|
||
SNL's Lame Hillary Plug
I was in the audience at last weekend's Saturday Night Live's taping and I was embarrassed for the saps onstage. If there was a signal moment of the campaign when pop-culture got too schmoozy with politics, this was it. Not because the opening sketch of the Democratic presidential debate was not funny (it wasn't) or was recycled from the previous week (it was), but because this skit lacked any bite at all (worse, cue cards notwithstanding, they still managed to mangle the pronunciation of Dmitri Medvedev). This was all the funny-pushers at SNL could find to poke fun of? That she's kind of pushy? What about the "it's 3 a.m. and your child is asleep" ad by Hillary (Suggestion: "It's 3 a.m. -- do you know where your husband is, Hillary?")?
Strangely the skit depicts Barack Obama as stupid and monosyllabic -- akin to Trey Parker and Matt Stone's depiction of Matt Damon in the movie Team America. Moreover, normally funny Fred Armisen does an atrocious impersonation to boot.
The sad fact is, both SNL and Hillary's campaign are on the skids and so they both need and self-promote each other, regardless of the nausea and lack of laughter produced from the audience. Hillary loves it when she is lampooned. SNL loves it when she name-drops them at a debate. Both sides win. The loser, of course, is us, the schmucks who have to sit through this crap, but also the media, who feel they should report this as news for some reason (the only newsworthiness of the event, as I was told by one of SNL's writers, was that Hillary awkwardly bumped into Rudy Giuliani backstage). Even post-Soviet Russia's puppet shows produced more biting political satire than SNL. The knock on the Washington press corps is that it's too close to the powers that be in the White House -- seems the same could now be said for our pop-cultural establishment.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
SNL hasn't been funny for a long time. Last night they used a line from this site in their weekend update. If they're stealing material from the HuffingtonPost, then what the heck are they being paid for? The last time political sketches have been amusing on SNL was in the run up to 2000.
"If there was a signal moment of the campaign when pop-culture got too schmoozy with politics, this was it."
... and, here, I thought it was the Oprah moment -- or was it the Chuck Norris moment? -- or was it the Caroline moment? -- or was it...
I am very confused by the Obama campaigns stance on super-delegates.
It is completely illogical to have super-delegates, if they are supposed to do what the Obama campaign wants.
If a super-delegates job is to reflect or mirror what the members of their state or district decide, than why are there super-delegates. Why wouldn't the party just appoint more delegates to each state/district.
Thus the super-delegates job can be only one thing, to vote for whomever the want.
People may not like it, but those very people are the one's saying Hillary doesn't play by the rules.
Obama is playing this exactly like every other politician would. Again showing he is not above politics. And also showing his campaign speaks of things as if they are cold hard facts, when with the super-delegates it is anything but the case.
If someone has a logical arguement against this, I would love to hear it expressed here.
Thanks
Your argument has two parts. The first part: The superdelegates are analogous to the Electoral College. Why bother having one if they just vote the same way that voters do? (which, in fact, they always do.). Regardless of who wins in November, when the electoral college meets some time later, they could all vote for Dick Cheney, but you and I both know that that isn't going to happen, and if it did there would be a serious problem. The super delegates are the same way. "Can vote for anyone" and "and should vote for anyone" are very different things.
The second part: Making an argument to the super delegates that they should vote for the winner of the popular vote is not against the rules. Doing so should NOT be illegal. Agree to disagree?
I love your Cheney comment, brilliant.
Also, I certainly didn't say soliciting the supers for their votes was illegal.
Basically, I don't like the Obama campaign putting it out, that their interpretation of the supers job is exactly that, their interpretation. But they make it seem as if it is an actual rule the way they couch it.
I like Senator Obama quite a lot, I just find issue with his acting like a politician while claiming he is not one.
I find it disengenuous to have both candidates basically lie to all of us that they will have the troops out in six months.
Neither will, and I'd hate to see the bulk of those who have recently joined the party, leave because they had false promises made to them.
Did Hillary know that SNL is not cool anymore? People my age are rather spoiled by the early SNL shows...
Someone should have told Hillary that it is a has been show...like her.
She might try not taunting Obama with a pillow. One of the last things MLK did before
he died was have a pillow fight with Andrew Young.
Hillary, race baiting, mocking Muslims in general, is not cool.
In other words-WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH someone made fun of my guy Barack how dare they Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...gimme a break.
Ahhh thankfully some sanity. I find it hilarious that this writer decided to attack Fred Armison's impression. I guess Lionel is the arbiter of humor these days. Oddly enough I have yet to get the memo. Lionel may want to stick to trains.
Yep, we're all entitled to our own opinion. I enjoyed seeing Hillary on the show and I thought the debate skit was funny.
Carry on.
The worst thing about SNL becoming an unpaid Political Advertisement for Hillary 08 is the stain on Fred Armisen.
His Barack reminds me of hateful propaganda, the kind where someone is shown to be Jewish by a Big Nose, Irish by being drunk, etc.
My wife and I are both Fred Armisen fans, we have lukewarm feelings towards any current politicians, and we no longer respect Armisen.
If he was even remotely funny, his impression would be forgivable. But it isn't funny. It is hateful; it does show Senator Obama as a character from The Matrix or German Propaganda circa 1935.
Shame on Fred Armisen. If he wants Hillary Clinton, more power to him. But he has lost his integrity. I suppose the SNL producers and writers are too sophisticated to engage in more virulent propaganda, but what they are showing is disgusting.
And Hillary Heads, waiting for the Clinton Return should not be surprised when in The Fall, McCain makes appearances and Bill, as Darrell Hammond, reminds voters he is waiting in the wings. And Hammond, like the pre-Obama disgraceful Armisen, is FUNNY.
"If he was even remotely funny, his impression would be forgivable. But it isn't funny. It is hateful; it does show Senator Obama as a character from The Matrix or German Propaganda circa 1935."
HUH?!
Surprise. The Tina Fey show...errr SNL is hell bent on putting a "woman" in office. Let's expose the elephant in the room. It's a gender vote regardless of anything else.
Do us all a favor and learn about SNL's history of being a boys club where it was near impossible for a woman to get her sketch done or her joke read.
Get some perspective.
Just because SNL used to be a boys' club in its old days doesn't mean we should vote for Hillary. The two have absolutely nothing to do with one another. You need to get some perspective.
Kappa's right. It's all about putting a woman in office just because she's a woman, not because she's the best candidate out there.
To paraphrase the late Molly Irvins, "we need a woman president. Just not Hillary".
I would rather wait a number of years for a GREAT woman president instead of voting for Hillary.
Regardless of Obama and Hillary, SNL is just no funny. It's certainly not political satire.
You "have to sit through this crap?"
I find that a bit hard to believe...that you were forced to attend the live show or even forced to watch it on television.
Good grief, talk about being melodramatic. I suppose would it be too much of a stretch to think that the reason you DON'T think it's funny is because you're an Obama supporter? Hillary supporters seem to get the joke. Who would of thought it would be the "highly educated" Obama supporters who need to be reminded that SNL is NOT a news show.
There's only one thing that they should have done after the end of this skit and that's to have a message from the real Sen. Clinton that says; "I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message"
Do you think this would fly if it depicted Hillary as teary eyed and sibling about a national crisis? Yeah, I could see that going over well. Not! It would it create an outrage but it would be truer to life than this bit. She's the one who cried in public. The audacity of the Clinton campaign to play this tune. Shame on Lorne Lipowitz (aka Lorne Michaels)
There's fine line between irrational Obama love and irrational Hillary hatred.
How could there be a line between two myths?
Puh-leeze, lighten up! Hillary Clinton has taken her share of hits by SNL. That she appeared with Amy Poehler, who is always delivering those satiric depictions, during a crucial campaign period is playing to her audience..so what? Barack Obama "danced" on Ellen Degeneres! And, in fact, when Obama appeared on SNL, in the fall?..Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton was the "pilloried one"..when Obama took off his mask at the Halloween party, with the comment (sic) 'I'm not going to hide behind a mask of what I really am.."
I'm of the opinion that the more exposure politicians get from/to all aspects of culture, the more we know about them and they, us. That includes their ability to take off "the mask they wear on the hill" and laugh at themselves and each other, along with all of us..well, most of the time. Sorry, you didn't find the show funny..it had it's moments, although I admit that there have been better. So it goes. Name-dropping on the show? Huh? The guest-host is usually "a name" and politicos have been dropping in since just about it's onset, in what some would call their heyday. I love SNL today as much as I did waybackwhen, just in a different way..they have always evolved, mirroring society and the times. Things change..seems like that is something that is so very heralded today, eh?!
BTW? The "Dmitri Medvedev" was NOT a mangled pronunciation, with cuecards..it was a a jab at both candidates' and Tim Russert's mangled pronunciations in the last debate, without cue cards! Guess you missed the serious debate that trumps pop-culture establishment..or, maybe you just didn't get the joke?
"Normally funny Fred Armisen does an atrocious impersonation to boot."
I've only seen Fred Armisen as Obama. And judging by his Obama impersonation I cannot possible imagine that he could be funny or has any talent. It's that bad. But I've heard a few people say he's normally funny, so I'll have to give him another chance.
Fred Armisen has been on the show for a couple of years - and he's really good. Did you watch the rest of the show? He did a great bit during the news segment.
Universal....Armisen WAS funny. He decided to become an anti-Obama prop. Armisen will never live this down. His non-funny Obama is meant to attack Obama. The first rule of comedy is be funny. The Armisen and SNL pro-Hillary is propaganda. And, because the lead writer is a Republican, as is Tina Fey, they will savage Hillary in the Fall. Count on it.
Tina Fey is a propagandist who is anti-Obama because he is a man, but she will be pro-McCain because she is basicly a Hawk. And remember that these are millionaires and they know that Hillary's accomplishments could be put in a thimble. Even if she is elected, she won't get Health Care or tax relief or anything. She represents the "oh, dear, aren't the Republicans brutes!" wing of the Domocratic Party that punishes the poor (so-called "Welfare Reform) and otherwise is happy to be ineffective.
As my (Buffalo, NY) Senator Hillary is 200,000 jobs short of her 200,000 jobs for Western New York. Why? Those darn Republicans! Poor Hillary!
Lionel - That 3:00 am husband bit? Do you know how many million times that has been said since the ad ran? Do you have an editor?
Did the show suck when Obama was on before the writers' strike? Were Obama and SNL using each other in their desperate search relevance because they were both on the skids back then? Were you embarrassed for the poor shmucks on the stage then? Or was that totally different?
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
