Presidential Reunion

I heard about the video above on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”, and headed over to the Funny or Die site to watch it. Tonight, it was also mentioned on TVNZ’s late news.

The video is a commercial in which, as the site puts it, “Barack Obama gets a surprise visit in the night from ex-Presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Carter to get a few pointers about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and why it's so important.” But it’s also a gathering of former cast members of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” who played presidents (as far as I know, it’s the first time that’s been done). The missing cast member is Phil Hartman who was murdered by his wife. He did a great Clinton. I was nice to see some old favourites reprise their roles.

So, for me, this video is part nostalgic, part current, part serious and part funny. I also think it’s good to see Progressives using the tools at their disposal to counter the spin and lies coming from the right. Whether it works or not, well, we’ll see.

The video stars Will Ferrell (Bush 43), Chevy Chase (Ford), Ron Howard (voiceover), Jim Carrey (Reagan), Fred Armisen (Barack Obama), Darrell Hammond (Clinton), Dan Aykroyd (Carter), Maya Rudolph (Michelle Obama) and Dana Carvey (Bush 41). It was directed by Ron Howard.