Jason Zinoman’s latest comedy column takes issue with Fred Armisen’s Obama impersonation, which he describes as the culmination of an SNL trend towards detailed accuracy and away from bold comic choices. As he points out, “accuracy is not insight,†and with a president without any particularly weird habits, it can seem like Armisen is barely even doing an impersonation at all. Zinoman suggests studying up on Dana Carvey’s George Bush, which took another dull-sounding president in “a more fanciful, provocative direction.†Why not! It does looks tough to find a way to make fun of the infinitely reasonable Obama, but better to strike out on a bizarre impression than never to reach for it.
