# SNL must do something about the Obama situation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 4, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164 "2007-11-04T05:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/1 "2007-11-04T05:03:10Z")
I was so happy to see Obama in the opening sketch, but the absence of an Obama inpersonator in the debate green room sketch was totally lame. I actually got pissed off. The guy is running a close second to Hillary and is practically a household name now, but SNL still can’t find someone to portray him? Are tall, skinny black comics that hard to find? Why not hire Damon Wayans for piecemeal work or something? Or why not use a white guy and put some make-up on him, like they’ve done with Darryl Hanna for Jesse Jackson. What the hell are they gonna do if the guy, by some miracle, actually wins? I guess Maya or Kennan will have to take turns? What lameness! I’m starting to feel like the Obama cameo (however cool) was an admission of guilt by SNL. Has SNL ever had a problem like this before, where the absence of an impersonator was so obvious and uncomfortable? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/2 "2007-11-04T05:24:20Z")
Yeah, if they can bring Horatio Sanz back to portray Bill Richardson, there’s no reason why they couldn’t bring in another pinch hitter. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/3 "2007-11-04T05:33:45Z")
Last season, budget cuts caused Lorne Michaels to really cut down the SNL cast, firing Finesse Mitchell (who would have been the more obvious choice for Obama), Horatio Sanz (who overstayed his welcome, IMO), and the really terrific and underrated Chris Parnell. He hasn’t hired anyone new since Kristen Wiig, but I agree they will have to face this sooner or later. Sadly, this has happened before, though not quite as extreme. Will Ferrell played a spot-on perfect George W. Bush, but since he left the cast, they have tried replacing him with Chris Parnell, Will Forte, and most recently, Jason Sudeikis. They’ve tried their best, but nobody nailed Bush like Ferrell did. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/4 "2007-11-04T13:50:42Z")
However, Dennis K was hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/5 "2007-11-04T15:18:56Z")
I love me some Will Farell, but his Bush was not an accurate impersonation- Will couldn’t come close to the voice or the mannerisms, which Forte and Parnell did better but Sudekis pretty much nails. I can’t imagine them hiring a cast member solely to impresonate someone who won’t even be a sure bet by next year’s season opener. Finesse’s skill wasn’t accurate impersonations anway, it was more broad caricatures like Starkeisha or whatever. Plus Obama isn’t really the type of persona that you need to impersonate- he’s too average in looks and speech and mannerisms, nothing really to broaden or mock. If you really needed to do him for a skit, you always have that tall black guy who often appears an audience member during monologues, or in a skit or two here and there. in And bringing back Sanz for this was odd- couldn’t Kennan or someone in a fat suit have pulled it off? But didn’t Obama’s appreance violate some sort of equal time thing? When Al Sharpton was running and hosted SNL, it was blacked out in my area… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/6 "2007-11-04T15:41:30Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Plus Obama isn’t really the type of persona that you need to impersonate- he’s too average in looks and speech and mannerisms, nothing really to broaden or mock. [/QUOTE] I disagree with this totally. First off, the guy is not an average looking guy. He’s FOINE, first of all. If he was average looks-wise, he’d be a shorter white guy , right? His height, slender build, and complexion make him different, right off the bat. He also has speech idiosyncracies just like everyone else, even if he doesn’t have a Southern accent like John Edwards. Even if he provides no comic fodder, that still doesn’t mean he should just be ignored. Having someone stand in for him with an Obama mask would have been something. None of the impersonations yesterday were really that good (Pohler as Kucinich was funny, though). I mean, we’re talking about a show that had Tim Meadows dressed up in drag to play Mariah Carey(!). It’s not like they’ve ever cared about accuracy in the past, so why start now? If someone can impersonate that milquetoast John Kerry, they can impersonate Barack Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/7 "2007-11-04T19:07:18Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] like they’ve done with Darryl Hanna for Jesse Jackson [/QUOTE] :dubious: Well, _that_ would be interesting… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/8 "2007-11-04T23:55:45Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] I love me some Will Farell, but his Bush was not an accurate impersonation- Will couldn’t come close to the voice or the mannerisms, which Forte and Parnell did better but Sudekis pretty much nails. [/QUOTE] Maybe so, but accuracy is not the most important thing in doing a good (or at least a funny) impression in a situation like SNL. Will Farrell’s Bush (as with some of his other impressions, like James Lipton and Harry Caray) was not a copy of the real person as much as it was a goofy character he created based (however loosely) on the person. > [@](#): > > Finesse’s skill wasn’t accurate impersonations anway, it was more broad caricatures like Starkeisha or whatever. Plus Obama isn’t really the type of persona that you need to impersonate- he’s too average in looks and speech and mannerisms, nothing really to broaden or mock. But a broad caricature could work. I wouldn’t have thought there was anything in George H. W. Bush that you could broaden or mock or build a funny impression on, until I saw what Dana Carvey did with him. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/9 "2007-11-19T16:01:25Z")
I feel like I’ve seen Maya Rudolph do Obama. Or at least I am so sure that she would do a good job that I have imagined seeing it. 'Course, she’s on maternity leave. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/10 "2007-11-19T16:04:56Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] I feel like I’ve seen Maya Rudolph do Obama. Or at least I am so sure that she would do a good job that I have imagined seeing it. 'Course, she’s on maternity leave. [/QUOTE] Again? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/11 "2007-11-19T16:07:46Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] I feel like I’ve seen Maya Rudolph do Obama. Or at least I am so sure that she would do a good job that I have imagined seeing it. [/QUOTE] I could see her doing a good job, too. Not enough drag kingery on the show. I still think of Tina Fey as Joe Millionaire and laugh my ass off. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snl-must-do-something-about-the-obama-situation/425164/12 "2007-11-19T16:55:48Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] :dubious: Well, _that_ would be interesting… 😉 [/QUOTE] I’m pretty sure that was meant to be “Darrell Hammond”. 😃