McCain on SNL: Funny Enough to Be President?

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:

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 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 !

Claiming to no longer be able to afford to advertise on major television channels, the Republican candidate made a spectacle of himself alongside [Tina] Fey, the actress known for her perfect imitations of Sarah Palin. There were sales of jewelry, figurines of Joe the plumber, knives to cut the pork, and even a T-shirt for Palin 2012!

Dutch blogger Michael Van der Galien of PoliGazette agreed 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 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 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

1 comment

  • fbla1805

    What’s Rupert Murdoch and Fox News Channel got to do with McCain and this election?

    As Murdoch’s News Corp. discovered first in Australia, then in Britain, and now in America, the rewards of controlling the policies of powerful federal government regulatory and administrative agencies are immense.

    No wonder that people like Rupert Murdoch have obviously decided that any and all means must be used by his media to maintain this control.

    Murdoch, and others like him, need an instrument to allow them to garner the necessary votes at election time, from people who have no material interest in supporting their policies. That instrument is the culture war – with this weapon, they have won the last two Presidential elections for Bush/Cheney and Co.

    Ironically, their charged-up rabble is now demanding more – such as control over conservative press organs. That explains how Christopher Buckley could be so quickly thrown overboard by the National Review, the conservative magazine founded by his father, William Buckley, for his “mavericky” decision to back Obama for President.

    The rabble is even demanding slots on the Republican Party’s national election ticket – the equivalent of a place at the conservatives’ private dinner table. This is the background from which the candidacy of Sarah Palin for Vice President of the USA emerged.

    With the incessant culture wars has come the complete breakdown in the ability of our political representatives to conduct discourse and dialog with citizens of differing political views.

    That breakdown has been most pronounced among the career pundits (hired hands, and well-paid cheerleaders, actually) employed by the right-wing media, people such as O’Reilly (of Murdoch’s Fox News), Hannity (originally of Fox News, now also of May’s Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), and Limbaugh (of Clear Channel Communications, Inc., and recently on Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal). These are the people charged with waging this culture war on a daily basis.

    Anyone willing to spend an evening in front of their TV observing this phenomenon on the Fox News Channel will realize how complete the breakdown of discourse and dialog in our society has become.

    Today, no one wishing to think objectively or independently can consider him- or herself safe from attack and destruction by these power-obsessed culture warriors, as the Christopher Buckley case sadly proves.

    This process, however, contains the seeds of its own destruction. Just as nonexistent regulation led to the meltdown of our financial system, the never ending ranting and ravings of Fox News and Clear Channel pundits has resulted in a meltdown of their influence.

    These past months have proven that huge numbers of people, previously under the sway of Fox News, now understand they have to discount, even completely ignore, what they are being told to believe on Murdoch’s Fox News Channel!

    This represents nothing less that the beginning of the end of the culture war era of US politics!

    McCain, Palin, Murdoch, Mays, O’Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, etc., are working themselves into a frenzy, spewing their negative messages out over the airwaves 24/7. But Americans have had it with this negativity, with the fear campaigns, with the policies for the few, sold by Fox/Clear Channel to the many.

    Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 4th, we will have the great democratic privilege to put an end to this sickening era of Rove-style ploys, stunts, slime, sleazy robocalls, racial hatred, inciting of violence, and culture wars.

    But – we must go to the trouble of actually voting! So, citizens, please vote early, or plan and allocate enough time to vote on Election Day, Tues., Nov. 4th!

    Remember – we need a massive turnout of citizens, and a landslide victory, because we know the Republicans will again try to steal this election at the polling stations, just like in 2000 and 2004.

    And starting Nov. 5th, we can begin the hard work of repairing the immense damage these thieves and scoundrels, among them Rupert Murdoch and the Mays family, have done to our country and our people.

    People, find the strength and courage to vote Obama/Biden into office, and return honesty, decency, and integrity to American politics! Vote tomorrow for Obama/Biden!

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