Say what you will about the rest of Saturday Night Live, the show's political sketches have become just about the funniest things on TV. And last night's introduction of their new half-hour format, Weekend Update Thursday, showed what a boon the new election season has been for comedy writers everywhere.
The opening spoof, of the most recent presidential debate, skewered everything from the tightly scheduled format to Tom Brokaw's odd hosting style to the candidates themselves. (Fred Armisen's Barack Obama impersonation keeps getting better -- though if his ears stuck out any farther, he could probably fly -- while "John McCain," shuffling around the stage, showed how valuable Darrell Hammond still is to the show after all these years.) And even a minor Bill Murray cameo just plain makes us happy.
There may never again be such a perfect confluence between national events and SNL's staff, so enjoy it while you can. Click on the video below, and laugh all over again.
(Note: If the video isn't working for technical reasons, you can find it here.)