do you want your president to host SNL?

[bearfartinthewoods]

this isn't about Sharpton specificly but about the trend, in general.

BC started it, i think, by going on with Arsenio and it worked.
Al Gore went on SNL and pretty much ended his political carreer.

why do we want, or do we want our politicals to do stand up or sketch comedy on the tube?

on edit...i should have said Gore used the appearence in the hot tub to declare the end of his political carreer.

[slappypan]

1. no

It is demeaning to both sketch comedy and Presidenting.

[Khephra]

2. no

Especially since I think SNL has been awful for years now.

[bif]

6. I can['t watch it anymore

It's been bad for so long , it's not funny. (pun intended)

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. Gore already hosted it.

He IS our President, right? :7

After Gore did SNL, he looked SOOOOOO much better to me than he did when he was campaigning. I like seeing the lighter side of our politicians. It makes them more "human". Clinton was AWESOME on Arsenio Hall! I think it's a good thing. JMCPO

[veganwitch]

9. gore was hilarious

i really appreciate those people that can laugh at themselves and gore did a great job.

the writers were dead on and took advantage of the situation and he played along.

lets just remember, bob dole's "approval" rating went sky high when he went on letterman days after he lost in 1996.

[bearfartinthewoods]

27. ooooops...and too late to edit it to say your candidate.....sorry.

[rucky]

4. The Question Is Moot

Jesse Jackson was one of the funniest guest hosts. Ever.

[tridim]

10. And that was one of the best sketches ever

No matter what anyone said, Jesse responded, "The question is moot! It doesn't matter." Loved it!

Actually McCain wasn't too bad.

[mbali]

22. Nothing

can touch his Green Eggs 'n Ham rendition on Weekend Update. A classic!

[MrPrax]

5. McCain was on as well

I don't remember anyone complaining...the Babs skit was stupid and cheap.

Do you figure they will do a skit about Tawana Brawley...heh

[htuttle]

7. Sure, maybe they'll compare the incident to....

...Arnold the Gropinator.

(actually, Al did that himself last week, stating that instead of defending her, perhaps people would have rather he groped her instead...then he could be elected governor.

I'm paraphrasing roughly...).

[dsc]

8. Nixon went on Laugh In

and it is widely credited with helping humanize him.

[mindfulNJ]

11. Huh? Nixon was human?

;-)

[NoPasaran]

13. Human enough to say "Sock it to me?"

Humphrey declined.

[bearfartinthewoods]

20. see...it didn't work :-)

[FunBobbyMucha]

12. There was an article here just last week...

...about JFK refusing to wear a big Stetson some Texans had made especially for his. The press was clamoring for the photo op, and Kennedy politely refused.

I compare that image in my mind to that WTF manuever Dubya was doing with Ricky Martin on-stage back in 2000, looking like a total buffoon, or his wooden comic timing with Letterman ("I will stitch your heart wound up" or moronic words to that effect, delivered to the sound of friggin' crickets chirping and a perfect Dave deadpan), not to mention the Top Gun 2 stunt, and wonder at what point exactly Stateliness (not to mention Shame) went over the cliff. I expect him to show up in Adam Sandler's next opus as "Constipated Neighbor #2."

Having said that, I would respond to the above poster that Al Gore had already decided he was finished with public service before agreeing to do SNL. He announced he was not running for Prez 2004 before that show aired. And that said, he was hilarious. That 'West Wing' thing is one of the funniest things I've ever seen on SNL. He was so effortlessly charming and funny, in direct contrast to Robert Deniro, who was awful and awkward like a middle school play the week before or after.

[bearfartinthewoods]

23. it's my memory that he decided not to run two or three days before SNL

but did not offically announce it until after the skit aired.

we happened to get to see a copy of the script for that snl and i remember thinking "he's not running" as soon as i read it. so i'm pretty sure the official announcement had not been made before friday of that week.

[nannygoat]

24. Al announced he wasn't running on 60 minutes with Leslie Stahl on Sunday

after he did SNL, right?

[bearfartinthewoods]

30. that's my memory but i forgot the who and where.

it was a black day and i may have blocked it out.

[VermontDem2004]

14. YES!!!!!!!

It would be great and it most certainly didn't kill Al Gore's political career, plus Gore was funny as hell in that episode too. His impersonation of Trent Lott was spot on!

[Hawkeye-X]

15. Sure. If it's President Bush.

The chimp would make SNL look like a genius compared to himself. Probably give them the highest ratings EVER.

Hawkeye-X

[peterh]

28. Yeah…I can see that….

I mean, the little twit is a joke in progress…everything that comes out of his beak is a friggin’ joke.
Who else can get away with one-liners like: their attacks are a sign of desperation because of the progress we’ve made…
or…mission accomplished…
or…bring em on.

With his cue cards ready…he’ll have everyone in the isle dying….literally..

[JohnKleeb]

16. Sure he has a good sense of humor about things and himself

He was good on the Daily Show as well.

[AntiCoup2K4]

17. If Gore and McCain had both done their SNL's early in the 2000 campaign...

....I don't think DipWShit would have made it out of the primaries. The Busheep corporate media has cast Gore as "stiff" and McCain as "angry to the verge of insanity". Their stints on SNL showed otherwise, but in each case it was far too late.

MEMO TO DR. DEAN: Since the press is trying to cast you similar to McCain, you might give Lorne Michaels a call ;-)

[jobycom]

18. You prefer your presidents locked in ivory towers?

Bring them down to the people. The lower, the better. Ain't no royalty around here.

[forgethell]

19. well as long as it's just

Al Sharpton, I don't think the President will have ever hosted SNL. Why doesn't the man withdraw? His numbers stink, and I, for one, do not want someone who would push a baseless charge of rape on an innocent man to represnet me, my party, or my country.

[bearfartinthewoods]

25. i agree that Al won't win

Al Sharpton that is but who's to say he won't be the only one invited to host?

all of the candidates have some trait or other that somepeople could make a case that snl exposure would help address.

[Brian Sweat]

21. I have no problem with this.

I also do not think that the hot tub seen damaged Gore career.

[Faygo Kid]

26. This belongs in DU Lounge

Sorry, but that's where it should go.

[kayell]

29. What are you talking about? MY president already hosted SNL

Gore got the majority of the votes (including electoral votes if anything had been done legitimately in FL) AFTER he hosted SNL.

[bearfartinthewoods]

31. i clarified above,,your CANDIDATE for prez