Does Saturday Night Live endorse Hillary? Do we care?

Over the past three weeks “SNL” has put itself back into the national discussion — not a bad place for any television show to be, as Mr. Michaels acknowledged — first with a series of sketches that have centered on the premise that Mrs. Clinton has been the target of a vengeful press that sees Mr. Obama with stars in its eyes and also with the overt (albeit comic) endorsement of Mrs. Clinton by Tina Fey, the former “SNL” star who returned on Feb. 23 to be the host of the first show after the recent writers’ strike. “Bitches get stuff done,” Ms. Fey said, using herself as an example.

In the weeks that followed, some commentators have cited the comedy bits as aids that have helped revive Mrs. Clinton’s campaign with primary victories in Ohio and Texas. A study by the Pew research organization found that critical coverage of Mr. Obama had increased in the news media after the sketches.

Even Mr. Downey, who said he had never intended to boost Mrs. Clinton, picked up the message. “Hillary supporters started coming up to me and thanking me,” he said.

Mr. Michaels, who has been the executive producer of “SNL” off and on (mostly on) since its inception in 1975, said that he was happy the show had benefited from the attention — the Feb. 23 show attracted 7.5 million viewers, the biggest audience for the show in a year — but that he still worried about the perception.

“I’m sensitive to the suggestion that we’re in the service of Hillary Clinton this year,” he said. “That obviously is not the case.” He added, “We don’t lay down for anybody.”

I find this to be one of the more ridiculous news stories to come down the pipe this week.

I do not watch Saturday Night Live very often anymore (though I do watch clips occasionally on YouTube if I can get there before NBC pulls them. By the way if NBC really wants to increase its viewership it should allow those clips to stay on the Internet.) If my memory serves me correctly, SNL has skewered politicians and world leaders with absolutely no regard to their politics or popularity since they started on October 11, 1975.

From Chevy Chase's bumbling Gerald Ford to Amy Poehler's uptight portrayal of Hillary Clinton, it is clear that they have just been trying to make us laugh.

I have watched them poke fun at Nixon, Reagan, both Bush's, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Tony Blair, Ralph Nader, Barack Obama, John McCain, etc, etc, etc. Some of it very funny, some of it biting criticism, and some of it both.

I have heard that there are Obama supporters who have complained that SNL favors Hillary. I think that is bullshit, but if it is true, why? Are we going to expect Keith Olbermann to stop making his Special Comments against the Bush administration policies just because some neo-cons got their feelings hurt? No we are not.

Obama supporters need to remember that we don't whine. That is what the Hillary supporters do. We win elections.

I don't know about you but I plan to start watching SNL more often. It sounds like they are finally putting on some shows worth staying awake to watch.