Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Tony 1963]

I read the following:

People sometimes get into situations in which they eminently need cooling. I saw humor accomplish that purpose during one of the hearings conducted by the Senate Banking Committee into the real estate investments made by Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary in the Whitewater area of Arkansas. The witness was former Senator Lhoyd Bentsen, who at the time of the hearing was serving the Clinton administration as Secretary of the Treasury. He was being assailed by Senator Alfonse D�Amato of New York for alleged ethical lapses of Treasury employees. Just as tempers were about to reach the boiling point, Bentsen broke the tension by commenting, �This isn�t the only bad day I�ve had recently. Awhile ago a man on an elevator recognized me as a former senator. I admitted I had been one. After a long pause, he asked, �Whatever happened to you?��

What's the laughing point?

Thanks and happy new year!
Tony

[CP]

When a well-known person slips out of the public eye, someone might say, "Hey, remember So-and-So? What ever happened to him?" Then maybe you speculate whether he died, or retired, or just quit getting work in the movies or what not.

Here, the man asks the same question of the person himself. It's a little silly, not really a big joke, but if Sen. Bentsen told it just right, and/or to the right crowd, it could get a big laugh anyway.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Tony 1963]

It sure helped.