With the autumn return of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with all new installments, the traditionally reliable pro-Obama skits may be on the back burner as the voter opposition to the president is at an all time high, according to Gallup.
The actor portraying President Obama was the same as last season, Jay Pharoah, but this past Saturday night, the writers seemed to have been paying attention a bit more to the real president's actual job performance. In a takeoff of the recent "60 Minutes" interview with Obama, SNL had a little bit of fun at the president's expense in the cold open, mocking his growing list of problems.
In the faux interview, Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes" discusses ISIS and asks "Obama" if he underestimated the terror group. In responding, "Obama" plays the blame game which has made him notorious. He said “Could I throw one particular person under the bus?...James Clapper" (Director of National Intelligence in the Obama Administration). And then there was this:
"KROFT": Much has been made of the coalition you assembled. But it sounds like America is bearing the brunt of the campaign.
"OBAMA" - That's how we roll. Slowly and deliberate. Almost like we have no idea where we are rolling to. Then someone pushes us, and suddenly we're rolling straight downhill into oncoming traffic.
When Kroft asks Obama about the connection between ISIS and Islam in light of Obama's public statements saying they are not connected or affiliated, SNL's Obama sees the light: "Actually, I'm beginning to think there is some connection. For example, did you know the first I in ISIS stands for Islamic? I mean, who knew?"
Could the new attitude on NBC on Saturday nights be a result of the new shakeup on NBC on Sunday mornings with the ouster of the flagship program "Meet the Press" host David Gregory due to poor ratings and replacing him with Chuck Todd? Or is it a simple response to the downward spiral in Obama's poll numbers and the network's fear of losing viewers by being cheerleaders for an unpopular president?
