SNL: “The Barack Obama Variety Half-Hour”
posted at 12:05 pm on October 26, 2008 by Allahpundit
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I’m leading with the first clip because it’s funnier (and because of the Ayers and Wright bit), but the second clip is the best Bill Russell campaign commercial you’ll ever see. A nationally televised seven-minute goof on Murtha as a demented crank a week before the election? Thanks, Lorne!
Sudeikis’s Biden impression is growing on me, too. The voice is wrong but the garrulous oafishness is so, so right.
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The second one really drags… They beat the horse to death, then keep on flailing away at it for another 4 minutes.
Lehosh on October 26, 2008 at 12:08 PM
That first clip was about as enjoyable as root canl surgery. Thanks, Allah. On to the second clip…
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 12:10 PM
I’m stunned,thats a dead ringer of Michelle OMama,
its uncanny!(Sarc.)
canopfor on October 26, 2008 at 12:10 PM
The first one is awesome, especially Clinton.
CanadianGuy on October 26, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Have you seen any major press interviews with Joe Biden lately? I can’t remember any interviews at all since just after he was picked.
RBMN on October 26, 2008 at 12:12 PM
And no joke about making the handicapped guy standing up. i thought, for sure, they’d do it with all that pointing to people in the crowd.
lorien1973 on October 26, 2008 at 12:15 PM
OT:
Fox ran some live footage of Elisabeth Hasselback introducing Palin in Florida. She’s not bad, and, as Billy Crystal’s Fernando Lamas character on SNL in the 1980s would say, she looked mahvelous.
BuckeyeSam on October 26, 2008 at 12:15 PM
IDEA! O/T
When Obama has his 30 min.tv infomercial!
Team McCain/SarahCuda should have a live rally,
with ‘Joe the Plumber’!
And streaming live to all Rightsphere Blog Sites!
Just a thought!:)
canopfor on October 26, 2008 at 12:15 PM
SNL still isn’t funny. They gave Biden’s comments more attention than the MSM though.
lodge on October 26, 2008 at 12:17 PM
His Murtha looks like Chris Matthews.
Ian on October 26, 2008 at 12:19 PM
This crap is funny?
Maybe I have no sense of humor. Or maybe it’s just SNL going for the obvious and pounding on it until it’s thoroughly mangled.
MrScribbler on October 26, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I think SNL was starting to feel some heat for their pro-Obama, anti-McCain skits and now are going after the Democrats a bit.
barry norris on October 26, 2008 at 12:20 PM
The second clip sucked worse than the first.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 12:21 PM
After yesterday, Biden won’t be doing small-station interviews either. For crying out loud, these are press conferences and interviews. The last thing Biden expects from the MSM is to have to answer a lot of questions.
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/10/25/comedy-gold-wftv-interviews-biden/
The Obama campaign was so bent out of shape it’s cut of that station.
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2008/10/obama-campaign.html
BuckeyeSam on October 26, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Yep, I think CBS, NBC, CNN, and ABC will start to feel some heat for their pro-Obama anti-McCain skits, too.
Marcus on October 26, 2008 at 12:22 PM
I actually liked the second skit. It went on for a bit long, and the Murtha bits were awkward, but the prophesy was funny.
Still too little, too late.
CherokeeJack on October 26, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Heh, they brought up the “clinging to guns and religion” line.
jimmy the notable on October 26, 2008 at 12:24 PM
And that’s how all dissenting media outlets of The One will be treated, until we only have….oh wait, pretty much all the networks will be safe.
jimmy the notable on October 26, 2008 at 12:25 PM
I liked the second one better with Biden’s predictions and the actions they might take.
“Our Military may have to invade Pakistan… or… surrender to the Chinese” “We may sell Hawaii to Saudi Arabia.. or just destroy it. So it cant fall into North Korean hands.”
lol
Dash on October 26, 2008 at 12:26 PM
A bit. A tiny, teensy bit, the equivalent of farting in Hurricane Barry.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 12:27 PM
That Joe Biden bit really sucked.
SoulGlo on October 26, 2008 at 12:28 PM
The second clip made me laugh. Out loud, even. So maybe I’m a dimwitted religion and gun clinger.
I’m OK with that.
pugwriter on October 26, 2008 at 12:31 PM
Seemed like a lot of nervous laughter in the audience on the second clip…I think it was hitting a little too close to home that Biden is just “a heart beat away.”
dont taze me bro on October 26, 2008 at 12:32 PM
“Jack Murtha” looked and acted more like Chris Matthews.
right2bright on October 26, 2008 at 12:35 PM
That was probably an accurate depiction of Rev. Wright singing Gnarls Barkley.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on October 26, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Mya Rudolph, if I remember her name right, makes a much better Condi Rice.
Doesn`t have Michelles scowl. :)
ThePrez on October 26, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Comedy meant to make fun of something that tries even harder not to be offensive, is simply not funny.
SNL has evolved from an edgy laugh riot to a political propaganda snooze. They even kill themselves not to have these people portraying Dems look anything like the real, sorry selves.
Michele O as a Jewish princess?
Hening on October 26, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Re-watch – very subtle – he does ask the state senator to “get up”
phreshone on October 26, 2008 at 12:38 PM
So, do you think the lost/horrified looks on the extras in back was good acting, or revulsion at the thought of Obama’s VP being mocked?
Count to 10 on October 26, 2008 at 12:38 PM
At least this shows that some haven’t drunk so deeply of the Obama Kool-Aid Communion Cup that they can’t at least see how absurd the Messiah’s campaign is. Of course, that doesn’t mean that a single person on that stage won’t be voting for Obama…
eeyore on October 26, 2008 at 12:39 PM
That was pretty funny, esp. skit # 2. I think they had a discussion about whether to credit Obama with the “clinging” line, and decided not to harm Teh One with a true quote.
BTW, the actor playing Biden pronounced nuclear “nucular.” And it wasn’t intentional.
Think everybody’ll stop ragging on Palin and Bush now? Oh my no.
inviolet on October 26, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Sad thing is, I actually like that Gnarls Barkley song…
Count to 10 on October 26, 2008 at 12:40 PM
I think Barack should be tested by Jeff Foxworthy on “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.”
I think there may be a certain amount of truth to that Joe Biden routine. Certainly the Murtha part. :)
mindhacker on October 26, 2008 at 12:40 PM
SNL is taking advantage while they can.
After McPalin get elected, the ‘America is racist’ meme will take on a whole new life, where even talking about Obarfa will create massive lawsuits and Sharptonesque protests in the streets.
Bishop on October 26, 2008 at 12:43 PM
O/T
With all the stories about Sen. Obama’s fund raising fraud, my local paper runs with the their campaign filing charges against the McCain campaign donations. And it’s a pretty middle of the road paper.
Cindy Munford on October 26, 2008 at 12:45 PM
I’m on the edge of my seat trying to imagine what these clowns will come up with in the way of comedy skits for the saturday following the election. Perhaps, in a fit of grief and pique, they will simply cancel the show for that night.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 12:46 PM
“Round up all French Canadian’s”!
And I say,deport them back to France!Ha ha!
canopfor on October 26, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Nobody would care if Joe Biden broke down and admitted he was a Nazi. They are only voting for Obama. All these idiots complaining about Sarah Palin only care that this idiot has been in the Senate 30 years so it doesn’t matter if hes been wrong about everything.
Speedwagon82 on October 26, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Agreed. She needs to work on that bitter, hateful, entitled look if she wants to do a passable impression of Michelle O.
AZCoyote on October 26, 2008 at 12:50 PM
OK…so I smiled a couple of times…so shoot me.
The dancing girls with Clinton was a nice highlight though.
Where was Hillary I wonder?
Over.
1GooDDaDDy on October 26, 2008 at 12:51 PM
The guy they have imitating Barney Frank really has the look down. I guess SNL feels more comfortable getting ready to parody the Democrats.
Jill1066 on October 26, 2008 at 12:52 PM
So the first one was pretty much an Obama campaign commercial. The second one…not bad, though. Almost like that darn Fairness Doctrine has come early!
Hannibal Smith on October 26, 2008 at 12:57 PM
That’s SNL’s special signature, so you know who’s skit it is. If they trimmed all the unfunny stuff from their skits, they could fit the show into an hour and it would be much funnier.
Mallard T. Drake on October 26, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Maybe they’ll go all-out Kos Krazy and have McCain’s victory speech with KKK and neoNazi contingents cheering in the audience behind him. Tina Fey will stalk out in a new Saks jacket, wild-eyed and carrying a shotgun, threatening to shoot “in the face” any of those Obama supporters who dares to question the authenticity of the results of the election, “even though we know we stole the election, they’ll never ever prove it, you betcha” ?
Or maybe they’ll actually be fair. Who knows? Never would’ve believed these skits and the Famous Bailout Skit would ever have come out of liberal SNL. Am pleasantly surprised.
inviolet on October 26, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Four years of Sarah Palin skits, comin’ up — plus maybe they’ll throw in some Gingrich, Romney and Giuliani skits as well (and if the Democrats do control Congress and the White House and screw things up, if SNL does any parodies it’s going to be focused on the former and not the latter. That’s why they have to start working on those Frank, Murtha, Reid and Pelosi impersonations now).
jon1979 on October 26, 2008 at 1:00 PM
On the edge….
ManlyRash on Oct 26,2008 at 12:46PM.
ManlyRash: Go back to the Liberal primaries for a moment,
and put aside Rush’s operation chaos!
Hillary got outgamed by Obama’s dirty tricks
and stoled Hillarys nomination,and she dam_
well knew it!
But,for their partys so-called unity,she had
to swallow hard(sorry for that distrubing pun)
and just let it go!
With all the dirty tricks,voter fraud,and pay
offs,ya,Team Obama will be stunned as to how
this could ever happen!
And the MSM,bending over backwards and all
the hard work they have put in to put the
‘fix in’,I don’t know who will be more
devastated,them or Team Obama/ACORN!:)
canopfor on October 26, 2008 at 1:02 PM
Perhaps, in a fit of grief and pique, they will simply cancel the show for that night.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 12:46 PM
They will savage Sarah Palin because Tina Fey is the only thing that show really has going for it, political-sketch wise.
Moose jokes, dumbass hayseed skits, not so subtle innuendo that Mac and Palin are sleeping together; it will be awful. Then again, there will be worse things to see just by visiting your local flaming, riot-drenched, big city.
Bishop on October 26, 2008 at 1:05 PM
Hey, at least SNL acknowledged Jeremiah Wright. That’s more than McCain has done.
Jim-Rose on October 26, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Humor based in truth. The Biden character’s predictions of the future remind me of the Obama himself:
Barack Obama: I face this challenge with profound humility and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith, in the capacity of the American people, because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick, and good jobs for the jobless. This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal. This was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation, and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment, this was the time when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves.
Biden is so biblical. He says, Peter denied Jesus three times. And Obama, listen to him. Even the wind and seas obey him. What manner of man is this?
Paul-Cincy on October 26, 2008 at 1:11 PM
Maya Rudolph does the best Donatella Versace parody…
JetBoy on October 26, 2008 at 1:11 PM
I enjoyed the SNL bit. Laugh out loud funny? No. But satire rarely is.
rbj on October 26, 2008 at 1:12 PM
On a serious note, I wonder how the heirs to JFK feel about Bill Ayers dedication to Sirhan Sirhan in their manifesto?
PattyJ on October 26, 2008 at 1:14 PM
And exactly how is that different from any other SNL sketch over the past decade?
Alalazoo on October 26, 2008 at 1:18 PM
parody…
jetBoy on Oct 26,2008 at 1:11PM.
jetBoy: B#tch mirror infinity,thanks,that was funny!:)
canopfor on October 26, 2008 at 1:22 PM
SNL is doing a TWO HOUR PRIME TIME show on Monday night before the election. I saw that last night as I was lining up shows to record while I was away on a business trip. According to the comcast DVR lineup description, it is a collection of old and NEW political skits.
This has to be a continuation of the NBC all obama all the time election effort. The night before an election, no time for the McCain people to respond if necessary. Disgusting.
karenhasfreedom on October 26, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Glad I didnt waste my time last night watching this unfunny crapola…. btw, are they still doing “McCain is old and Palin is stupid” jokes???
Always Right on October 26, 2008 at 1:37 PM
Franks is spot on in first clip
KBird on October 26, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Amy Poehler normally plays Hill. She gave birth yesterday to a baby boy.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on October 26, 2008 at 1:46 PM
The murtha stuff was funny. So was the clinton. The rest sucked.
Darth Executor on October 26, 2008 at 1:54 PM
They will use up the current stock until November 4. After that they will have to come up with a whole new batch of “President McCain is old” and “Vice-President Palin is Dan Quayle in drag” skits.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 1:59 PM
This wasn’t funny because they were quoting Biden & Murtha almost verbatim. It’s too true to be funny. It’s too bloomin’ scary to be funny. I wonder if the audience knows they actually said this stuff. I hear them clapping (somewhat tepidly at times), and hooting and wonder if it’s because the impressions are dead-on, or because they find it funny.
hoosiermama on October 26, 2008 at 2:15 PM
“Solid as Barrack!”
LOL!
That and “White Devils Be Crazy”
Why is it that SNL is the ONLY liberal media actually giving time to Biden’s comments, Murtha’s comments and even Wright and Ayers?
Jeezuz.
You got a f*cked up country there, America.
MT
Watching from the North.
Mistahtibbs on October 26, 2008 at 2:30 PM
Holy Shit people look at DRUDGE!
carbon_footprint on October 26, 2008 at 2:46 PM
Yeah, we’re not perfect and certainly have our share of problems. But then…it sure beats hell out of Canada or wherever the f*ck it is you are from.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Who cut the cheese :) This is funny..Obama,Obama, would you trust a man whose name should have a comma
http://rattlergator.typepad.com/rattlergator/2008/10/halloween-no-obamaween.html
Dr Evil on October 26, 2008 at 3:04 PM
That don’t look like Jack Murtha.Looks like Barney Frank.
That weren’t funny,almost at all.
Jed1899 on October 26, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Obama is a Redneck!
Except for the neck part.
profitsbeard on October 26, 2008 at 3:18 PM
ManlyRash.
It’s America’s Hat©, NOT Canada.
C’mon man. Learn your geography. ;-)
Oh, and I meant my statement with all the warmth of my frigid, little Canuckistan heart.
Yeah, America ain’t perfect but I like it a lot. I’m just pissed at how so much bs from the O/B ticket can get… overlooked by the media while they obsess about Palin’s clothing bill. It’s so obvious.
I truly hope that HopenChange”™ goes down next Tuesday.
sincerely,
MT
Mistahtibbs on October 26, 2008 at 3:27 PM
The Wright/Ayers bit was funny, only the guy playing Ayers is way too young, and tall. Bill is a little girly man, after all. A couple of policemen as bodyguards would have helped, too, although that would’ve been over the SNL audience’s head, no doubt.
The Biden/Murtha skit made me laugh, but not as much as watching the real Joe’s face on that WFTL split-screen interview. I kept freezing it to capture the narrowed eyes and barely concealed confusion and rage — now that was funnier than anything SNL can come up with!
Nichevo on October 26, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Thanks MT. Me too.
rtsidedragon on October 26, 2008 at 3:42 PM
That was their Michelle Obama???? Rich Little could have done better.
They must be scared of “punishment” (or death threats) if they actually portrayed her as a caricature of herself. So they chose a very vanilla version. I’m sure that makes her happier.
Also, I notice that their actors use the actual accents and inflections of George W Bush and Sarah Palin, but with Hillary, and now Michelle Obama, the SNL actresses forgo accents of any kind. Perhaps to make them sound more, er, mainstream?
eucher on October 26, 2008 at 3:43 PM
Hey, what are we doing on the evening that Dear Leader takes over the airwaves? There needs to some sort of unified response, like everyone putting it on the same station that’s not broadcasting the Barack Obama show.
Dead Hand Control on October 26, 2008 at 3:46 PM
I thought both were pretty funny, and what’s funnier is the audience’s barely laughing, proving once again libs can laugh at anything but the silliness of their own beliefs and the politicians airing same. Guess Saturday Night Live will be verboten in a , God Forbid, Obamanation Administration. Better get in all your anti Obama posts now, in a worst case scenario the Dem Congress with BHO at the helm would impose the fairness doctrine on the internet as well.
eaglewingz08 on October 26, 2008 at 4:05 PM
“GIRD YOUR LOINS!!!”
….that just KILLS me – hysterical!!
grtflmark on October 26, 2008 at 4:09 PM
Ummmmm, I wonder what their ratings were last night compared to when our Sarah was on?
Winebabe on October 26, 2008 at 4:25 PM
Chances are that it will happen without any call for unified action. By then, most people will be sick of seeing and hearing him. After five minutes, they’ll click the remote.
ManlyRash on October 26, 2008 at 4:25 PM
It kinda seems to me they did the Murtha/Biden sketch to use as capital for whatever they have planned for next Thursday and Saturday.
Typhonsentra on October 26, 2008 at 4:43 PM
The extensive broadening of John McCain’s presidential popularity.
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=75
Is it Obamalies or Lies Obama tells?
http://www.nextgenerationcorp.com/NextGenBlog/?p=73
AdrianS on October 26, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Isn’t that guy playing Murtha the guy who plays McCain?
Nice shout-out to Jason!
Tzetzes on October 26, 2008 at 7:53 PM
A bit, but the audience doesn’t seem to know quite how to respond.
That’s not Chuck Obama, is it?
Tzetzes on October 26, 2008 at 7:55 PM
Okay, first of all, Maya Rudolf plays every black woman character on the show, and she’s HORRIBLE at every one, and it almost always just turns in to her doing some sort of horrible Tina Turner style singing. Nothing about her said “Michelle Obama”. Also, while I’m shocked that NBC (and the Obama campaign, who you know the show checked in with) allowed Ayers and Wright to be mentioned. Though you’ll notice, their part lasts for barely a second, and doesn’t really “hit” Obama on the reasons that they’re issues.
As for Biden/Murtha piece… was I the only one who felt like the crowd didn’t get the jokes, because the media has so filtered these gaffs, that the numskull liberals who watch this show simply didn’t understand where the material was coming from. I felt like there was polite chuckling, but I seriously don’t think that the audience had a clue why it was funny. And that is why I’m joining our pessimistic blogger in feeling like we are f**ked come Nov. 4. Except I assume Allah believes we (the United States) can recover from a President Obama, where as I think his election signifies the beginning of the end.
RightWinged on October 26, 2008 at 10:40 PM
I thought the Biden/Murtha skit was pretty funny.
The audience, on the other hand, didn’t seem to appreciate the humor.
Thou shalt not poke fun of The One!
CliffHanger on October 26, 2008 at 11:26 PM
I was thinkin’ about wearing an Obama costume for Holloween but after further consideration, I decided I’d get really tired of people genuflecting at my feet…
CliffHanger on October 26, 2008 at 11:29 PM
If Obama loses, it’ll be SNL’s fault!
That is all.
CliffHanger on October 26, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Still NOT ONE parody of Obama giving a speech. Watch him sometime…..head turning back / forth to see the tele prompter….eyebrows furrowed…….tone of the dominant dictator
It is already a parody
Dpet on October 27, 2008 at 6:31 AM
sooooo who thought it would be a good idea to portray Michelle Obama as Marie Osmond?
The problem with these strained skits is that they are obviously put out there so SNL can say, “see we roast both sides”. The vitriol they put into the Republican thrashing is replaced with cute and fluffy jabs delivered with a wink, wink, nod nod.
Alden Pyle on October 27, 2008 at 8:05 AM
Think maybe with the rating for Palin’s night one of the Producers thought, “hey I have an idea”?
- The Cat
MirCat on October 27, 2008 at 8:11 AM
If they are starting to parody the Democrats, maybe they are afraid the Republicans won’t be around much longer.
Let’s show them they were wrong.
njcommuter on October 27, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Oh.My.Gosh.
How can something this unfunny still be on the air?!!
Viewtifulgare on October 27, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Kristen Wiig has Nancy Pelosi down pat…
Bill Hayder (playing Bill ayeres) might want to be careful opening up his mail though..
I doubt Ayers has much in the way of a sense of humor..
DaveC on October 27, 2008 at 12:11 PM
First one gave me a hernia. The part where Pelosi hits that low vibrato …wow (wipes tears, tries to breathe…breathe…)
The second, well, I bet the real Murtha’s reaction to it would be funny.
Gaunilon on October 29, 2008 at 3:03 PM
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