John McCain on SNL

It was very, very funny, and dead on.

More props to SNL for having a hard lefty like Affleck do the takedown.

Can one of O'Reilly be far behind?

How about one on Hannity and Colmes? Maddow? Maher? Stewart?

All are ripe for satire.

Hahaha! Oh man, that's good. Wouldn't it be funny if Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly got into a Pay-Per-View match of who's the biggest blowhard?

Olbermann is pretty much like crack cocaine for the Left. Sort of like Hannity, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, et al. for the Right. His truth isn't their truth and vice versa. All are symptematic of our increasingly polarized political climate and each is a litmus test for our own objectivity.

The Olbermann spoof was brilliant.

I think both Olbermann AND O'Reilly are insufferable blowhards. The reason I find Olbermann the greater offender is several-fold: First, unlike O'Reilly, he never invites people with opposing views to be on his show. It's just him and a bunch of folks who agree with him, promoting one viewpoint as if it were absolute truth, and behaving as if anyone who begs to differ is either stupid, ill-informed, or just plain evil. Secondly, he takes great delight in mocking and ridiculing his adversaries without giving them a chance to defend themselves. O'Reilly may bluster, and even sometimes mock, but he's not as clever as Olbermann, therefore the mockery seems less scathing. And it always comes with an invitation to said mockee to "join me on The Factor." And frankly, O'Reilly is way more open-minded and gracious than Olbermann. He admits he's basically a conservative, but his treatment of Obama has ranged from fair to downright fawning. He clearly likes and respects the guy. I have never, ever seen Keith Olbermann say a kind, respectful word about any Republican, unless said Republican has just endorsed a Democrat... or written a tell-all book against the Bush administration. (Remember how he fawned disingenuously over poor, hapless Scott McClellan?) Olbermann's deep hatred toward all things conservative colors everything he does, and his humor (unlike Rachel Maddows) is tinged with bile and anger. And don't even get me started on his self-righteousness... (Affleck did a great job capturing that!)

That'd be Colbert.

I know the difference, and I still think Olbermann's bit is schtick more than anything. I don't think he's doing anything different than, say, Ann Coulter, whose conservative performance pieces (only thing to call what she does) are not entirely serious.

Reaganite - I think that may be where the anti-christ comes from.

Keith O. is unhinged.

Anyone remember the show on MSNBC (I think it was) with Charles Grodin? No THAT was some real Schadenfreude TV. Oh, if only he were still on there for SNL to parody.

FWIW, I love Grodin's acting, especially in that movie with Deniro (Midnight Run?). But watching his show was like eating glass shards.

Can anyone explain to me what John McCain hoped to achieve by his SNL appearance?

Surely he didn't do this to help his election prospects?

While McCain came across as charming, self-deprecating, and a great sport, his appearance was hardly presidential.

My take: By doing last night's skit, McCain implicitly conceded the election. The skit wasn't about Tuesday, but about his legacy and the positioning of the GOP.

McCain wanted to dissociate himself from his more mean-spirited partisans and pundit-supporters. He wanted to prepare his supporters to accept gracefully a President Obama. And he wanted to sketch out his vision for the GOP: A party that is more collaborative, more populist and less-focused on the rich, dedicated to cutting government waste.

Although McCain was amusing on SNL, is that really what he should be aiming for two days before the election? Is this polarized electorate really in a mood to be amused right now? McCain needs to be seen as presidential, and there's nothing presidential about SLN. He's either grabbing at straws or has given up.

I thought the appearance by McCain the weekend before the election was a real coupe! All this "looking presidential stuff" - come on! Thomas Jefferson answered the doorbell at the White House and greeted dinner guests in his slippers and pajama bottoms. Andrew Jackson had to be wisked out through a window to get away from his inaugural celebration. Bill Clinton treated the Lincoln Bedroom like a by-the-hour hotel room for his donors and Hollywood friends. America has always tolerated a good amount of quirky and decidedly non-presidential behavior from its presidents.

There are still a lot of undecided and "softly decided" voters out there. Showing up on TV looking like a normal human being who (unlike the Lightworker these days) seems to have a good sense of humor and a firm grasp of reality a couple of days before the election is a huge boon. It certainly can't hurt. And the simple fact of the matter is that John McCain doesn't have to prove to anyone that he is a serious enough man to handle the job of president. What he really needs to show people is that he has the temperment to handle the job, isn't an ideological blow hard who will extend our partisan nightmare, is still vigorous and sharp enough to do the job and not be frightening. I think his appearance helped on all these fronts.

Ben Affleck nailed him! Brilliant! I especially loved the ridiculously numerous camera angles. Keith does put the hyper in hyperbole.

I'm sort of fascinated by the idea that BO is better than KO because BO has guests on who disagree with him. Have you folks ever watched those segments? 95% of the time the person who disagrees with BO is such a limp noodle (seemingly picked for the show because they are so weak) they are completely dominated in the discussion. 4% of the time the "disagree-er" is just as aggressive and combative as BO and a screaming match errupts. Only about one time out of a hundred does BO invite on someone to disagree with him and a decent conversation is the result.

Countdown isn't a debate show.

Mike