Trick Or Treat

Over the past few weekends, the Republican nominee for president and his running-mate have subjected themselves to the playful ridicule of the jesters on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." In the latest bit, John McCain appeared during the cold opening of the show, making his plea for support on QVC, the Quality, Value and Convenience shopping channel. The joke being that his campaign couldn't afford the lavish infomercial unleashed by Barack Obama earlier in the week. Maybe this was a way for Lorne Michaels to kick in a little extra to John McCain's war chest, having already donated his maximum of $2,300 personally.
Or maybe at this point we're all starting to get the joke. Sarah Palin took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday. "Maybe in eight years," replies a laughing Palin. After she was made aware of the joke, Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said, "Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie." Mildly amused in the same way that we all are to hear the rumblings of the Alaskan governor's plans to run for President in 2012. Near the end of the call, Sarah is informed of the true identity of the caller, to which she replies: "Ohhh, have we been pranked?" Obama's campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs, commenting on the prank, said, "I'm glad we check out our calls before we hand the phone to Barack Obama." You never know when Hugh G. Rekshun will be on the line.