Saturday Night Live and Presidential Politics Panel

Saturday Night Live has provided an irreverent yet influential perspective on American presidential politics since its debut season in 1975. Two days after kicking off its fall 2008 season with a sketch portraying Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, SNL was the subject of a panel discussion with series creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels (pictured left, selected by Time Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people; cast members and Weekend Update co-anchors Amy Poehler (center) and Seth Meyers (right); and veteran SNL writer James Downey. The program celebrated the launch of the 2008 edition of the Museum's website The Living Room Candidate, an archive of American presidential campaign commercials.