Barack Obama has Tina Fey envy

Snaring a roughly five-minute interview Wednesday with Barack Obama, newsman Derek McGinty of WUSA9 in Washington, D.C., quizzed the Democrat on a variety of sober subjects. But with time running out, he popped the question we think much of America was wanting to hear answered.

Was Obama just a little bit disappointed, McGinty asked, that his designated mimic on "Saturday Night Live" (Fred Armisen) "just isn't very funny?"

That got a laugh from Obama and a straightforward response from him. "I've got to say, compared to Tina Fey and what she's doing with Gov. [Sarah] Palin ... my imitator isn't doing as great a job."

He's also noticed something else about his caricature on "SNL," which you can hear him mention on the video below (be forewarned, the clip includes all the serious stuff).

In writing about the McGinty question, by the way, our friends at Newsday's TV Zone blog report that Obama likely will appear on the program on Nov. 1. ("SNL" creator and producer Lorne Michaels hinted at something like that earlier this week.)

(UPDATE: A check of Federal Election Commission records by The Ticket finds that Michaels, a Canadian native, has maxed out on contributions to Obama, $4,600. Last year Michaels gave John McCain $2,300.) 

-- Don Frederick