[SoCal Pubbie]

Yes it always leaned left but they didn’t use a sledgehammer to deliver the message back then. Remember Dan Ackroyd as Jimmy Carter and the “lusty, zesty man” skit? There is simply no pretense of balance anymore, and no recognition of the fact that thoroughly the years the best skits were never political. The Coneheads, Land Shark, The Czechoslovakian Brothers, the Loud Family, Emily Latella, The Church Lady, Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood, Mary Katherine Gallagher, The Roxbury Guys, Celebrity Jeopardy, etc were always the best part of the show.

[Mears]

Mr. Bill was a favorite of mine——in those days EVERYONE was a target——funniest show ever.

.

[tuffydoodle]

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood and it was freaking hilarious. Don’t forget Buckwheat sings the hits. “Wookin’ pa nub in all da wong paces, wookin pa nub.”

[Prolixus]

The Jimmy Carter parodies were of the good-natured sort.

Chevy Chase’s portrayals of President Ford are not. They’re an onslaught of depicting Ford as stupid. They are not funny and they are not entertaining.

They—were—effective in branding Ford as stupid much as Dan Quayle (stupid), Reagan (stupid and demented), the Bushes (stupid), ... have been portrayed. I’ve only seen a few of SNL’s Trump portrayals on youtube and they seem to be the same nasty and unfunny material as SNL used on other Republicans.

SNL is political propaganda with a smattering of entertainment.