Opinion: McCain follows Palin ... to SNL?

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Having spent a total of about one hour with Barack Obama, I’m no expert on his personality. But from what I’ve seen and read about him, he doesn’t seem like a knee-slapping kind of guy. John McCain, on the other hand, is a pretty humorous fellow, especially when mocking himself and the people around him (my ilk included). Or at least he was back when I was in Washington in the 80s and 90s; like most folks on the campaign trail, his scripted humor isn’t Improv-grade.

Anyway, according to the AP, tomorrow the GOP standard-bearer is due to appear again on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ where perhaps he can teach Darrell Hammond a thing or two about verisimilitude. (NBC declined to confirm the story, and said it had ‘an open door to all candidates.’) Assuming the report is true, my guess is that McCain will do as Sarah Palin did earlier this month, making one or two brief appearances in skits but not reprising his medley of Streisand songs from 2002. The appearances may not offset Obama’s multi-million-dollar purchase of prime-time airwaves Wednesday, but at least any laughs they produce will be intentional.

I’m no expert on campaigning, either, but I think this is a smart use of McCain’s time. Candidates who are trailing in the polls often struggle to strike the positive tone that voters crave, particularly in tough times like the ones we’re in now. McCain’s main focus for the past month or so has been on Obama’s flaws, rather than the promise of his own candidacy. SNL gives him the opportunity to put a different image in front of people, both on TV and through clips that get passed around the Net.

Here’s my hope: I’d like to see SNL put McCain in a skit with actors playing William Ayers, Tony Rezko and Charles Keating -- sort of a Ghost of Associations Past thing. But I don’t have an Improv-grade sense of humor, either. What about you? Tell us your ideas for McCain on SNL, and remember -- if only Republicans would laugh (or Democrats), then it’s not really funny.

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall