25 of the Best Political Impersonations on Saturday Night Live

21. Will Forte as George W. Bush

Will Forte’s George W. Bush is no Ferrell, but it is still pretty good. The problem with being the ‘second rate impersonation’ of the same person is that you’re instantly forgotten. But if you go back and watch the Bush Twins and a few other Forte as Bush sketches, he doesn’t do a bad job.

He makes the list because it isn’t hard to watch him as the former president. With some impressions, it can be hard to sit through them. With Forte, he did his job and got the message across. You knew who he was and what he was doing and that’s all you really needed.

The thing with Ferrell’s Bush is that he just brought a little extra spark to the caricature. Forte just played him as is. There isn’t anything wrong with that, it just isn’t as remarkable as what Will Ferrell ended up doing. With Ferrell giving us this fun loving idiot, Forte just kind of showed us the president we knew and didn’t particularly like.

Nowadays, everyone kind of loves George W. Bush like a weird old grandpa. And that George is a bit more like Will Ferrell’s rather than Will Forte’s. And it’s okay, not every impression is going to be remembered forever. But still, it is worth mentioning that Forte’s was pretty good for what it was.