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this includes politics as well. SNL doesn't shy away from poking fun at our politicians, and very few issues are off-limits.

Because SNL has always been so adept at poking fun at politicians, I think that the show welcomed all the candidates to come onto the show to do the same, especially when it comes to the back and forth going on between Obama and Clinton. In this way, Saturday Night Live is poking fun at the political process. In addition to that, the show is enabling Obama, Clinton, and Huckabee to make fun of it as well, despite them being a part of the political process. It almost as if the candidates are saying, "Yes, politics seem silly and absurd at times, but that's the way it is sometimes and we're aware of it."

It seems to me that this campaign is proof that there are no more boundaries between the media and politics. The media uses politicians to attract viewers and politicians use the media to get exposure so they can get elected to office. In the minds of many people, politicians either seem to be or should be on another level compared to their constituents, that they are somehow better than the average person. Seeing these candidates on shows such as Saturday Night Live reveals that, no, they aren't on a higher plane of existence from other Americans. They are people just like everybody else, with the same foibles and idiosyncrasies that the average people have as well. And just like everybody else, politicians like to make others laugh too on occasion, even if it may be at their own expense. This shows that politicians can make political humor as well, and even about themselves, and when they do, it tends to only endear them more to the American people despite being the butt of a joke. It also shows that being the butt of a joke can help their political aspirations.

Learn more about this author, Stephen Pate.
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