Presidential election blurring lines between politics, pop culture

“Saturday Night Live” has really hit the jackpot this year.

 Whether it’s Tina Fey returning to imitate Sarah Palin or Will Ferrell making a guest appearance to do one last George W., there hasn’t been an election in recent memory that has given the late-night skit show this much material.

You could almost hear the comedy gods rejoicing when John McCain picked a running mate who looked so much like Tina Fey that you can barely tell the difference when they’re both wearing those tiny glasses.

Palin said her foreign policy expertise includes the fact that she can see Russia from Alaska, but she can also blow through $150,000 on clothes and makeup in a little less than two months. (That’s not to say that some of us couldn’t, but we aren’t running for VP, are we?) Yep, it was a match made in comedic heaven.

But “SNL’s” outrageous skits and even more outrageous ratings have pointed to a greater theme in the election: This is certainly the most important election most of us have been a part of. With the economy tanking and the government refusing to confirm or deny a deadly attack on Syria while the military is still spread dangerously thin elsewhere, this election matters more than any in recent memory.

We are even seeing this election become a part of popular culture. The other day, my roommate and I were joking that we both got a lot of our political information from Web sites such as Jezebel.com and PerezHilton.com. We both felt ashamed for a second until we realized it’s not really any worse than people getting their news from places such as The Daily Show. Also, we both read the newspapers every day, so it’s not our sole source of news.

Barack Obama has also been on the cover of Us Weekly at least twice, while the McCain family has graced the cover of People and Sarah Palin’s family situation has been tabloid fodder since she was selected as McCain’s running mate. With this blurred boundary between politics and entertainment, it’s no wonder “SNL” has done so well this season.

So, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get out there on Tuesday (or before) and vote. Vote, vote, vote. It’s your civic duty.