Don’t tell me I don’t love America! Take THAT, France!

Freedom Crispies

This video, taken last night by Minnesota Independent at Cedar-Riverside, shows the jubilation spilling into the streets over the election of Barack Obama as president.

The fact that shows like Saturday Night Live can thrive for decades on political satire and parody, lampooning presidents and presidential wannabes alike, says a lot about our democracy. And SNL can often be brutally unforgiving. For that reason, I give a lot of credit to politicians who agree to appear on the show.

McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, has already appeared on Saturday Night Live and was, primarily, the butt of their jokes. Last night, it was John McCain‘s turn and it looked to me like a candidate who has conceded defeat while taking some jabs at the running mate who has been a drag on his ticket. The opening sketch was remarkable in its portrayal of Palin and, more importantly, McCain’s agreement to participate in it:

That’s one funny McCain. The audience clearly appreciated he and Cindy McCain’s willingness to play along. McCain also made light of his campaign’s strategy for winning the election:

Lastly, Ben Affleck did a devastating parody of Keith Olbermann. It’s a must see.

McCain supporters lambaste Obama supporters after a Palin rally in Las Vegas:

Former Republican Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president today on Meet The Press. He actually made the announcement outside the NBC studios:

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama on Meet The Press

Colin Powell Press Conference

This clip is of a press conference Powell held after taping Meet The Press:

The most telling silent moment of last night’s debate came when Senator Barack Obama defended himself against Senator John McCain‘s charges that he would be reckless in foreign affairs because he was too inexperienced. At the 4:50 mark of the following video, Obama summarizes McCain’s charges that he’s wet behind the ears while Senator McCain is somber and responsible but then he brings up McCain’s singing of “Bomb Iran.”  (CNN sucks. Their video embed script doesn’t work. Follow this link to see their higher quality clip). Watch Senator McCain’s body language during that exchange:

McCain’s body practically slumps; he looks crestfallen and his head droops toward the floor as if to say, “Ugh, you got me.”

Here’s the video of McCain singing “Bomb Iran,” the parody of the Beach Boys song:

This is video of John McCain‘s recent interview with the Des Moines Register’s editorial board, which asks some reasonable questions to which McCain does not respond well:

Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin:

Compare that to Tina Fey‘s parody of the interview. Sadly, there’s really not a lot of difference between the two:

I can repeat the same answer over and over again. How come I don’t get to be vice president? Sarah Palin says a whole lotta nothin’ in this interview with Katie Couric: