Glenn Beck has been a favorite punching bag for liberal media members since he moved from HLN to Fox News and started getting huge ratings.
The folks at NBC's "Saturday Night Live" have also been on this Beck bashing bandwagon, which made the following sequence during Saturday's opening sketch rather surprising (video follows with transcript and commentary):
FRED ARMISEN AS PRESIDENT OBAMA: Obviously, it's no secret that my country's recovery from the recession has been slower than expected.
BILL HADER AS CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO THROUGH TRANSLATOR: We know all about your economic problems. That's why we were so surprised to see you embark on this ten day vacation to Asia that is costing $200 million a day.
ARMISEN: Now, hold on. I don't know where you heard that, but this trip is not costing $200 million a day.
HADER: That's not what Glenn Beck says.
ARMISEN: Again, let me be clear. Glenn Beck has no idea what he's talking about.
HADER: He was right about buying gold.
ARMISEN: I think we're getting off the subject.
HADER: My government should have bought gold. Unfortunately, all our assets were tied up in Treasury bills.
This sequence was surprising on a number of levels. First, Obama's defenders in the media aggressively attacked Fox News and conservative radio hosts for reporting this $200 million a day figure that came from an Indian website.
Although no specific numbers were released by the administration concerning the real cost, the press were very quick to dismiss the $200 million a day estimate.
This is why when SNL sourced it to Beck, viewers probably thought the joke would end there.
Oddly, that wasn't the case as Hader then made the point that maybe Beck shouldn't be dismissed so quickly as a result of his correct advice on gold.
This seems even more peculiar given New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, a Democrat that has been for months targeting Beck and his sponsor Goldline.
As such, in one fell swoop SNL not only complimented Beck for his investment prescience, but also took a swipe at the New York Congressman that's going after him.
Comedy sure makes for strange bedfellows, doesn't it?
