A week after a high-profile send-up of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” the NBC comedy show returned to making fun of the Alaskan governor in a skit where New York Times reporters sought to probe the possibility Palin’s husband, Todd, was having sex with the couple’s own daughters.
“What about the husband?” asked a Times reporter during a mock assignment meeting for the paper. “You know he’s doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It’s Alaska.”
The assignment editor for the Times, portrayed by actor James Franco, responded: “He very well could be. Admittedly, there is no evidence of that, but on the other hand, there is no convincing evidence to the contrary. And these are just some of the lingering questions about Governor Palin.”
The skit featured a photo of one reporter and an on-screen message that stated, “In 2009 [reporter] Howland Gwathmey Moss, V was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his Times series on unproven, yet un-disproven incest in the Palin family. Sadly, he was to die 3 months later, run over by a snow machine, driven by a polar bear.” The final shot showed an image of a New York Times page, with headlines that included:
“While No Direct Evidence of Incest in Palin Family Emerges, Counter Evidence Remains Agonizingly Elusive” and “In a Small Alaska Town, Doubts Still Linger.”
The sketch seemed to be designed to mock how out of touch journalists from the Big Apple are when it comes to their knowledge of Alaska, with left-leaning, Manhattan-dwelling reporters mistaking a snowmobile for a “baptizing machine,” a crucifix and a NordicTrack exerciser in photographs held up for them.
Obviously this hit a sour note with NBC, it’s been pulled from YouTube and Google video. Though I did think the reference to the “baptizing machine” to be hilarious.
Found by James “lefty” Hill
From the description, sounds like it was over the line. Lord knows there is enough to go after with the bite of truth, we libs don’t have to go all Republican on their asses.
Um, it was a joke poking fun at the media. If anything, the skit served to skewer how out of touch the supposed “eastern elites” are when it comes to knowing the world outside of Manhattan.
And this is upsetting to conservatives… how?
If I didn’t know any better — and trust me, I don’t — I’d say World Net Daily suffers not from a lack of sense of humor, but from a lack of enough intelligence to understand a joke when it hobbles out of the tee-vee screen.
I think the message we should take from all of this is that SNL hasn’t been funny for almost 20 years now.
Its time to put it to bed Lorne.
I don’t really say that in reference to the article, just saying.
Which reminds me of a joke:
What do you call any 9 year old girl in West Virginia who can outrun her brothers?
A Virgin….
he he
The skit itself was poking fun at the media, and was pretty good. The hack joke was the bone thrown by the left-wing cast to their side. That’s been standard operating procedure for years at SNL. However, the show has been pretty bad at political humor for a long time, so these jokes never stick… no matter how mean spirited.
It’s upsetting to conservatives because the same joke about Obama wouldn’t be tolerated. Further, Obama has shown a distinct ability not to be able to laugh at himself, or tolerate any joke made at his expense.
Personally, it doesn’t upset me because the swing voters pick up on this, subconsciously or otherwise. It gives Obama that plastic, fake feeling the GOP hype machine, which has been broken since Reagan’s first term, couldn’t dream of doing (they can only “swift boat” uptight white guys).
It’s a shame your liberal biases cloud your ability to see this. Your own arguments would come across as a little more genuine if you could make it out.
OOOH! I DVR’d it. Got to watch that one!
#5. Lefty- “Personally, it doesn’t upset me because the swing voters pick up on this, subconsciously or otherwise. It gives Obama that plastic, fake feeling the GOP hype machine, which has been broken since Reagan’s first term, couldn’t dream of doing (they can only “swift boat” uptight white guys).”
Personally I think you read way too much into what was just a poor attempt at humor. Do you really think this would have an effect on the voting public?
#7 – The one event: No. The culmination of events, plus the usual elitist cloud that hangs over the left’s leadership: Yes.
Sounds funny, mainly because it’s true.
The liberal media just throws charge after charge against Republicans, no evidence needed.
We even see it on this blog where it is Gov. Palin’s responsibility to prove that it is her child.
Teehee. I’m amused.
And stop whining, Republicans. You threw out just as horrible accusations about Clinton.
Hmm, “threw” is the incorrect tense. You still are making horrible accusations about Clinton and are still blaming him for all your problems. How original.
SNL humor has always be edgy.
Remember …
Smiths puppy grinding.
Sure it’s evil.
But think of the jobs that would be lost!
Just goes to show the overwhelming lack of sense of humor, Left, Right, and SNL.
I wonder if it would be as funny if the joke was that Obama was banging his 2 daughters? Would it be racist? Would it be a part of the vast right-wing conspiracy?
The nice thing about freedom of speach is that it allows each of us to show what is inside of us and if it’s putrid, to bad.
Oh sweet Jesus. World Net Daily.
The End Times are near….
The joke wasn’t that Palin’s husband was a child molester. The joke was that the news media would publish a story about it without any evidence at all and then reward the person who wrote it.
Ridicule Democrats and it’s an all night party But Republicans have to be picked with satin gloves…
>>it’s been pulled from YouTube
Even the orginal Tina Fey/ Amy Poehler has been pulled from YouTube. It’s now available for viewing on the NBC website in FIVE EFFING PARTS, each part preceded by an obnoxious advert.
Of course, I doubt they’ll be putting the incest video up there..
sounds like libel to me.
Because people probably missed it, #17 jccalhoun said:
“The joke wasn’t that Palin’s husband was a child molester. The joke was that the news media would publish a story about it without any evidence at all and then reward the person who wrote it.”
Exactly. The entire point of the bit was to skewer the Times for being tasteless and insensitive. How do you do that? Perhaps by having one of its employees make a tasteless and insensitive remark.
I didn’t think the bit was funny, but it was very obviously not “suggest[ing] Sarah’s husband guilty of incest” as the article claims. In fact, it was doing the opposite.
However, this is completely wrong, #5 James Hill wrote:
“It’s upsetting to conservatives because the same joke about Obama wouldn’t be tolerated.”
The McCain bit at the beginning of the show made the exact same joke: outlandish crap thrown at Obama that has no basis in reality. Everyone got that it was skewering McCain’s recent advertising.
Why can’t McCain/Palin supporters understand that the New York Times bit was supporting the McCain campaign’s claim that the media was unfair to Palin?
What if he was fucking the retarded baby in the ass while Sarah was using a strap-on on him? Then they took turns taking a crap on each other?
– The Aristocrats
#21 – A_B
>>Why can’t McCain/Palin supporters understand
>>that the New York Times bit was supporting
>>the McCain campaign’s claim that the media
>>was unfair to Palin?
McCain/ Palin supporters aren’t big on insight, nuance, intelligence, or humor.
SNL should have used that story that the media did about Obama smoking crack and blowing that guy in the back of a Limo. That would have been hilarious! tee hee
Ren is right. SNL hasn’t been funny for 20 years. Not one of my 5 kids in their 20s and thirtys ever watch it. When I tell them stories about brilliant skits from the past, they look at me like I am telling them about segregation in the south, the Viet Nam war, share cropping or some other family history story of which they have no personal experience. So busy with college and careers, these kids want humor that is clever, fresh and bright.
A jab at ignorant reporters could have been very creative and funny, but they reached for tastless shock response instead of brilliance. Why? Choice or lack of talent? SNL just consistantly falls short of great comedy and creativity. But as Deowll said -people have a right to show what is inside even if it is putrid. I too hope SNL is put to rest.
My “liberal” bias doesn’t cloud the fact the Mom and older daughter have nice racks! And I mean that in the most platonic and respectful way; in a strictly artistic non-sexual manner.
She’s still not qualified though. Sorry.
BTW is her husband still a member of that Alaskan secessionist movement?
I think the hardest I ever laughed might have been at a public showing of a Laurel and Hardy movie. No shock value whatsover, just great sight gags, great timing and the ability to hold back and let the humor unfold at the right pace.
I don’t want to see TV censored, and I don’t want to tell other people what they can laugh at. I get the joke here. But it’s a cheap shot to say the least. Bob and Ray could have made this sketch twice as funny without the potty mouth stuff.
To Mister Mustard.
You don’t think what comes out of your mouth and from your keyboard can change the way people see you for good or ill?
Nothing was said about the end of time or anything relating to the supernatural.
I was merely noting that nothing turns off people faster than behavior/words they think is putrid.
Cross somebody’s line for what is or is not accepetable and they seriously don’t like you. I’m sure this crossed a lot of people’s line for what is acceptable behavior.
Verbally attacking children is out of bounds and so are sex jokes about children. People who don’t get this may need to be put under observation 24/7.
You have fun now.
I want to see them have a white guy with an afro wig play Obama. He can enter the scene tap dancing like the blacks used to for whitey saying “YES SIR MASSA DONT BEAT ME NO MORE, IM A GOOD BOY” Then His wife comes on saying she is pregnant “BUBBA JOE, BUBBA JOE IMA PEGNENT BY THE MASSA WHATCHAGONNADO BUBBA JOE” Obama replys “IAM JUS GONNA ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY DANCE CUZ THATS ALL I KNOW” Then show him dancing a jig, swinging his arms around like a monkey. Then an announcer come on and says “AFTER ALL THIS IS CHICAGO!!” Now THATS good humor!! Now Jackson, Sharpton and all the other good ol boys will force SNL writers to be fired and force the shows producers into a public appoligy. You all know deep inside this WOULD HAPPEN but feel you dont want to piss off the black guy cuz he has powerful friends and no one wants to be called a raceist, even if what they are saying is the truth! So, white americe stands by and lets SNL go way over the line with this rather then speak up and stop them. If this was against Obama thats EXACTLY what would happen and THATS the bottom line! YES I am a Democrat, but this was to far.
I had to write again after reading some more comments. What would have happened if the skit showed Obama molesting his daughters saying “I`ve always wanted to bang a white chick” After all, Obama is not all black or even so called “african american” as his dad was from the Arab part of Africa so he is Arab American. Then the announcer would say “You know how those Arabs like to screw little white girls” Once again I say “Can ya see that happening without people getting fired and producers forced to make a public appoligy??!!
Thats the bottom line. And YES I have been saying that for 30+ years so its MY words!
Incest is over the line no matter who it makes fun of. Do you think they would ever say that about Obama? Nobama, they would be crying racism! It’s just not funny and it fell flat anyway.