Counting down the best ‘Saturday Night Live’ political parodies
Election Day is nearly upon us, and I, like most people, have been keeping up with everything new in politics and waiting to see it parodied on “Saturday Night Live.” To mark the occasion, here are my five favorite political impressions from SNL.
5. Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush (1987–1993)
The first character on the list is comedian Dana Carvey’s caricature of former president George H.W. Bush, a high-voiced, energetic personality with a catchphrase: “Not gonna do it!” Carvey played Bush Sr. an astounding 39 times between the start of his SNL tenure in 1986 and his last appearance in 2000, and the president himself made an appearance in one of his monologues.
4. Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton (2015–present)
You could argue that Kate McKinnon won her Emmy Award solely because of her portrayal of Secretary Clinton this previous season, and you know what? That sounds about right. McKinnon is the latest in a long line of women to play the former First Lady, and while hers is arguably the least accurate, it’s also the most comedic. She accentuates Clinton’s ambition and difficulty to ingratiate herself with millennials, and allows herself to let loose. Secretary Clinton herself even appeared as the character “Val the Bartender” in a sketch last October, where she and McKinnon bonded over drinks.
3. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (2008, sporadically since)
Tina Fey wasn’t a cast member on SNL during the 2008 election, having left two years earlier to create “30 Rock.” Nevertheless, creator Lorne Michaels asked her to return to the show specifically to play the VP candidate. Eight years later, Fey’s impression of Palin is still fondly remembered, and the real Governor Palin has even appeared in a cameo. The character was most recently seen in last year’s Christmas episode, when she appeared in a dream sequence with two Hillary Clintons (McKinnon and former cast member Amy Poehler).
2. Will Ferrell as George W. Bush (2000–2002, sporadically since)
Throughout George W. Bush’s eight years as president, four actors portrayed him on SNL, but none left such a permanent mark on his perception in popular culture as Will Ferrell. Ferrell portrayed W. as a simple Southern frat boy who just happened to be elected to the highest political office in the country, and that image was adopted by every comedian who impersonated the president from there on out. Ferrell even took the role to Broadway when he starred in the Tony Award-nominated one-man show “You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.”
1. Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton (1992–1994)
The late Phil Hartman was one of the most gifted performers to grace the Studio 8H stage, and SNL alum Bill Hader calls him the most talented cast member in the show’s 40-year run. Hartman was the show’s go-to impressionist in the late ’80s and early ’90s, playing everybody from Ronald Reagan to a pre-candidacy Donald Trump to actor and NRA spokesperson Charlton Heston. But his best portrayal was a two-year run as Clinton, imbuing the then-president with a combination of charm and recklessness that must have inspired Ferrell’s Bush Jr.
In one memorable sketch, Hartman’s Clinton stops at a McDonald’s while on a run, and explains his policies to the customers by eating their fries, chicken nuggets, and egg McMuffins—poking fun at President Clinton’s love of fast food. When Hartman left SNL in 1994 for “NewsRadio,” the mantle was taken up by Darrell Hammond, who still plays the role today. I strongly advise any and all fans of comedy to look up his clips online or in the SNL app, as every sketch this character appears in is a bona fide winner.
Here are my picks honorable mentions in no particular order: Jay Pharaoh as Barack Obama, Chris Farley as Newt Gingrich, Darrell Hammond as Dick Cheney, Jason Sudeikis as Mitt Romney, Kristen Wiig as Nancy Pelosi.
