That's the day after the presidential election, a day the nation's political humor machine has been dreading for some time.

Because right after the polls close and a president is elected, we just might see the laugh-o-meter go down a notch or three.

I, for one, despite a looonnnng and overloaded election year, will feel the late nights take a serious hit to the funny bone.

For comedy, it's been a banner election year. As it should have been.

It was a political yuck fest full of rich opportunities - "mavericks," "gotcha journalism," "palling around with terrorists." With the likes of Barack Obama, John McCain and that gift from the gods, Sarah Palin, it was a virtual goldmine for satirists.

And for the most part, they took advantage of it with stinging commentary. Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey, in particular, made gorging on current political events each night taste that much sweeter.

Even "Saturday Night Live," a long-dormant, arid place for sketch comedy, stepped up when it came to delivering political sketches. Amy Poehler's rap session in front of the real Sarah Palin, complete with a dancing moose and faux Todd Palin in his snowmobile racing suit, was priceless.

But when the election's over and, as polls suggest, there isn't a McCain or Palin (at least for the time being) to kick around anymore, writers likely will struggle for material. If Obama does become president, it's hard to cull jokes from an administration that might become as earnest and serious as his.

On the other hand, if McCain and Co. win and march to the White House, the comedy shows will have a field day.

Consider that this fall, the late-night talk-show hosts have hammered McCain and Palin seven times more than Obama and his vice-presidential candidate, Sen. Joseph Biden, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs.

For all of Hollywood's left leanings, a lot of comics probably are secretly hoping McCain and Palin win. There would just be more to make fun of in a McCain-Palin administration.

Either way, late night won't be the same after the election. No more jokes about the wacky campaign trail, about candidates making absurd comments, and no more video of political pundits on Fox News making fools of themselves. No "Joe the Plumber" - and worst of all, Tina Fey says she'll hang up the Palin glasses for good.

Sure, the new administration, whoever that will be, will be ripe for some comedy, and there probably will be much to hear about when George Bush leaves and the new president arrives. Even disgraced senators like Alaska's Ted Stevens will continue to be the source of future zingers.

But the madness of the trail and the campaign rhetoric will no longer be the targets of comic skewering, forcing the humorists to dig deeper. And late nights will become a little more dull because of it.

vince@sltib.com