Abstract
Saturday Night Live (SNL) is one of the more important traditions of contemporary American political humor. At least as far back as Chevy Chase’s depictions of Gerald Ford, SNL has translated the serious realm of politics into something the public could laugh about. More recently, SNL has played a noticeable public role in the last two U.S. presidential elections. Both elections were close, and a variety of factors may have swayed the ultimate outcomes. Humor provided by outlets like SNL was arguably an important factor. Th is analysis provides a rhetorical study of SNL’s parodies of presidential debates for the elections of 2000 and 2004. Th is study concludes that SNL’s powerful role in defi ning in the 2000 presidential candidates declined considerably in the 2004 process. From a comparative perspective of the two political seasons (2000 and 2004), it is possible to see how SNL demonstrates the eff ective and ineff ective rhetorical ranges of humor in politics.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
