I didn't think much of Al Gore's appearance tonight on Saturday Night Live but I'll be surprised if it doesn't get monster numbers. The show's been doing great (ratings-wise) even without the stunt of someone like Gore hosting. Folks who like Gore probably tuned-in to support him. Folks who don't like Gore probably tuned-in hoping he'd embarrass himself. I think that covers everybody in the country. Gore seemed more at ease than one might have expected.
Of course, he wants to run again someday. They all want to run again, including the ones who lose with fewer votes than the other guy. Right now though, he's got to do what the press repeatedly and probably unfairly accused him of doing throughout the last election: Reinvent himself. So he's just doing whatever seems likely to shake up his image and cause anyone anywhere to say, "Hmm…maybe I was wrong about that guy." My guess is it'll take a lot more than this, but maybe it's a start.
Anyway, I didn't much enjoy the show…but then, I didn't expect to. The segment I liked least didn't involve Gore. It was Robert Smigel's parody of A Charlie Brown Christmas, which I couldn't enjoy because I know how much it would have enraged Charles Schulz. The piece I thought had the most unrealized potential was the Stuart Smalley interview of Al and Tipper, and I was surprised that Al Franken's character is still hanging in there. Good for him…but isn't it about time to retire that Phil Hartman voiceover intro?