Mad #537 (John Ficarra) - Dumbest People 2015 Issue - February 2016

Without a doubt, the egomaniacal, Republican presidential candidate - Donald Trump deserves to be number one on Mad's 2015 list of 20 (actually 21) dumbest people, events and things.  His blatant bigotry and misrepresentation of facts appeal to a large base of similarly-minded "conservatives".  Although he continues to lead in polls at this writing, it remains to be seen if the bigot-lovers will turn poll percentages into primary votes.  As usual, political dumbness dominated the Mad list.  Hillary Clinton fills the fourth spot with her ill-advised use of a private email server during her four-year term as Secretary of State.  Also receiving dishonorable mention are Ben Carson, 13 of the Republican hopefuls (Christie, Jindal, Carson again, Paul, Walker, Fiorina, Trump again, Graham, Bush, Rubio, Cruz, Kasich and Huckabee), Southern flag-lovers, and gay-hater Kim Davis.  Sadly, candidates Santorum, Pataki, Gilmore and Perry are not included at the adult's table.  Notable non-celebrity dumbsters are Volkswagen, Seattle Seahawks, the Confederate flag, FIFA, Amazon and Seaworld.  Since Mad #37 is published weeks before the opening of the seventh Star Wars movie (and carries a February 2016 date), the obligatory parody ("ForceSonic Lightsaber Owner's Manual") is offered.  Because no Mad writer has yet seen the movie, the subject of such movie-related material must be safely chosen in order to survive the scrutiny of humor historians.  Although the annual "Dumbest" issue is always welcome, the absence of a real Mad movie or television parody detracts from the overall completeness of the issue.  [JAM 12/12/2015]

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages
The 20 Dumbest People, Events and Things of 2015
The Nog of War - Mad Examines the Pentagon's Favorite Christmas Beverage [fake department]
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Selfie Sticks
The Wrong Remains the Same - Mad's Do-It-Yourself Constantly-Reoccurring Mass Shooting News Story
In Blog We Trust - Planet Tad!!!!!
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Pen And Stink - The Mad Strip Club
Weapon of Mass Instruction - ForceSonic Lightsaber Owner's Manual
Our Daily Dread - The Best of the Idiotical
Not Just Another Pretty Phrase - Things We'd Like the New "Hello Barbie" to Say

Fold-In - Bill Cosby