Thursday, May 14, 2009

Stress Tests Meet Saturday Night Live (SNL) on NBC

SNL in a venerable American institution that has bred numerous successful comedians. Among them are Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Adam Sandler and the late John Belushi and the late Gilder Radner.

The show also features VIP guests that have included not just Hollywood celebrities but many high government officials and public figures. Senator Obama, Clinton, Al Gore among others have done so. Late President Gerald Ford opened the show once. Others fight to be on it because the show is one of the most watched in the country.

Its satire of Obamamania during the last presidential campaign was cited by his then opponent, Senator Hilary Clinton, as "evidence" of media bias against her. Its satire of officials often had the effect of a "kiss of death". You don't want to be the target of its satire.

In this context, Tim Geithner, whose "stress tests" have been panned by many analysts, including this one, would be having sleepless nights because SNL has just done a skit on that very subject. Watch it here.

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