Sunday, November 04, 2007

SNL opening sketch

Some of you will absolutely love this sketch. Others won't, as much. This is the opening bit from last night's Saturday Night Live.

5 comments:

Kristina said...

I think that no matter who your candidate is, this pretty sums up people's thoughts on the candidates well.

Unknown said...

Who wouldn't like that? It was hilarious!!

Curtis said...

I think Kristina is right, but that's why I'm so confused. I think, in general, people do not like Hillary Clinton. Yet, for some reason, whether it's name recognition or political cunning, she is still the front-runner. It's as though Americans have resigned themselves to another Clinton presidency.

I sense that the tide is turning in the wake of the last debate. Media elites seem to be contriving a rationale for Hillary's decline and Obama's subsequent rise. Just check out Andrew Sullivan's pro-Obama essay in The Atlantic, Joe Klein's analysis of Obama's debate performance in this week's issue of Time, and all the chatter on The New Republic's blog ("The Plank").

In a way, SNL is another media outlet that sends political cues to America. If you think that's an outrageous claim, just think of how SNL caricatures influenced America's perception of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Remember the SNL sketch of the 2000 presidential debates in which Gore declares that he wants to put social security in a "lock box." Now, ask yourself, "How many Americans actually saw Gore make that statement in the "real" debate and how many Americans got the news of Gore's metaphor from SNL?" I think the answer is obvious.

Kristina said...

In regards to Curtis' question about how Hillary seems to lead the polls despite people's dislike of her, here are my layman theories:

1. Hillary supporters definitely do exist, but Hillary haters are much more vocal about their disdain.

2. Even if people think she is frigid or a witch, there is also the general perception that she is strong and/or competent. (you can debate her qualifications, but I still think this the public generally perceives her as smart and someone who will fight the Republicans). After having a President who has been likeable but incompetent, perhaps people don't care if they would have a beer with the President anymore.

3. People don't like Hillary, but they love Bill, and it's a 2-for-1 deal.

The Management said...

Not that funny, but I feel like Obama's appearance on the show only confirms that he wants to be liked by everyone...