“Live, from New York, it’s...”

As we come to the final weekend of the Presidential campaign, some people will try anything. I suppose the McCain people figure that if they can't afford a half-hour infomercial for most major networks that got lousy ratings, they can at least get some free publicity on a late night comedy show, and have a little fun. At least that was the premise behind the opening sketch of last night's episode of NBC'S Saturday Night Live, with a cameo appearance by Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate. I was not surprised that he was such a good sport, but it did surprise me that his appearance came off almost as well as Sarah Palin's a few weeks earlier. I said, almost.

You have to wonder, though, what the reaction will be from the pundits, and especially the political bloggers. No word yet on that (except maybe for Reuters), but it is clear that McCain is catching up in the polls. It varies from one to the other, but yesterday's report of Zogby having him pulling ahead by a nose in the final stretch, and given the margin for error and the number of undecided voters out there, perhaps people are taking a much closer look at the candidates. Maybe they're reading the article in Parade magazine that comes with the Sunday paper, which is a run-down of the two major candidates and their positions. Maybe this will be a victory of substance over style after all. Who knows?

But the big surprise last night, was the host, Ben Affleck. Not only did he do a devastating impersonation of MSNBC commentator and blowhard-in-residence Keith Olbermann that brought down the house, but in the opening monologue, he broke ranks with most of Hollywood, including Matt Damon, by endorsing John McCain!!! I never realized this guy had a mind of his own. Then again, a number of Hollywood celebs are coming out for McCain -- Jon Voight, Patricia Heaton, Kelsey Grammar, to name three.

Gotta warn you, though. Some of these clips might start out with an ad for Obama. Somebody couldn't resist getting into the act, could they? We could not get the clip of the backstage visit with Senator and Mrs McCain. But if the demand on Hulu.com's server ever lets up, you can find it here.

[UPDATE: Allahpundit of Hot Air weighs in with his review; a bit cynical for my taste, but Krazy Keith continues to come out the real loser, as do a few people in the audience who booed McCain. Juveniles, all of them.]

[THIS GETS BETTER: Investor's Business Daily released its latest poll today, showing Obama with 46.7% and McCain at 44.6% -- a gap of just over two points. IDB was the most accurate poll in the 2004 election. IDB's results also show that almost 9% of voters remain undecided. If they haven't swallowed the Obama-flavored Kool-Aid by now...]
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