Saturday Night Live & Presidential Debates
Saturday Night Live has a long tradition of successfully framing presidential debates. SNL's post-strike-return lead with their version of the CNN/Univision Texas debate last Tuesday.
The "debate" instantly became part of the political discussion when on Sunday, Hillary urged donors to watch the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. Campaign talking points also encouraged viewing of the SNL segment.
In another reference, Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer chided journalists for their "woefully inadequate" coverage of Obama. "A point," he stated that "has been certainly backed up by the 'Saturday Night Live' skit that opened the show this past Saturday evening, which I would refer you all to."
They have a point as the skit's humor works because we understand how the campaign is playing out. What is less clear is the reason for the media tilt; left unexamined by the Clinton spokespersons is how much of this is created by the campaigns' respective strategy and message.
