Why am I not surprised. Hillary Clinton reportedly set limits with NBC on how ‘vicious’ or funny her cameo on Saturday Night Live this past weekend would be. Sometimes SNL comes up with funny skits of politicians (mostly Republicans) but this wasn’t one of them. Hillary Clinton was stiff, boring and just not funny. I suppose it was accurate that Hillary Clinton played a bartender in her little scripted skit on SNL. She sure loves her booze.
| Hillary Clinton set limits with NBC for SNL |
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One suspects that Clinton’s team negotiated limits to how vicious the humor could get, mindful of the night in October 2008 when, during the closing weeks of the presidential campaign, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, then the governor of Alaska, unwisely took part in an over-the-top zany skit that mercilessly lampooned Palin, her family, her state and her campaign as the show’s cast laughed at her, not with her.
Comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey played Palin on “SNL.” Palin and her running mate, Sen. John McCain, lost. Palin’s TV appearance didn’t sink the campaign, but it definitely didn’t help.
So it was smart of the seasoned campaign operatives on Clinton’s team to avoid letting their candidate be displayed as a fool. While “SNL” is well past the days of serving as a uniquely edgy, unorthodox way to connect with younger voters — there are now far better venues where that can happen — the appearance was a clear attempt to steer the national conversation about Clinton away from emails and Benghazi.