Did SNL boost Hillary?

If you go by what some folks are saying about this week's Super Tuesday Jr. primary, Barack Obama might wish the writers were still on strike.

In an effort to explain how they screwed up predictions . . . uh, I mean, contextualize Sen. Hillary Clinton's surprisingly strong showing in Texas and Ohio, even prestigious outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and The Baltimore Sun are intimating that Saturday Night Live's skits the past two weeks parodying the recent Democratic debates and Clinton's appearance on last week's show helped drive her victories. In the skits, questioners from both MSNBC and CNN are portrayed as pampering Sen. Barack Obama and attacking Clinton. Then, last Saturday, Clinton appeared on SNL with Amy Poehler, who does a brilliant Clinton impression -- check the part in the video, above, where she talks about how she'll annoy special interest groups into bending to her will.

It's all been funny. But has it helped Clinton?

Did journalists get tougher on Obama after feeling shamed by the satire of them going easy on the Illinois Senator? Did Clinton's self-deprecating appearance help primary voters warm up to her?

Part of me wants to say that the fact this is even a story is further evidence we are watching the shallowest political coverage in history.

But the part of me that treasures satire loves the fact that people are paying attention to this. Good satire provokes thought and even affects change. So, if Will Forte's portrayal of John King asking Obama if he needs a pillow and Clinton demonstrating an ability to laugh at herself made some voters give her a second look, cool. That said, I sure hope the electorate isn't out there choosing candidates soley based on Saturday Night Live skits.

The bigger question may be for the FCC -- not that we really want to provoke the FCC to meddle in anything else -- and whether all these late night talk and sketch comedy show appearances by candidates  violate any fairness rules. You've gotta believe Obama would like to be on SNL again (alert reader Kevin Hall reminded me he appeared before the strike, in that great Halloween party skit) sometime between now and April 22. They might also rally for a better Obama impersonator than Fred Armisen.

Comments

[Scott White]

You forgot to mention that Barack was on when Brian Williams' hosted and Hillary was painted in a very negative light. Under that logic, perhaps that explains his surge. Give it a break. Obama has no basis to whine about media coverage. Both are strong, compelling candidates - - why then are we surprised it is such a roller coaster race?

[Cory]

It's undeniable that SNL's semi-endorsement of Clinton has not only helped in the polls, but in her national image as well. After watching the first two post-strike episodes, I felt more comfortable with Clinton, despite never being a huge fan. Our culture shapes our pop-culture, which then reshapes our culture... just the cycle of things.

While I agree that the thought of a sketch comedy show profoundly shaping the future of the nation may not be a good thing, it does at least show that the people of the United States are interested. And, for the first time in my adult life, I'm going to be left with a general election in which neither of the candidates scare the hell out of me.

[Kevin]

Rich, I completely believe the SNL appearance made at least some impact. I'm not a fan of Hillary, but the two sketches made me take another view at some of the national coverage of the two Democratic candidates. More importantly, though, her ability to laugh at herself showed another aspect of her that many hadn't seen before (kind of like the crying incident earlier in the primary season).

Oh, and Obama appeared on the show prior to the strike, so if he makes it on again, would SNL have to give Hillary yet another appearance.

But back to my point(s) ... Another big SNL moment for Hillary had to be Tina Fey's special Weekend Update segment two weekends ago that all but gave and endorsement from the show. It was smart. It was funny. And it came from Tina Fey, so nerd-loving guys like me just sat in rapture at whatever words spilled from her mouth.

One last note (and I really think this is the key to Hillary's win): In Lexington, 102.5 played an interview with her prior to Tuesday's primary (altough I only heard a repeat of it on Wednesday). At the end of it, the opening theme of The West Wing played, and I'm telling you, I almost quit my job to go volunteer for the first campaign I could find. You could play that music at the end of an old "Hey Vern" ad, and I'd sign up for "Ernest Goes to the White House."