Maybe print media isn’t the only thing dying; so is a certain brand of black comedy as a black president is ushered into a historically white White House. Of course Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have lost quite a bit of fodder, as Politico observed, but black comedians face different challenges, as they are forced to revamp the comedic logic of many jokes.

Recently the Los Angeles Times noted, “Black comedians have traditionally made fun of a system they feel has shut them out and treated them unfairly, said Darnell Hunt, head of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA.” And it’s tough to work the victim angle with President-Elect Barack Obama fueling hope with his success story and the words, “Yes We Can.”

This weekend the Def Obama Comedy Jam, in which several black comedians addressed the Obama presidential victory, hit clubs across the country. Tommy Davidson of In Living Color made a joke about Barack Obama being assassinated at the inauguration. One audience member, USC anthropology professor Lanita Jacobs Huey, told the Los Angeles Times, “People were crying out, ‘Oh, no, don’t do that… Tommy then sprung up and said with this smile, ‘OK, I just wanted to try that out.’”

Many jokes from the Def Obama Comedy Jam focused on the very newness of such a prolific black success story, Melanie Comacho joking, “This is the first time in history that a black man beat… a white man and didn’t get locked up for it.” Ian Edwards said, “Black people needed some self-esteem. It’s about time we won… We haven’t won much since the first O.J. trial, or since Ruben Studdard beat Clay on American Idol.”

Meanwhile, Karl Rove has tried in some ways to minimize the enormity of the Obama victory by comparing him to one of the most famed black comedians in America, Bill Cosby. Last Tuesday after the results showed that Obama had won, Rove said on Fox News, “We’ve had an African-American first family for many years in different forms. When The Cosby Show was on, that was America’s family.” Okay, Rove, comparing the Obama presidency to a sitcom isn’t transparent undermining or anything. Poor dear, why does everyone always think you’re scheming? Oh wait, because you are. Ahem U.S. Attorneys. Ahem Valerie Plame. Ahem ahem ahem.

I guess if black comedians are losing some black-people-are-screwed jokes, there will always be Karl Rove jokes to be made.