Live from New York ... NBC executives have a reason to love the latest White House race

Most of us remember Phil Hartman in a sweatsuit -- jogging into a D.C. McDonald's for a bite to eat with his "constituents."

And we can still hear Will Ferrell's call for "strategery" and Darrell Hammond's assurance that just about anything could be placed in a "lock box."

But perhaps no "Saturday Night Live" skit impacted a presidential race more so than the one in which an "awe shucks" Tina Fey -- portraying Sarah Palin -- squared off with an eyelash flapping Amy Poehler, a.k.a. Katie Couric.

So when, in a few months, "SNL" returns for its latest season, one can bank on more satire -- and more laughs.

Just imagine the possibilities.

It could be as simple as a knock-knock joke.

"Knock knock," a pantsuit wearing Hillary Clinton impersonator says.

"Ben," her foe responds.

"Ben who?" she would reply.

"Ben GHAZI."

Or maybe NBC's elite team of writers will, instead, focus on the fact that she is currently searching for the "right" definition of classified to determine whether her email fiasco jeopardized national security.

And do we even need to mention the Republican front-runner?

Some might argue that there is more fodder for comedy writers in one Donald Trump speech than they would need for an entire season of shows.

The only question is whether they decide to run with the billionaire's recent claim that he is Batman or stick with his call for a wall along the U.S./Mexico border.

Can't you see it now?

There is a budding comic portraying Trump, his signature hair blowing in the wind, digging a moat between Texas and Mexico -- a trench he later fills with sharks wearing laser beams on their heads.

"If they can make it across that moat, they still have to climb the wall. And I have built beautiful walls across the world, so this one will be great," the comic might say. "If they make it, they are clearly winners. And frankly, I, and this nation, only have time for winners."

And keep in mind that there are still 16 other Republican candidates -- well, at least for now -- and Bernie Sanders waiting in the wings to compete for airtime.

The possibilities are endless.

No matter which side of the political fence you put your post, there is no question about it, this is going to be a campaign that might just be a little more fun than we originally thought.

And if that "fun" means more people pay attention and the candidates get a closer look, heck, we might actually get a great president out of the effort.

After all, they have to talk about policies sometime.

Published in Editorials on August 19, 2015 10:49 AM