If you need a laugh on election week, this may help…
Every Saturday Night Live fan knows about Tina Fey’s amazing first appearance as Sarah Palin (where she said the line too many people still think Palin actually said, “I can see Russia from my house”) or the awesome debate sketch where Will Ferrell as George W. Bush coined the term “strategery.”
But days after Kamala Harris stirred things up with a surprise SNL appearance, I realized that the show has had so many amazing political sketches in the past, that it’s easy to overlook some really cool ones.
I had gathered together a fun list back when I wrote a story about SNL’s impact on politics but didn’t get around to publishing it – now seems a good time to unveil it.
Ask President Carter – I’ve talked a bit about how Chevy Chase’s impression of Gerald Ford captured something, even though Chase didn’t look like him. But another performer who mastered that skill was Dan Aykroyd, whose take on Jimmy Carter in this sketch, talking down a caller who was on the verge of a bad acid trip, captured Carter’s ability to seem more empathetic than many career politicians of the time. (Aykroyd also played Carter – and Nixon — while sporting a moustache!)
Republican or Not – Think you know whether the white guy in a plaid shirt or the lady who loves Dave Chappelle are Republicans? You won’t be so sure after watching this sketch – a great way of poking at the assumptions people make in a polarized political age.
Black Jeopardy – The best version of this long-running sketch featured Tom Hanks playing a contestant in a red MAGA cap, proving that white conservatives and cynical Black folks have more in common than they might realize.
Reagan the Mastermind – Any discussion about the genius of SNL ace Phil Hartman has to include this awesome sketch where he plays Ronald Reagan as a figure who is genial and simple minded in public, but a calculating, ruthless intellect in private.
McCain and Palin do QVC – Turns out, Kamala Harris wasn’t the first major presidential candidate to appear on SNL days before an election. Back in 2008, John McCain appeared on the show on the Saturday before Election Day alongside Tina Fey as his running mate, Sarah Palin, and his wife Cindy (showing off “McCain’s fine gold”; young people will have to Google McCain/Feingold to get the joke.)
Goober the Clown on Abortion – Cecily Strong delivers a powerful commentary on abortion rights under the guise of a birthday clown mugging for laughs.