SNL's First Bush-Gore Debate Sketch Convinced the Ex-President He'd Said "Strategery"
The invented (but believable) "Bushism" was born in Will Ferrell's October 2000 sketch.
In the weeks leading up to February 16's three-hour 50th anniversary celebration on NBC, the team behind Saturday Night Live has selected one sketch from every single season — 50 seasons in 50 days — to reflect the show's rich legacy across five decades. Presenting the sketch chosen to represent Season 26: "First Presidential Debate: Al Gore and George W. Bush" starring Darrell Hammond and Will Ferrell.
Saturday Night Live has a long history of parodying U.S. Presidents, but sometimes the impression is so perfect that it influences the actual politician. That's exactly what happened following the viral success of the "First Presidential Debate: Al Gore and George W. Bush" sketch, which helped Ferrell's Bush impression skyrocket to fame.
Written by Jim Downey, the famous cold open debuted on October 7, 2000 during the height of the presidential election. Vice President Al Gore (Darrell Hammond) and Governor George W. Bush (Will Ferrell) faced off in their first presidential debate, with cast member Chris Parnell playing moderator Jim Lehrer.
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At the end of the cold open's debate, Parnell's Lehrer asked the two candidates to "sum up, in a single word, the best argument for his candidacy."
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Bush's confident answer: "Strategery," a fake (but totally believable) "Bushism." Hammond's Gore went second, offering "lockbox."
Did George W. Bush actually say "strategery"?
No. The term was written by SNL writer Jim Downey for the "First Presidential Debate: Al Gore and George W. Bush" cold open.
The word "strategery" did sound so much like something Bush would say, the former president actually thought he'd said it — as he admitted in a 2017 interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
During his interview with Kimmel, George W. Bush recalled how he'd had dinner with SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and when the subject of "strategery" came up, Bush admitted he had been under the impression that he had coined the word.
“And I said, ‘Wait a minute, I said 'strategery,'" Bush recalled. "And he [Michaels] said, ‘No, you didn’t say 'strategery.' And I said, 'I damn sure said 'strategery'!
“He said, ‘We invented it,’” Bush told Kimmel. "And I said, ‘Let me ask you this, did you come up with “misunderestimate?”’”
The debate of the origin of "strategery" continued years later, when Ferrell stopped by TODAY with Hoda & Jenna on November 7, 2022, to talk his holiday film, Spirited. Because he was sitting across from one of Bush's daughters — Jenna Bush Hager — he was asked about his impression of her dad.
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“Here’s a funny story: I didn’t realize that I never said ‘strategery,’” Ferrell said as George W. Bush, reviving his impersonation. “Someone else wrote that.”
"Lorne Michaels told my dad, ‘You never said that,’ and he said, ‘What? I spent all those years (thinking I’d said it),’” Hager replied.
“Oh, I knew all along,” Ferrell said, as fellow guest Ryan Reynolds interjected, “I think you owe someone an apology.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. President,” Ferrell said remorsefully.
Who played Al Gore on SNL?
Darrell Hammond played Al Gore.
Hammond was an SNL cast member from 1995 to 2009, and he has been the show's announcer since 2014. The real Al Gore hosted the December 14, 2002 episode of SNL.
