I personally did not watch the actual GOP debate, but NPR gave me an idea what went on; the answer of course was a whole lot of good manners and nonsense and less getting to the real issues. What more could anyone expect from a debate between undeclared GOP candidates this early in the political race to overthrow Obama? Each member of the cast, from Fey's usual, genius characterization of Palin (surprisingly, the most dull moment of the skit for me, aside from Sudeikis' Romney of course) to Hammond's well known impersonation of Trump, was as good as ever. With so much chaos and curious attitudes of the Republican party as of late, its no wonder this skit works so well. Bill Hader is obviously the one to single out of the stellar bunch in this skit. He maintains himself as the voice of reason and yet still manages to come of as a hilariously quirky and facetious Shepard Smith, as opposed to a stern, arrogant, or even angry commentator such as the Alex Trebek character created by Will Ferrell. The Republican party did not seem to be taking itself seriously in the actual GOP debate, and I think that that irony translated near flawlessly into this hilarious skit.