SNL wins Peabody for presidential election satire

In news conservative bloggers are sure to love, “Saturday Night Live” won the prestigious Peabody Award for its 2008 satire of the presidential election.

The awards, announced Wednesday, are handed out annually by the University of Georgia for excellence in radio or television broadcasting.

The show surged in the ratings in the past year for its takes on then-Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), as well as the impersonations of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

Palin was memorably impersonated by actress Tina Fey, leading to an actual appearance by Palin on the show during the fall election cycle. Both Obama and Clinton also made surprise appearances on the show during the Democratic primaries.

“The late-night legend stole the election-year thunder from its satirical competition on cable and may have swayed the race itself,” the awards committee said in a statement announcing the award for SNL.