COMEDY REVIEW : Russell Comes Back From War Quickly : At UCI performance, political humorist gets in some jabs about the war but is soon back to domestic topics.

The difference between Mark Russell’s audience at UC Irvine Sunday and Jay Leno’s three weeks earlier was striking: Young, hip students had gone to Leno’s show; their middle-aged, not-so-hip parents came out for Russell’s.

The longtime political humorist even quipped about it. “This is the oldest-looking student body I’ve ever seen,” he said, peering out over the enthusiastic crowd at the Bren Events Center.

By contemporary standards, Russell is in fact not very cool, not even close to being trendy--he’s as traditional as the totems of power he lampoons and agitates. Where Leno’s political gags come across like needling, winking pokes at the Establishment, Russell’s are massaged with the appreciation of an insider who’s been there and refuses to look down his nose, even when he’s sharpening the barbs.

Plus, he can get corny (all those silly songs on the piano, you know).

But Russell, described by some as a modern-day Will Rogers, does have plenty to say about a flawed and often counterproductive government that should be scrutinized every day. At UCI, wearing his trademark red bow tie, brown slacks and blue blazer, he couldn’t resist a little breast-beating over the quick victory in the Persian Gulf: “The land war was over in 100 hours. The Iraqis were doing fine until they ran out of white handkerchiefs.”

But Russell’s victory dance was brief. He turned smartly to the war’s repercussions at home, envisioning President Bush “addressing Congress in three-piece camouflage suits . . . announcing drug sorties on Miami Beach.”

He worried about the Democrats in 1992. To overcome President Bush’s renewed popularity, the party should forget Mario Cuomo (“The Hamlet of Albany”) and instead draft a team of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf (“Hey, we don’t know if he’s a Republican or a Democrat, do we?”) and CNN’s Peter Arnett.

Russell even had a rallying cry: “Their slogan could be ‘The Truth Is in There Somewhere.’ ”

Searching out more local angles, Russell hit on the drought (“By the way, it’s nice to see that you all showered”) and the beating by Los Angeles police of Rodney G. King. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he apologized (although he was right on time), “but I was stopped for speeding. The stitches come out Tuesday.”

He even had a few kind words for Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), one of his touchstone conservative targets. “Yes, B-1 Bob Dornan, I like him! I like him because he’s colorful . . . and because he’s not my congressman.”

Later, Russell stalled with a few pooped-out bits that he’s been using for too long. His takes on Bush and “read my lips” taxes, President Reagan’s lack of smarts and the savings and loan crisis didn’t carry the sting that his more current material did.