‘SNL’ excited to tackle the election season ‘The stakes are really high and everyone knows it,’ says Lorne Michaels

Darrell Hammond and Fred Armisen will portray John McCain and Barack Obama this season on "Saturday Night Live." (Henny Ray Abrams/AP)

I wasn't really crazy about Armisen's portrayal of Obama last season on SNL. I saw an actor during a skit on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno several weeks back, who I thought did a better job. I heard earlier this week that Senator Obama is actually going to make a surprise appearance on SNL tomorrow night. We will see! Maybe he will show Armisen better ways on how to improve his portrayal of him. Hammond on the other hand, is really great at whomever he portrays, in my opinion. Tina Fey is rumoured to play Sarah Palin.
~LT

MSNBC
updated 2:42 p.m. ET, Thurs., Sept. 11, 2008
NEW YORK - “You can just feel it simmering,” says Darrell Hammond while walking down the hallways of Studio 8H with his hands out, as if he can touch the energy around the new season of “Saturday Night Live” pulsating from the walls.

The premiere of “SNL” is Saturday — Michael Phelps is hosting — and it’s one of the most anticipated seasons in the 34-year history of the comedy institution.

With one of the most passionate elections in recent times — along with comic material galore — “Saturday Night Live” is beginning early this year. Three prime-time shows are also planned on NBC, as well as a special the night before the election.

“The stakes are really high and everyone knows it,” says “SNL” executive producer and creator Lorne Michaels. “We’ll definitely make some noise.”

At the center of that noise will be Hammond and Fred Armisen, the cast members playing the candidates: Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, respectively. While McCain and Obama duke it out on the campaign trail, their every move will be observed and reflected in the fun-house mirror of these two mimic maestros.

“SNL” has been on an upswing in recent years — creatively and in the ratings — and last year’s strike-marred season reminded many of the show’s political relevance. Particularly influential was a sketch by veteran writer and political humor specialist Jim Downey that depicted the media fawning over Obama.

Armisen and Hammond, though, prefer not to think about any effect “SNL” might have on the polls.

“I almost feel like it would be a bad idea to put that much pressure on yourself,” says Armisen in an interview in his office with Hammond. “I enjoy the theater of it.”

“We’re distorting a piece of temporary perception of a changing piece of information,” says Hammond. “I kind of think of myself as a clown who wears funny noses. I don’t think that I’m a policy wonk or a legislator.”

Full article: www.msnbc.com