I respectfully disagree. The comments against them making the same remarks would would be the same as those currently criticing Laura Bush. From those who are not, the comments against Clinton, Gore, or Heinz making them would be about the delivery .............it would not be the same.
None of the aforementioned would have been able to pull off those jokes in the same manner. The performance was hilarious in both it's delivery and it's absurdity.......she was poking so much fun at the left, in such a subtle manner that many can not see it.
However, I believe that the butt of her jokes was not the left, but the social conservatives whose support of the Administration is unneeded and unwanted. They, and not the liberals, are the ones who are most likely to be offended. The Internet makes it difficult to hide the remarks of public figures because the gatekeepers of the three networks and the prestige newspapers are less effective than 20 or even 10 years ago. The Bush Administration officials could easily guess how these remarks would play with a portion of its base. They apparently did not care, for their goal was to reach out to the so-called center.