McCain Makes Date with SNL; Can He Beat His Veep's Ratings?

• Oct 31, 2008 11:20 AM ET
• by Matt Mitovich

John McCain on SNL last May

Because it is clearly what you do these days if you have any intention of crossing the White House's threshold, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain will take a detour from his final slew of campaign stops to put in an appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live this weekend.

Ben Affleck, an avowed Barack Obama supporter, will be the guest host. Awk. Ward.

When McCain last appeared on Saturday Night Live — this past May, after clinching his party's nomination — the 72-year-old senator joked that voters should want in a president "someone who is very, very, very old."

While multiple sources are reporting on McCain's latest SNL visit, NBC has not been confirming ahead of time any of these high-profile drop-bys, having been stung one time too many by last-minute cancellations. (Dave Letterman feels your pain, Lorne.)

Just two weeks ago, McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, made her own visit to Studio 8H, giving the sketch show its highest ratings in 14 years.

Do you think McCain can trump his lady veep's numbers? Or, let's face it, is he simply (to paraphrase Alec Baldwin) not nearly as hot?