| | SNL spoofs Clinton: The race is 'hopelessly deadlocked'
 Even Saturday Night Live appears to think that the race is over for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In its opening sketch on Saturday, the long-running late night comedy sketch show poked fun at Senator Hillary Clinton's rapidly-turning-Quixotic campaign which impersonator Amy Poehler claimed was "hopelessly deadlocked" with Senator Barack Obama's and "therefore, this nomination is going to be decided as it should be, by the super delegates, based not on primary results or caucuses or delegate counts or popular vote."
Poehler's Clinton offered three reasons why she would make the better candidate: "So there you have it, sore loser, racist supporters, no ethical standards. Qualities Senator Obama simply cannot match. That's not an attack on my opponent, it's just the truth. When you consider that, the choice is obvious."
The "racist supporters" quip was a reference to comments made by Clinton the other week about Indiana and North Carolina exit polls "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Clinton's words were characterized by Rupert Murdoch's New York Post tabloid as a "racial bomb."
"Hillary Rodham Clinton played the race card yesterday as she dismissed Barack Obama as a candidate who will have a hard time winning support from 'white Americans,'" Maggie Haberman wrote for the Post. "An analysis of racial breakdowns is always done behind the scenes by campaigns, but it's rarely discussed by a candidate openly."
"That's right, it's all over," Doug Perry writes at The Oregonian. "Proof: Hillary's lost the superdelegate lead (see below), and she's also lost the beneficence of 'Saturday Night Live.' Amy Poehler's Hillary message Saturday wasn't particularly funny, but it was a devastating attack that synthesized the increasingly negative perception of the New York senator as a slash-and-burn, me-or-nothing candidate. Unfair? We'll soon see."
Adam Nagourney noted for The New York Times "that even 'Saturday Night Live' had run a skit making fun of her."
In March, RAW STORY reported on SNL staff donations to the presidential candidates.
"While the SNL writers are said to favor Obama, a review of the producers' political donations shows a decided Clinton bent," Nick Juliano reported. "Producers have donated more than $10,000 to Clinton's presidential and Senate campaigns in recent years. Robert Smigel, who writes SNL's TV Funhouse animated skits, and his wife, Michelle, have donated at least $5,100 to Clinton's various campaigns, according to a search of the Center for Responsive Politics database."
This video is from NBC's Saturday Night Live, broadcast May 10, 2008.
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Transcript via closed captions
:: good evening, my fellow americans. as we all know, this has already been a long, hard-fought campaign for the democratic presidential nomination. but tonight, with my recent victory in indiana, and senator obama's in north carolina, we remain exactly where we were four months ago. hopelessly deadlocked. therefore, this nomination is going to be decided as it should be, by the super delegates, based not on primary results or caucuses or delegate counts or popular vote. [ laughter ]
but on their sober assessment of which candidate will be the strongest against senator mccain in november. tonight, i'm here to tell you why i am that candidate. first, i am a sore loser. [ laughter ]
if and when i am the nominee, i know, as do the super delegates that senator obama will work his heart out for my election. if, on the other hand, senator obama is chosen, i will probably refuse to campaign for him. [ laughter ]
or if i do so, it will be in a resentful, half-hearted way, thus ensuring his defeat. so that i can run again in 2012. [ laughter ]
you see, unlike my opponent, i'm just not going to lose gracefully. it's not a criticism of senator obama, just a fact. [ laughter ]
second, my supporters are racist. [ laughter ] [ applause ]
if and when i am the nominee, senator obama's african-american supporters will be disappointed, perhaps. but they will still rally to me. if, however, senator obama is the nominee, my supporters will refuse to vote for him. partly because i will secretly tell them not to, but mainly because they are racially biassed. [ laughter ]
and would never vote for any african-american candidate. i'm not bragging. that's just the way it is. now, to those of you that worry if my opponent is denied the nomination that african-americans might simply stay home, i remind you, "a," until senator obama shockingly and might i add, rudely and selfishly, won the iowa caucuses, most african-americans supported me. "b," my husband was the first black president. [ laughter ]
and "c," in the days ahead, we expect to receive the endorsement of america's preeminent african-american leader, reverend jeremiah wright. [ laughter ] which brings me to my third and final argument. unlike senator obama, i have no ethical standards. [ laughter ]
even my critics would agree that once i get the nomination, i will stop at nothing, absolutely nothing, to win. whereas with senator obama, there are some things he simply will not do. take, for example, the race card. which he has been reluctant to play. as in anyone who doesn't vote for me is a racist. i, on the other hand, will be happy to play the gender card. [ laughter ] and claim that anyone who doesn't vote for me is a sexist. in fact, one senator obama is out of the picture, i look forward to playing the race card myself. [ laughter ]
as in anyone who doesn't vote for me is both a sexist and a racist. now, to those of you who say shale never do that, it doesn't even make sense. [ laughter ]
i answer, if you believe that, then you don't know me. [ laughter ]
so there you have it, sore loser, racist supporters, no ethical standards, qualities senator obama simply cannot match. that's not an attack on my opponent, it's just the truth. when you consider that, the choice is obvious. thank you and live from new york, it's saturday night! [ cheers and applause ]
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