The late John McCain was the first sitting senator to host “Saturday Night Live,” in 2002. He appeared on the late-night series three times in all, once as host and two times as a special guest/cameo, notably lampooning his unsuccessful campaigns for president.
One of his more outrageously funny characterizations (in that 2002 debut) was his portrayal of 7th grade hippie art teacher “Pete Van Bleet,” a special guest on the middle-school talk show “Wake Up Wakefield!” hosted by “Megan” (Maya Rudolph) and “Sheldon” (Rachel Dratch). Describing his latest art project, Van Bleet (McCain) explains: “These aren’t jack o’ lanterns. They’re abstract o’ lanterns! There ain’t no fascist right wing law that says you have to carve the same thing every year! Use your imagination! I carved these pumpkins into the original line up of Steely Dan.”
Here are some of his finest “SNL” moments: