Sketchy political comedy

Whether it was Norm McDonald reminding audiences how much Bob Dole liked to talk about himself in the third person or Darrell Hammond re-enacting Al Gore’s sighs from his first presidential debate, “Saturday Night Live” has always stood at the intersection of pop culture and politics.

Unfortunately, some of the more recent political sketches have fallen flat. Amy Poehler has done a passable Hillary Clinton, but Fred Armisen has put forth a rather disappointing Barack Obama. Darrel Hammond’s John McCain is clearly far from his best.

Almost all of the show’s recent relevancy has come from one source: a hockey mom governor from Alaska.

Tina Fey has nailed everything about Palin from the folksy Northern accent to her vapid small-town charm. People loved Fey’s sketch alongside Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton and her portrayal of Palin’s recent interview with Katie Couric. Ratings for “SNL” are through the roof for the first time in years.

Before heralding in some kind of “Saturday Night Live” renaissance, it is important to consider two things. The first is that, as mentioned, none of the other “SNL” political sketches have been this good, reflecting a general decrease in the quality of the performances and the writing in recent years.

Nothing speaks louder to this than the vice-presidential debate sketch. Tina Fey shined at mocking Palin’s incessant repetition of the word “maverick,” but Jason Sudeikis’ Joe Biden didn’t produce half as many laughs.

In all fairness, Sarah Palin is the most ridiculous vice presidential candidate since Indiana’s own Dan Quayle. Yet the other reason not to get so excited a new and improved “SNL” is that even in the past its coverage of politics has been pretty shallow.

I know “SNL” is satire. I don’t mind a little light-hearted material. Still, I can’t help but be reminded that for a long time most Americans got their political news from “SNL.” Today we see a similar trend with programs like “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

Unfortunately, most political humor, far from making politics more accessible to the general public, tends to focus on the personality quirks of characters rather than the differences between their platforms. This can be funny, but it feeds into the shallow “who would you rather have a beer with” political culture.

Now I am not saying your news literacy will skyrocket watching most network or cable news; stick with Jon Stewart before switching to Fox News or MSNBC. Decent news is hard to find. But that doesn’t mean you should settle for “SNL.”

Sitting down to watch Tina Fey mock Palin’s denial of global warming should be a guiltless experience so long as, on Election Day, it is not the only thing informing your vote.