Late-night comedy show pokes fun at S.C. comptroller, Bush

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom got a lot more exposure than most people in his position get when the late-night NBC comedy show "Saturday Night Live" used its opening skit to poke fun at the incumbent Republican for using a state-owned car to take his family on vacation.

The skit also made fun of President Bush for staying in the background as local and congressional GOP candidates run for re-election without asking for his help on the campaign trail this fall.

The skit is set in the gymnasium of "Spring Valley High School," which is a real school in Columbia, but looks nothing like the picture of a small college campus showed at the opening.

In the skit, actor Jason Sudeikis plays Eckstrom droning on in a campaign speech about the intricacies of the job of comptroller. Actor Will Forte portrays President Bush sitting bored in the background talking to others on the stage - most of whom were introduced before the president and to more fanfare.

"I would be a good comp-troller," Forte's Bush says to a student on the stage, "You wanna know why? Because I would totally be in comp-trol of the situation."

In snippets of the speech that can be heard over the president's grousing, Sudeikis makes reference to real issues for South Carolina government officials, such as the state's credit rating, which one bond rating company has reduced from the top rating of AAA.

He also says the comptroller general's campaign is about "our commitment of building a culture of accountability."

On Tuesday, the real Eckstrom, who faces a Democratic opponent in his re-election bid, was criticized for taking a state-owned minivan on a 2004 vacation to Minnesota and paying for fuel with a state-issued gas card.

Eckstrom apologized and noted he had repaid the state $669.40 on Sept. 15 to cover fuel and vehicle use costs for the 3,615 mile trip to Grand Marais, Minn.

In his real apology, Eckstrom called it "an imprudent decision ... made two years ago."

Eckstrom said constitutional officers have always had a state-owned vehicle to use at their discretion, but he realized how his usage "appears to the public that I serve."

"I made a mistake in judgment," he said. "I ask for your forgiveness."

On the "Saturday Night Live" skit, the Sudeikis' character wraps up his speech with "So to conclude, I apologize for using a state-owned car for my family vacation and also ... live from New York, it's Saturday night."

Eckstrom's political adviser Rod Shealy said early Sunday morning the skit was "free nationwide advertising."

"The actor portraying Richard Eckstrom captured his command of complex financial issues ... and he looked and sounded really good," Shealy said. "The actor probably won us some votes tonight."