Saturday Night Live and Presidential Politics Panel

Published: Sept. 15, 2008, 4 a.m.

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.