McCain on "SNL": Shoulda quit while he was ahead
I loved that John McCain sketch with Fake Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live." I loved it because it reminded me that McCain is a very smart and decent fellow and also very, very resilient. And if, as appears increasingly likely, the remainder of his political career will be spent in the U.S. Senate instead of the White House, that resiliency will serve him very well. I think we haven't seen the last historic piece of legislation with McCain's name on it.
As he did at the Al Smith Dinner last month, McCain showed the "SNL" audience that he has few peers in the political humor department. He sold his kitchen knives with gusto ("they cut through pork!"), worked well with the jewelry model (real Cindy McCain), and pulled off a pun that the audience, to my surprise, cheered ("McCain Fine Gold"). When Fake Sarah (Tina Fey) tried hawking "Palin in 2012" T shirts on the side, McCain came in with a perfectly timed, "Sarah? What are you doing over there?" That's not as easy as it looks.
The only thing I found peculiar about the sketch was McCain's willingness to go on national TV with Tina Fey, who obviously can't stand Sarah Palin. I am sure the real Palin will issue a statement tomorrow declaring that she "loved the sketch" and "was glad Tina Fey was there instead of her," but still, I think most McCain-ologists will probably look on this as confirmation that he's over her.
Unfortunately, McCain then appeared on "Weekend Update" and, in my book, offset whatever psychological gains he'd achieved in the QVC sketch.
First, he was booed quite a bit more lustily than when he opened the show (the audience must've felt McCain was gaining some sort of unfair advantage over Obama, though an appearance on "Update" is customary for political guests).
Second, who thought it was a good idea to present him as so hopelessly behind his opponent that he could joke about switching campaign strategies (again) in the final 48 hours? I don't care who you are, or who you support, you don't let your candidate tell America he thinks he's going to lose. Even in jest.
For example: How McCain could win (MSNBC)
It's one thing to cry poverty, as in the QVC sketch -- hey, we all know Obama is outspending him -- but participating in a sketch premised on his likely defeat and desperation such that he'll try something called "The Reverse Maverick" (which doesn't even work as a punchline)? I thought that was poor judgment.
The only other notable things about "SNL" tonight were David Cook and the "Countdown" parody with Ben Affleck as Keith Olbermann. Cook was great, but Affleck was a real letdown. Somebody should've told Ben that Keith isn't Howard Beale and he shouldn't watch an old tape of "Network" as his study tool. That was a terrible impression. I realize it's not easy rattling off a script at Olbermann speed, but Affleck sounded like Ted Baxter on Thorazine.
That said, I am reminded of the old quote that a mediocre person is the one "who ridicules somebody who tries something difficult on the grounds that the effort was not a total success." So kudos to BA for trying.
Finally, on a personal note: I had to laugh when the real McCain showed up on Fake QVC. The show's writers couldn't possibly have known that one of the few TV executives with strong Republican ties is QVC's CEO, Michael George. In the early 1980s Mike founded the "alternative" (conservative) newspaper at Northwestern University, The Northwestern Review. Eventually he handed over the reins to a leadership team that included yours truly, but he remained active and interested until the paper's demise in the 1990s. He's still true to his school -- the Republican one -- giving $2,500 to the RNC earlier this year to help pay for some of those "empty chair" ads we talked about earlier.
