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SNL Celebrates 40 Years of Political Satire

Chris Matthews: SNL A 40 Year History of Brilliant Political Spoofs

Here are some of the greatest Saturday Night Live sketches spoofing America’s major political figures of the show’s 40th anniversary.

When we think of SNL and political parody, Tina Fey’s brilliant portrayal of half-term governor and full-time comedy muse Sarah Palin comes to mind. Likewise, Amy Poehler – as Hillary Clinton is the perfect foil for Fey’s spot-on portrayal of Sarah Palin. Tina is so good, that it’s difficult to tell ‘if it’s real or it’s Memorex” for those who remember those days.

“Those days” go back to the beginning of SNL’s political parodies…Can it really be forty years? In this short tantalizing clip, Dana Carvey is shown doing his amazing rendition of Herbert Walker Bush, along with John Lovitz as Michael Dukakis.  The late Phil Hartman portrays Bill Clinton, obliging the press in a poorly timed interview about world hunger,  given in a fast-food establishment.

Will Farrell takes us right back to ‘Dubya’  as George Walker Bush. Here Bush is lamenting his frosty – and scary relationship with  V.P. Dick Cheney, played by Darrell Hammond. Hammond does a very skillful job, but he isn’t as scary as he could be. Much as in the movie “Tropic Thunder” where  never going ‘full retard’ is discussed, no actor can go ‘full Cheney’ and come out of it a fully functioning human being.