NBC Rewind: How 'SNL' Hardball Satire Mocked Post-Election Democratic Goals

As the media crow about Democrats taking the reins of power on Capitol Hill, if you need a giggle, it's worth a rewind to the "Saturday Night Live" satire of MSNBC's "Hardball" on the October 28 show -- the same one with the fake Halloween GOP ads with Witchy Hillary and Count Obama. Chris Matthews (played as usual by Darrell Hammond) and Howard Dean (played by Jason Sudeikis) are expressing amazement at how pro-Democrat the polls are turning out:

Matthews: “Alright, I assume you've seen the latest poll, which has your party with an astonishing 55-point lead over the Republicans.”

Dean:  “Life is good, Chris.”

Matthews: “But what amazes me is the internal numbers. I mean, the public now favors the Democrats in every issue. Even national defense.”

Dean: “I know, Chris. It's crazy. We can't be trusted on national defense.”

Matthews: “And this one really blows my mind. When asked, "Which party do you trust more to lower taxes?" Voters said the Democrats!”

Dean: “I'm with you, Chris. I mean, if there’s one thing we've tried to make absolutely clear, it's that we're going to raise your taxes.”

Matthews:  “Duh!”

Dean: “And not just on the rich -- on the middle class, working people, everybody. Even the very, very poor. We need that money for wasteful government programs.”

Matthews: “Ha! Ha! Howard, I love your honesty.”

Dean: “You know what else, Chris, we're going to do?

Matthews: “What?”

Dean: We're gonna take Rumsfeld, Cheney, Ashcroft, DeLay, that whole crowd, and we're gonna send them down to Guantanamo/>/>. See how they like it.”

Matthews: “Ha! That is old-school.” [ Laughter and applause]

Dean: “And trust me, Chris, we'll have plenty of room for ’em. Because once we get in, we're letting the terrorists go. We're just letting them go.” [ Laughter ]

Matthews: “Howard, you're the best. You still got the rage.”