SNL Campaigns for Hillary

SNL Campaigns for Hillary Tina Fey Weekend Update Former head writer Tina Fey returned to Saturday Night Live as a guest host last night and devoted the opening sketch [video] and “Weekend Update” segment [video] to making fun of the media for their love of Barack Obama and urging people to vote in Texas and Ohio to vote for Hillary Clinton because “bitch is the new black.”

MyDD’s Uncle Wiggly weighs in with, “TINA FEY & SNL LUV HILLARY! BITCH IS THE NEW BLACK !”

Tonights Saturday Night Live opened with a devastating opening skit about how in the tank the news media is for Obama and how totally unfair it is to Hillary. This will become a big deal inside the media “village”. I live in DC and know that every single political reporter and pundit fool watches every SNL during election time and all saw or will see this and they will be shocked, I mean shocked, to find out that THEY WERE THE ONES BEING RIDICULED.

But, what will really set their pinheads all spinning around will be what happened during SNL’s news segment.

That’s when guest host Tina Fey did a very funny commentary on the Weekend Update segment that shockingly was also very pro Hillary.

Jeralyn Merritt is thrilled. In a post entitled, “Saturday Night Live Pulls One Out for Hillary,” she proclaims, “Maybe there’s hope yet.”

Isn’t SNL supposed to be a comedy? Doesn’t this amount to a multi-million dollar campaign contribution to Hillary Clinton from GE?

I like Fey’s work. SNL revived its stature during her tenure and “30 Rock” is quite funny. But the Hillary campaigning was pretty flat.

FILED UNDER: 2008 Election, Media, , , , , , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. marybeth says:

    I waited through the opening sketch for someone to faint. All the fawning over Obama seemed incomplete without that.

  2. Steve says:

    Just goes to show you why SNL is no longer hip or relevant. MAD TV is the future.

    Barack Obama = MAD TV
    Hillary Clinton = SNL

  3. jeff says:

    if someone is moved to vote/support hillary just because of what tina fey has to say – well, that’s sad. i thought the skit was mediocre and i don’t think snl has the ability to turn around what is a sinking ship that is the clinton campaign….

  4. Eneils Bailey says:

    I agree with Steve.

    SNL has not been relevant or funny in over twenty years. Stopped watching them when Garrick Morris and Eddie Murphy went away. I still see snippets of their worn-out gigs presented as nothing more than comic relief on some news shows.

    Bringing back Tina Fey to renew their appeal of a candidate is like bringing Bill Clinton into a Sunday school class to preach about personal morals and personal behavior. If you bring these so-called comedians back into the fray to dwell on personality and their personal preferences, without talking about ideas, you expose your personal biases’. Let us talk about issues, between HRC and BHO, there is not a penny’s worth of different, although I do think BHO is to the left of HRC.

    I live in DC and know that every single political reporter and pundit fool watches every SNL

    Yeah, That says a lot about the political pundits that don’t realize that people west of the Hudson River or outside the beltway, could give a cold cup of coffee, a small hole in a donut, or a big rat’s ass at the point about what they think. This primary season, so far, has been driven by what has appeared in the old media. People out here in the hinterlands are tired of this constant crapping in the newspapers and over the major airwaves. And its been taken to the point that People out here don’t live or make decisions based on your Washington/New York narrative.
    We will make up our minds about the election based on ideas, the intregrity of the candidates, and maybe some personal biases’ thrown in.
    You have to realize at this point, everyone knows about HRC, her strengths and weakness’s. Hardly anyone knows of BHO, except he gives real good speeches’s for hope and change. I don’t think in the long run BHO would be that hard to beat. We have more important things to do now, supporting our families, paying our bills, getting our kids educated, and looking out for the best interest of this country.
    Not comparing the two, but do you remember the meteoric rise and sudden fall of Howard Dean? HD was an empty suit with a good brain…BHO has an empty…

  5. J says:

    “if someone is moved to vote/support hillary just because of what tina fey has to say – well, that’s sad”

    But all those people voting for Obama because Oprah tells them too, is OK?

  6. P says:

    I actually thought the monologue was funny and spirited, but it’s not exactly the kind of message Hillary’s campaign would want to adopt… Imagine: “yeah, I *am* a bitch! Get used to it! um… and vote for me?” It works great in a comedy sketch, and as a woman I understand the heartfelt sentiment, so kudos to Tina Fey for that, but don’t expect this to rally a sudden turnaround for Hillary in the polls. As a political message, this is totally alienating.

    And by the way, “J”, Nobody votes for Obama because Oprah tells them to. That’s just silly and unfair to the millions of women who like and trust Oprah’s opinions. She another source of information about a candidate, but ultimately every voter’s choice is her own. Oprah knows Obama personally and trusts him and believes in him. WHen she vouches for him, it’s no different than Bill vouching for Hillary. Oprah has been moved by a sincere and committed leader whom she believes will help America move forward. What’s wrong with her speaking up about that? She has every bit as much right to speak up about it as any of us does to support and campaign for the candidate we believe in. That’s what free speech and civic engagement is all about. She happens to have a bigger platform, as does Tina Fey. So what? The backlash Oprah has gotten as a “traitor to her gender” is every bit as unfair and small minded as the sexist crap Hillary Clinton gets from the media. Let’s not stoop to that level and act as though she’s asking people to be mindless voters. She’s just trying to earnestly convey a message she believes in… same as any of us on these chat boards.

  7. Someone says:

    I don’t think they’re seriously campaigning for anyone. Tina Fey may love Hillary on “Weekend Update”, but her 30 Rock character supports Obama. They’re just trying to be funny.

  8. Paul says:

    Perhaps SNL is just anxious that they haven’t found anyone to play Obama. By contrast, they sure had Hillary down cold (and I mean cold) when Amy P did a skit on her last year. Mathews asked if, knowing what we now know, voting for Iraq war had been a mistake. Hillary’s character responded that voters “know that my support for the Iraq war has always been sincere.” Of course, “knowing what we know now — that you could vote against the war and still be elected president — I never would have pretended to support it in the first place.”

    She seems to be operated by remote control. This week she decides to be “angry” at Obama. Before she “cried” in New Hampshire. It is pretty easy to see that comedians would have a much easier time with Hillary than McCain or Obama. No wonder they are sweating bullets. It has been years since they actually had to think very hard to make fun of a president, and they don’t want to have to start.

  9. Laura says:

    SNL and Fey, along with many cast members, past and present, are famous for doing political commentary in their skits! It’s funny, and it’s satire. If it’s not funny for you, wait a while until you are on the opposite side of the skewered.

    The concern for “swooning media” and over-hype for Obama didn’t appear on SNL first. Rest assured, he’s loving it. Doesn’t mean we all do, and it is tiring, as much of this long campaign is. This fact earns it a place in the SNL lineup!

    Regarding the choice of our next president, how about if we look at the candidates’ stance on the relevant issues that we care about? Thing is, we differ, and they do, too. They all have positions posted on line. The simple fact is that history will be made this year by Democrats, and that party’s candidate will win. That is really what has everyone so engaged! So do your homework, citizens, and learn to not take all this satire so seriously! Laugh a little now when you can, because we all have some serious problems facing us after the party.

  10. bornonthefourth says:

    Bitch is the new black… thats old school SNL. Belushi and Roseanna are party’n hard to that one! And would be a great Hillary bumper sticker.

  11. Anderson says:

    People who refer to Hillary Clinton as a “bitch” are not usually confused with her supporters.

    I think the joke has been missed.

  12. Christy says:

    I thought it was FANTASTIC!! All I could think was, “Finally, someone is addressing the media bias for Obama!” The media should be ridiculed when they make themselves ridiculous drooling all over Obama. It’s the media’s coverage of the primaries that has made the phrase “journalistic integrity” a joke, not a skit on SNL.
    If CNN can cut Hillary off in the middle of the debates and blantantly cater to Obama, then Tina Fey can give her shout out to Hillary. I was incredibly proud of her and was yelling and applauding all alone in my apartment.
    Get your heads out of your asses America and vote for someone who actually has a prayer of accomplishing something as President. Vote for Hillary!
    Proud to be a bitch!

  13. Jeff says:

    I think the problem with Fey’s commentary was that it really wasn’t that funny. I kept waiting for the punchline, the twist on it that would leave everyone laughing. Instead it was just a plea to support Clinton interspersed with a few “ha ha” wisecracks that barely rose to the level of amusement.

    If that sort of drivel is the best hope of the Clinton campaign they may as well pack it up right now.

  14. bains says:

    It has to be hard for Eric Alterman et al to continue to argument that the MSM is not in tank for the left. Then again, with how much they constantly delude themselves, in spite of fact, they can go on for generations… as long as there are generations wanting to believe in their fairy tales.

    Reality based indeed.

  15. fraz says:

    hilary stinks and so does tina fey’s cooch.

  16. coolrepublica says:

    I hope people vote for Hillary because of Tina Fey. I doubt Obama was too worried because people were voting for him on the sole basis that they liked the will.i.am video “Yes we can.” Fair is fair. Obama does not have a monopoly on stupid supporters.

    Bitch is the new black!! Byatch

  17. sonja says:

    i thought it was great and super funny. for bitches everywhere yay! bitches do get stuff done!