Live from New York, it's one more SNL gig for John McCain
Last Updated: Friday, October 31, 2008 | 2:02 PM ET
CBC News
Republican presidential candidate John McCain salutes a crowd in Ohio on Thursday. On Saturday, he'll be wooing voters from Saturday Night Live. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press) Republican presidential candidate John McCain is taking one last opportunity to prove he's the kind of good-humoured guy Americans want to lead their nation.
He'll appear "live from New York" on Saturday as a special guest on Saturday Night Live.
His appearance falls just three days before the election and two weeks after running mate Sarah Palin made an SNL appearance.
Palin, Alaska's governor, drew the best ratings in 14 years for SNL, which has established a reputation as the show to watch during this presidential race.
While Palin has been brilliantly parodied by Tina Fey, SNL regular Darrell Hammond has been the show's McCain impersonator.
Saturday's show is being hosted by actor Ben Affleck, a Democratic supporter.
McCain is trailing opponent Barack Obama in opinion polls and needs as much face time as possible with American viewers to reverse the trend.
He is doing particularly poorly with young voters, who are the demographic most likely to watch SNL.
Obama appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart this week in his last bid to prove he can take comedy as well as the next man.
Obama appeared on Saturday Night Live briefly last season but cancelled a September appearance, saying he wanted to respond to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike.
He also bought a half-hour of prime time TV on several networks Wednesday night to make a serious pitch to middle-class voters.
McCain was on SNL in May, right after he clinched the Republican nomination.
During that appearance he joked about his age, 72, which has been seen as a liability in the campaign.
"I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president?" he asked viewers. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old."
With files from the Associated Press
