Governor Christie on SNL - Laughter, Hope and Sanity

 Saturday Night Live gets a lot of mileage making fun of New Jersey.  There was Joe Piscopo "I'm from Jersey! You from Jersey? What exit?" More recently there was Fred Armisen playing a Jersey-hating Governor Paterson.

But it's not just SNL. New Jersey is the state we all love to hate. We watch Snooki so we can feel superior, even though any member of the cast of Jersey Shore could buy and sell most of us a few times over.

South Park has taken some serious jabs at Jersey too. Part of the Jersey persona seems to be that people from Jersey don't take crap from anyone. Apparently, not even from Hurricane Sandy.

New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie, has been a cheerleader for the new Republican agenda. In an election season filled with bad science and bad manners, I had completely written off Governor Christie as another "Legitimate Rape" wacko.

But, tragedy tests the metal of a person. When Governor Christie had to work side-by-side with his political enemy, President Obama, he made the well-being of his state his only priority. Christie took a lot of heat from his Republican friends, but he could not be swayed. He simply refused to politicize Hurricane Sandy.

This past Saturday Governor Christie was a guest on SNL's Weekend Update with Seth Meyers. Here, we saw another side of Chris Christie. Without any political rancor, he was able to laugh at himself, and at the negative Jersey stereotypes.

He closed his bit by quoting the "great New Jersey poet," Bruce Springsteen. As he did, we could see his genuine pride in his state, his sorrow, and his determination to rebuild. What we didn't see was political hatred…for anyone.

Sadly, this last election season earned the GOP the nickname "The Party of Stupid," even amongst some frustrated Republicans.

Chris Christie reminded us all that New Jersey is not just a polluted stretch of I-95.  Suddenly I remembered that I attended summer camp in New Jersey as a child. Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Kevin Smith are some of my cultural heroes.

My family and I made regular trips to enjoy the ocean at Sandy Hook. Stories of wonderful things we did in New Jersey are part of my identity. I'm guessing this is true of many people from the Northeastern United States.

It's fun to laugh at Jersey. Sometimes it's necessary to laugh at Republicans. On SNL, we got a chance to laugh with Chris Christie, and to remember what strong, sane leadership in a time of crisis looks like.

Where’s Seth When You Need Him?

It’s just our luck.  Saturday Night Live goes on summer hiatus, and Bam (!!!!)  Sarah Palin doesn’t know who Paul Revere was, and Andrew Weiner tweets his junk.

Why, oh, why couldn’t they have done these fool things just a few weeks earlier?  Then, we could all enjoy Seth Meyers’ take on these pernicious goings-ons.  Then we could all appreciate the obvious real reasons we tolerate politicians – they make us laugh, and they make us feel smart.

If you were going on a tour of American historical hotspots, wouldn’t you quickly bone up on the basics, in case you had to say something intelligent?  Maybe at least read a plaque?  Honestly, the fact that Sarah didn’t remember Paul Revere was not the most disturbing thing here.  The most disturbing things, for me, were these.

First, Sarah didn’t think to be prepared.  Most people would have anticipated the need, and prepared themselves. 

Second, when caught with her pants down, she lied.  She flubbed, she flustered, she flopped.  For goodness sake, Sarah, just tell us the truth.  A pretty smile, and the gosh-darn truth that, you know what, I just blanked out on Paul Revere completely.  Wide-eyed blink blink smile.  She could have gotten away with that, and we would have respected her honesty.

Speaking of boned up and pants down, Sarah was trying to spin out of her ghastly revisionist history when the focus was off her and on Andrew Weiner and his . . . well, his weiner.  Does he call it Weiner, Jr?  I would.  Something with that many portraits deserves a name.

It is possible that in today’s high-tech world, societal norms have changed so drastically that tweeting a picture of your congressional member is tantamount only to the harmless flirting of yesteryear.

Here’s what gets me.  I am clearly aware that if I post, tweet, IM or email anything that the general populous might find questionable, I may have to answer for it later.  Haven’t we all heard the sage advice “Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want to see on the cover of the Wall Street Journal?”  Why didn’t Andrew Weiner have the internal mechanism to make a good decision here?

This is all on the heels of the Sperminator.  And, oh, I almost forgot, John Edwards is in the hall of shame, too.  Political scandals seem to be coming faster and faster.  Blame the internet, blame the 24-hour news cycle, blame anything but the politicians themselves, and the system that creates them.

Politicians expect to be held to a different standard than the rest of us.  If an average working person pulled any of the shenanigans of these folks, or showed an embarrassing lack of knowledge and preparation as Sarah did, that person would be unemployed.  That the politicians make more than quadruple what we make, and much of that money comes from our pockets, only adds insult to injury.

But who’s to blame here, really?  If a child misbehaves and the parent doesn’t correct the child, we blame the parent when the child gets out of hand.  Who’s to blame for out of hand politicians?

Arguably, we are.

But why do we let them get away with it?  Why do we not hold them to the same standard we hold ourselves?

Sadly, the answer may be that we envy them.  In their success, we see the possibility for our own success.  Their failures make our own failures seem more palatable.

 I may have made some mistakes today, but I do know what Paul Revere did, and I didn’t send anyone random pictures of my privates.  I guess I’m doing ok.  I don’t have as much money as Sarah, Edward, John or Arnold, but I do, apparently, have more common sense. 

Another problem is our constant political infighting.  Clearly, political stupidity happens on both sides of the aisle.  It’s not about red or blue, or tea or coffee.  Each side is eager to bring the other side down.  Instead of doing what we pay them to do, they spend their time exposing and exploiting each other’s bad behavior.

If nothing else, the United States should probably start addressing these issues on a fiscal level.  Each time a politician drops his pants it costs the American people a whole bunch of money.  I have always thought that, when dealing with other people’s money, one needs to be above reproach.

I think, too, we as a nation need to do some deep soul-searching about what we value.  More specifically, I think we need to ask ourselves why we no longer value intelligence.

Many politicians have actually used campaign tactics that suggest we should vote for them because they are dumb like us.  They scorn smart people as “elitist,” and “out of touch.”

I have a theory about where this came from.  I believe its seeds were sewn many decades ago.  After Sputnik, we put a lot of time and money into public education because we wanted to win the space race.  An unintended result was the youth movement of the 1960s.  That’s right – if we give kids too much education, they rebel.

Thus began the dumbing down of America, the ongoing results of which are Sarah Palin, Andrew Weiner, Elliot Spitzer and the like.

It is time, once again, for the children of this land to stand up and exclaim “The emperor has no clothes.”

And he just tweeted a picture to prove it.

I’m sure Seth’s take on these recent events would have been funnier than mine.  Still, I am sure he is just as scared, and just as angry, as I am.

Paul Simon, Chris Colfer and Lindsey Buckingham Kill on SNL

Another Day Late Dollar Short Hulu Review by Christiana Gaudet

When I was a teenager, staying up to watch the Belushi-Aykroyd-Radner-Newman Saturday Night Live cast of the Seventies was one of my greatest privileges and pleasures.  Many of us remember Mr, Bill, The Nuclear Family, The Lubners, Killer Bees, Land Shark and the Ex-Police as the best SNL bits of all time.

As my friends and I gathered at school on Monday to discuss the wickedly funny skits, I don’t think any of us thought Saturday Night Live would become the longstanding institution that it has.  In fact, many of us didn’t imagine we would still be alive some thirty years later, let alone our favorite television show!

Over the years, there have been better casts and worse casts.  Some years my life didn’t allow me to watch television from 11:30 PM to 1 AM, or to watch TV at all.  I loved Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey in the Wayne’s World bit, and took my kids to see the movies.  Ditto Austin Powers, and every Adam Sandler movie ever made.  SNL has become the proving ground for some of our nation’s best comics, from Steve Martin to Chris Rock to Tina Fey.

I am loyal to original casts.  I hate it when my entertainers change faces.  I resist the new Dr. Who every time.  Nonetheless, I have to say that watching classic SNL clips can be a bit boring.  What we think is funny changes decade to decade.  Humor that is culturally current goes stale with the passage of time.

The basic format of SNL has remained comfortingly consistent over the years.  I love the train station set, where I can see the very train I would often ride.  I love the guest hosts, Weekend Update, and the two musical numbers.

There is one compelling difference between modern SNL and the SNL of my high school years.  The SNL of today has real political power, in the nation and in the entertainment world.  I don’t remember politicians appearing on SNL back in the Seventies, but they do now.  Some political pundits suggest that Tina Fey singlehandedly cost John McCain the 2008 presidential race with her spot-on impersonations of his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Back in the day, we just didn’t see as many A-list celebs on SNL, other than the guest hosts and the musical guests.  Now, part of the fun of watching SNL is to see who might show up unannounced.  It’s like rock shows of a certain era, you would never know what luminary giants might sit in for a few numbers.

Andy Samberg’s digital shorts, often with “The Lonely Island,” featuring superstars like Justin Timberlake, Susan Sarandon, T-Pain and, most recently, Michael Bolton, are hilarious, and a testament to both SNL’s talent and clout.

New York’s Governor Patterson packed a punch as a guest on Weekend Update not too long ago.

That’s why you may not be surprised when I say that, as awesome as he was, Paul Simon was not the hottest musical guest on the 5/14/11 Ed Helms SNL- Lindsey Buckingham was!

That’s right, the show-stopping, spotlight-stealing bit was “What Up With That.”

You may know the premise of this recurring bit.  It’s a BET talk show that features Kenan Thompson as Deandre Cole, a host who just can’t stop singing.  He always runs out of time, and never gets a chance to interview his guests.  The last of the three guests is always Bill Hader as Lindsey Buckingham.  Hader’s Buckingham never, ever gets a chance to speak, but always comes back for the next show.

The skit featured musical guest Paul Simon in the hot seat, Glee’s Chris Colfer (OMG) in the second seat, and, as usual, Bill Hader as Buckingham in the last seat.

Paul Simon’s sense of humor shone.  Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt on Glee, had no real lines, but was a luminous presence on the set.

When Deandre turned to Lindsey Buckingham, I thought Hader’s Buckingham would finally get a chance to speak.  I was excited that one of my favorite Glee stars was there.  I thought either he, or Paul Simon, might accompany Deandre in his endless singing.  I was completely unprepared for really happened.

The real Lindsey Buckingham, dressed exactly as Hader’s Buckingham, joined the set with his guitar.  He proceeded to show his chops, jamming mightily.  As much as I love Fleetwood Mac, I never really considered Buckingham one of the great guitar gods.  I do now.

Watching Kenan Thompson always makes me a little wistful, he was my family’s essential Saturday night companion on “All That.”  Even now, seeing him makes me want to hang out with a nine year old and eat popcorn.  That nine year old is now twenty-six.  SNL has stood the test of time, perhaps better than I have.

Paul Simon has stood the test of time as well.  He is without question an old man now.  Nonetheless, his songs made me want the new album, which was the whole point of the exercise.  He is still viable after all these years.

For me, the star-studded “What Up With That” skit was the highlight of SNL this week, and highlights how far SNL has come over the years.