Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Reemergence of Saturday Night Live (and Hillary Clinton)

After rousing wins in Texas and Ohio, it wasn't just Hillary Clinton who emerged as victor. Conservative talk radio tried to take some credit for it. Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham successfully mobilised their listeners to vote for Hillary in order to prolong the deadlocked Democratic Primary Race. This achievement was significant because Talk Radio's influence was diminished after they were unable to prevent the much despised John McCain from becoming the Republican Nominee.

However there was another diminished institution that reemerged into relevance after assisting Hillary to victory - Saturday Night Live. 'SNL' (as it is most commonly referred to) is an American Entertainment Icon. It has produced world renowned comedians from Eddie Murphy to Steve Martin and even APF pundit Al Franken. It was the place to turn to for laughs and topical insight.

But today SNL has struggled to remain relevant. It has been without a Marquee personality since the departures of Will Ferrell and Jimmy Fallon, the cast today is comprised of little known comedians. The show itself has been overlooked these last few years as political/comedy shows like The Colbert Report, Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show have risen to prominence. In the last few weeks however things have turned around for SNL as they began to comment on the Presidential Primaries, in particular the Media's fawning treatment of Obama. In what is seen as a soft endorsement for Hillary, SNL has become a key player in politics. Overtly political shows like the Daily Show and The Colbert Report were never seen as hand maidens for any particular candidate, just in service of Comedy. SNL on the other hand was being charged with not merely going after laughs, but specifically targeting Obama.

Its all in the eye of the beholder of course. SNL denies actively promoting Hillary over Obama. In fact investigations by the New York Times and other media into the SNL "conspiracy" have found that the writers and players responsible are possibly more inclined to vote for Obama.

No matter what supporters of either side have to say, there is only one clear winner in this whole saga - Saturday Night Live.

Watch a discussion of Pro-Hillary SNL conspiracy from MSNBC's 'Live on Dan Abrams'

Read the comments for this video

Go to the official website of Saturday Night Live
View the Ultimate Roundup of SNL's Democratic Primary skits
Read the NY Times take on the issue, Pro-Clinton? ‘SNL’ Says You’re Joking
Read the LA Times' take on the issue, 'Saturday Night Live' takes pro-Hillary allegations seriously.
Read the summary from Huffington Post, SNL Boss Sees Pro-Hillary Bias As "Major Concern
Conservatives at HotAir comment on SNL alum Tina Fey's endorsement of Hiilary

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