Over the years, a number of US politicians have appeared on Saturday Night Live. From presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the famous late-night program has been an excellent platform for candidates to show their sense of humor.
John McCain, who has appeared on Saturday Night Live a number of times, made yet another surprise appearance on November 1, just three days before the presidential election. While his performance was witty and he was able to poke fun at himself, bloggers are left wondering if his performance will have any effect on voters.
Doc Strangelove from Bangladesh shares the video clip [1]:
In the comments, Ingrid responds:
What I can’t ’shake’ is that just for the election, this would give him some extra votes from the ignoranami who think, oh cool, he’s pretty funny but are clueless on his political issues. I would not have given him or SP the time of day..it plays right into their hands of indirect promotion to like I said, the ignorami..
French blogger ILovePolitics was clearly amused [2] by the spectacle:
Prétendant n'avoir plus les moyens de s'offrir de la publicité sur les grandes chaînes de télévision, le candidat républicain s'est livré à un savoureux exercice d'autodérision aux côtés de Tinay Fey, la comédienne connue pour se imitations plus vraies que nature de Sarah Palin. Vente de bijoux, de figurines de Joe le plombier, couteaux à découper le porc, et même T-shirt Palin 2012 !
Dutch blogger Michael Van der Galien of PoliGazette agreed [3]that McCain's appearance was humorous:
Appearing on “Saturday Night Live†Saturday evening, Sen. John McCain once again proved he is one of the best actors of the U.S. Senate with a tremendous sense of humor.
During the most important scene of the evening, Sen. McCain and ‘Governor Sarah Palin’ (Tina Fey) addressed the nation together. It was a hilarious sketch, with both McCain and Fey making fun of the Republican and the Democratic ticket.
Australian Guy Rundle contrasts [4] the recent comedic television performances of Obama and McCain and concludes:
This is why McCain has lost.
He lost, because deep down, he didnt really really want it.
What he really wanted to be was one of the guys, one of the gang. He was perfectly attuned to the idea of SNL, while Obama used the excuse of Hurricane Gustav to cancel an appearance – one he never rebooked.
Lets face it, McCain, the forurh generation goof up navy guy, would rather be a comedain than a politician – he really wants to get out of any role ordained for him…
Man he was funny….
Finally, UK-based wongaBlog is perplexed [5] at how McCain can be so funny:
How is John McCain better on Saturday Night Live than any interview / debate / speech? Makes no sense. I can see why he’d want to do it on the weekend before the election, but doesn’t it separate him from his running-mate somewhat? It’s hardly friendly to her