshire. Much like Palin begat the rude townhall tea partiers, the rude townhall tea partiers begat the rude mic checkers. And now it’s down to pranks on talk shows.
But there’s no one in America with less right to complain about lowering the quality of the discourse than Michele Bachmann.