It wasn’t her down-to-earth charm or experience as a governor that led Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to select Sarah Palin as his running mate during the 2008 presidential election. It was the fact that she looked like actress and comedian Tina Fey.
McCain appeared on NBC’s Late Night with host Seth Meyers on Monday, where the two men discussed their time on Saturday Night Live. Meyers and McCain first worked together on SNL in 2002, then joined forces again in 2008, when the Senator’s selection of Palin as his running mate led to comedy sketch gold.
“Now you had a bigger impact on the history of political sketches on SNL because in 2008, you selected Sarah Palin as your running mate,” Meyers said. “Which then became the most iconic impression in the history of political impressions on the show.”
“And it made Tina Fey famous forever,” McCain said, as the audience applauded.
“Did you know right away that she looked like Tina?” Meyers asked. “Or was it a thing you realized later?”
“That’s why I selected her,” McCain joked.
Meyers then asked about McCain’s appearance on SNL just three days before the 2008 presidential election — in which the Arizona Senator lost to then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by a considerable margin. McCain pointed out that the last-minute appearance was simply smart campaigning, especially when it came to winning young people.
“What better way to reach particularly young voters than to be on Saturday Night Live?” McCain asked. “Just like being on this show. I don’t think a lot of old geezers like me are watching, right?”
The Arizona Senator said a major challenge for politicians is staying in touch with young people and their hopes, dreams and aspirations — and “what they’re doing and what their apps is.”
And while McCain isn’t particularly savvy on social media lingo, he is the most-followed member of Congress on Twitter. So he must be doing something right.
Watch McCain’s appearance below:
