I agree with Chait that Hillary made a fool of herself in last night's debate when she cited a Saturday Night Live sketch. But that's just because I think she cited the wrong one. Rather than call attention to the sketch that lampooned the media's love affair with Obama, she should have pointed to an SNL sketch that was actually evidence of that love affair. I'm talking about this sketch from last year:
So, basically, you've got a sketch that portrays Hillary as a witch whose own husband can't stand her . And you've got Obama essentially giving this Hillary caricature his stamp of approval by appearing in the sketch. And, yet, I can't recall anyone in the press criticizing Obama for this. In fact, he was praised for his SNL appearance. You don't have to be Howard Wolfson to think that Hillary could never have gotten away with a similar move--by appearing in an SNL skit that caricatured Obama as, say, a Manchurian candidate.
Of course, I don't really think Hillary should have tried to reference a months-old SNL bit in last night's debate. That actually would have been worse that what she did do. But I still think it's kind of interesting, in light of the Clinton campaign's constant carping about the press, that no one batted an eye at Obama's SNL appearance. In other words, I think the Clinton people--sour grapes aside--have a bit of a point.
Jason Zengerle