Even casual consumers of pop culture are by now aware that Betty White is comedic gold, handing SNL its best ratings in 18 months when she hosted the show last week.White, who was invited to host after a Facebook campaign pressured NBC to do so, drew more than 12 million viewers to the show with a mix of grace, self-deprecation and frank humor.
She acknowledged her social network supporters in the opening monologue. "When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host Saturday Night Live, I didn't know what Facebook was," she said, smiling sweetly. "And now that I do know what it is, I have to say it sounds like a huge waste of time." By most accounts, White killed on Saturday night. Even Justin Bieber was impressed.
All of this has led to the formation of a rather modest proposal: Let's unleash Betty White on the world. She's got charm, levity, versatility and experience. She's got an online presence and a legion of multi-generational fans. The phrase "game for anything" is frequently applied to her. And isn't that what a cultural diplomat should be? Flexible, open-minded, pleasant and self-aware?
The "Betty White to Host SNL" page on Facebook has more than 514,000 fans. How many fans do you think we'd need to convince the State Department to confer on Ms. White the title of cultural ambassador?
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