TO HER CREDIT

I watched Saturday Night Live the other night, first time in many years. Everything has changed, the set, lighting, band, all of the cast members; but they are still merciless, roasting public figures who blunder in plain sight. Harry Truman understood very well, if you want to live in that pressure cooker you must be able to take the heat; still famous for his quote, “The Buck Stops Here.” SNL knows where the buck stops and they are good at applying some serious heat. Unlike other political grist mills, they supply humor in large doses. The usual format is to work up skits that mirror faux pas and indiscretions by those famous if not powerful people, the way Darrell Hammond ripped Bill Clinton and Will Farrell did the same to George W. 

Lesley Stahl (CBS 60 Minutes) is highly respected and widely recognized as a top television journalist. Two weeks earlier, she had interviewed Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education in the current White House Cabinet. Long story short: Lesley Stahl took Secretary DeVos apart, made her look like a fool. She was prepared, DeVos was not. Hard questions were deflected with rehearsed, philosophical double-talk. She simply didn’t know answers to questions that is her job to know. In the end it was clear, Ms DeVos’ only qualification to be Secretary of Education was that she graduated from college. To her credit, she has been really good at fund raising, hundreds of millions for conservative, Republican campaigns and causes and serving on appointed committees. The daughter of a multibillionaire, married to another multibillionaire, I’m forever amazed by the power of privilege or privilege that comes with power, however you order it. Compared to other rich and powerful women like Oprah Winfrey, there’s no comparison. 

What I noticed in the SNL skit was that they couldn’t exaggerate the bizarre interview. All they could do was add eye rolling and drop the intelligence level to 3rd or 4th grade level. Then I thought of a line from the movie, “Top Gun”. Goose and Maverick go to a party, noticing all the women one comments about, “The target rich environment.” With a Barnum & Baily White House, I should expect lots of distraction: it’s a target rich environment. I remember Dana Carvey and Guilda Radner from the old days; Tina Fey and Chris Farley too but they’ve moved on. SNL ain’t the same but then neither is the world, neither am I. I don’t know who did the Betsy DeVos part but she got the ‘Deer-in-the-head lights’ perfectly. DeVos is a West Michigan, Dutch Reform stereotype. Grand Rapids wouldn’t be the same without them. They are so nice. They put high value on keeping things clean and organized, coloring inside the lines. With a truly great work ethic they assume responsibility to decide who deserves what and who does not. She has long been an advocate for funding private/charter schools and defund public schools. Being an old, public school teacher it’s easy for me to find flaws and prejudice in her cultural, moral set. I’m so glad SNL is there to give me a voice.