For some reason, Wall Street seems to be the central distribution network for most of the jokes that go around about almost anything--friends who were on the trading floor when the space shuttle exploded in 1986 swear that the "Need Another Seven Astronauts" joke was circulating within the hour.
Eliot Spitzer is, of course, no exception. A friend writes from a hedge fund conference that people are introducing their conference materials with jokes like "including an article by Spitzer entitled 'My Five Favorite Long/Short Positions.' "
The best I've done so far in Washington is
Q: Why does Eliot Spitzer wear boxer shorts?
A: To keep his ankles warm.
But I think that was recycled from Clinton.
I wish I knew whom to credit for it, but the other day someone was asking why Bernanke decided to institute his bond lending program this week and one jokester wrote that one does what Goldman Sachs tells you to or one will find himself on the front page of the New York Times as some call-girl's customer.
Simple is good.
My best so far is, "Eliot loves his wife, but she's a Spitzer not a swallower."
I have no idea what Challenger joke you're talking about.
"I have no idea what Challenger joke you're talking about."
Back in 1986, I punched the kid who told me this joke:
"What does N.A.S.A stand for?"
"Need Another ..."
Within one hour after Pope John Paul was named as the new pontiff, a joke was making the rounds in NYC at a time when the "dumb Polish" joke was popular:
The Polish Pope performed his first miracle -- he made a lame man go blind.
Wall Street is a natural pool of joke generation because it is so intensely telephonic.