McCain the Maverick Becomes McCain the Comedian on SNL

Say what you will about John McCain, but the elder statesman of U.S. presidential politics is not above poking a bit of fun at himself, and he’ll even do it in front of a large national audience. McCain, who’s never been one to shy away from making the kinds of statements that politicians simply don’t like to make, showed up on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, appearing in a sketch that featured him as the director of an infomercial on QVC and on the show’s "Weekend Update" portion. During the QVC sketch, McCain’s wife Cindy made a surprise appearance. A campaign source said "SNL asked if she would do it. We saw the script and she was very game. She had a great time."

Tina Fey, again reprising her role as McCain running mate Sarah Palin, also appeared in the sketch and at one point "went rogue," touting her "Palin 2012" t-shirts to the side, ostensibly out of earshot of her running mate. The brightest moment of the show came on the "Update" section, where McCain told Seth Meyers (Amy Poehler is still out of action following the birth of her child), "My basic strategy is the one I’ve stuck with since I started this campaign. Connect with the voters, talk with them honestly about the issues, stand by my record of service to this great country."

McCain went on to spell out a few "radical" last minute ideas to jumpstart the campaign as the election nears. Among those ideas were McCain’s "Reverse Maverick" (whereby he would do what everyone tells him to do), the "Double Maverick," whereby he would "go totally berserk and freak everybody out," and the "Forrest Gump," which would have the senator jog across America so that "eventually everything works out." Though it remains to be seen if the SNL appearance will boost McCain’s popularity on election day, it will, at a minimum, cement the man as one of Washington’s true "mavericks."