‘SNL’ a must for presidential hopefuls
NEW YORK -The first of eight previous politicians to guest host “Saturday Night Live” was U.S. Rep. Julian Bond in April 1977. New York Mayor Ed Koch was tapped in May 1983.
Former Sen. George McGovern appeared in April 1984, a month after he withdrew from a presidential run.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson hosted in October 1984 after a failed bid to be the 1984 Democratic nominee.
Rudolph Giuliani appeared in November 1977, fresh from winning his second term as mayor of New York. Sen. John McCain hosted in October 2002, long before his ’08 presidential run. In December 2002, former Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore hosted.
Of the more than two dozen politicians who have made cameo appearances, President Gerald Ford was the first, appearing in April 1976 as he was seeking re-election.
More recent appearances:
Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2015: Coming off a summer dominated by questions over her use of a private email server, Clinton took a starring turn as bartender “Val” in an October appearance. In the skit, Clinton offered a sympathetic ear to Kate McKinnon’s Clinton impersonation while poking fun at her late opposition to the Keystone pipeline and support of same-sex marriage.
Sarah Palin, 2008: Then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, lampooned hilariously by Tina Fey, got some revenge when she made an appearance on the show. In her skit, real Palin appeared beside fake Palin at a mock news conference and was complimented on her looks by Fey’s “30 Rock” co-star Alec Baldwin.
John McCain, 2008: On the eve of the 2008 presidential election, then-Republican nominee John McCain appeared alongside Palin, played by Fey, in a skit mocking their campaign’s financial disadvantage against then-Sen. Barack Obama. Appealing on the shopping channel QVC, the pair hawked commemorative plates, action figures and jewelry.
Barack Obama, 2007: Obama appeared on the show in 2007 in a skit depicting Hillary and Bill Clinton’s Halloween party featuring the then-Democratic candidates. Toward the end, a man walked in wearing an Obama mask, which he removed to reveal it was really Obama. “I have nothing to hide,” he told Clinton. “I enjoy being myself. I’m not going to change who I am just because it’s Halloween.”
Rudolph Giuliani, 2001: Besides his hosting engagement, Giuliani made numerous appearances on the show. But the most memorable came in the days after the Sept. 11 terror attacks when he appeared alongside first responders and delivered a message of hope and resolve. The opening ended with Lorne Michaels asking the mayor for permission to be funny, to which he responded, “Why start now?”