'Bush' pulls 'McCain' in for an endorsement, 'SNL'-style
Even as once-stalwart Republicans like Colin Powell and Scott McClellan jump ship to support the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, President Bush will save the day for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
So says "Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday," an election-season special from the folks who bring you the long-running NBC comedy program, which has seen its ratings soar this year thanks to its sharp political satire.
Palin (TIna Fey) and Bush (Will Ferrell) get along like a house afire ("My God, you are folksy," he tells her admiringly), while McCain (Darrell Hammond) looks -- and acts -- as if the Oval Office is the last place he wants to be.
You may recall that after clinching the GOP nomination in March, McCain kept Bush -- who had remained neutral during the primaries -- cooling his heels on the White House's North Portico when he came to receive the president's endorsement.
On Thursday, the same day the sketch was broadcast, the Washington ...
... Times -- the conservative-leaning paper in the nation's capital -- published an interview with McCain in which the GOP standard-bearer "lashed out at a litany of Bush policies and issues that he said he would have handled differently as president."
And while McCain has tried to stay as far away from the unpopular president as possible, Obama has repeatedly raised the Arizona senator's strong pro-administration voting record -- something the "SNL" writers picked up on Thursday night:
HAMMOND AS McCAIN: "Good evening, my friends. Mr. President, always a pleasure."
FERRELL AS BUSH: "Good to see you, John. Hey, let's get a photo of this; it'll really help your campaign out. Now let me do this: I, George W. Bush, endorse John McCain and Sarah Palin with all my heart. . . ."
(McCAIN tries to drift out of frame but is pulled back by BUSH.)
FERRELL AS BUSH (cont'd): "John was there for me 90% of the time over the last eight years. When you think of John McCain, think of me, George W. Bush. Think of this face. When you're in the voting booth, before you vote, picture this face right here. A vote for John McCain is a vote for George W. Bush. (to McCAIN) You're welcome. So I want to be there for you, John, for the next eight years."
FEY AS PALIN: "The next 16 years!"
FERRELL AS BUSH (to an off-camera photographer): "Let's get a safety. I think I blinked on that last shot. Thumbs up, everybody. But most of all I support them because . . . live from New York, it's 'Saturday Night'!"
-- Leslie Hoffecker
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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Another solid addition to the Tina Fey parodies. Not the best, but solid. For more Sarah Palin fun check out http://www.palinomaly.com... just when you thought Sarah Palin was out of fun you learn of her $150,000 clothing shopping spree.
Posted by: James | October 23, 2008 at 10:15 PM
With friends like SNL who need Big Brother Obama attack ads. But it does make a point that McCain is not really 4 more years of Bush like the Dems want you to believe.
VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com
Posted by: VJ Machiavelli | October 24, 2008 at 12:10 AM
It was brilliant satire by SNL. They need to learn to skewer Obama/Biden equally well too. If the "fairness act" is passed, the next political cycle then it is my understanding that such awesome sketches will be illegal.
Posted by: Dave Rymenave | October 24, 2008 at 07:03 AM
The moment captured above in the video's still photo had me on my feet, yelling and clapping. I consider it a patriotic duty to view the sketch: There are still more than a few places on the planet where it would result in imprisonment and execution.
Posted by: Brad Eleven | October 24, 2008 at 07:16 AM
Having acted and directed with the satire group in Minneapolis [Brave New Workshop], I share a professional (nearly giddy) delight with SNL's "big ugly" skill.
Each time I hear McCain lisp the phrase, "We've got 'em just where we want 'em.", I am reminded of Mark Twain's THE FIGHT in which he declares, "Firmly I thrust my nose between his teeth and threw him heavily on the ground on top of me."
If McCain is trying for humor, it sounds self-serving; if not, it sounds thick-headed.
Posted by: Vince from Iowa | October 24, 2008 at 10:11 AM
John McCain is not the same as George W. Bush!!! McCain doesn't have the folksy mannerisms of Bush. McCain is way older. McCain has a ranch in Arizona, not Texas.
Posted by: Rodney | October 24, 2008 at 12:58 PM