The ‘Key’ to ‘Peele-ing’ back layers of political comedy

>>> who imitates me pretty well.

>> yeah.

>> and the premise is i'm sitting in the oval office and he's got an anger translator named luther , who i'll make my little speech, and then luther will come on and say -- i can't actually repeat what luther -- it's pretty good stuff.

>> that's really good.

>> it's good stuff.

>> welcome back to "hardball." when the president says he likes your show it can be incredible in terms of consequence. look how the show homeland took off. after the president said he watched that, anyway, let's talk about this one. let's talk about the clip from another show he just said he liked right there with jimmy fallon , key and peel.

>> to the american people , i just want to say that the debates are over but now is not a time to tally points or to keep the score.

>> 2 - 1 , obama, game, set, match, touchdown, home run , checkmate, can we get that now?

>> governor romney in the recent debate, i laid out the inconsistencies in your stated beliefs.

>> governor romney . governor romney , why you smiling while you're getting your [ bleep ] kicked? are we debating or are you trying to sell me a lexus?

>> i directly questioned you about your opposition to the auto industry bailout.

>> on behalf of all the people in detroit that want to stab you, i ask again, why are you smiling?

>> i spoke about bringsmanship with iran and you just said you wanted a peaceful planet.

>> are you holding that gravy up in here. i'm sorry, mitt, if you want to be the first mormon hippie, you're going to need to grow your hair out, dog. and quit smiling. [ bleep ].

>> joined by keegan michael key and jordan peele otherwise known as peele. i mentioned i moved down to the to the oth er end of the couch. to get to move to the end of the couch have you to be on first, which is the clip. i have to ask you about, how did you come across this notion of the alter ego for the president, who is a little more dramatic? you want to do that, michael ? what was the spark that led you to believe there was an invisible obama with an attitude?

>> a few years back when joe wilson had the "you lie" statement, jordan and i were trying to figure out something to write about the president. we figured we have to have the president in our show, we being biracial. we discussing that thing about joe wilson , if you said that, a president should be allowed to react to that comment. and then he just didn't -- he just can't because of who he is. so, we figured out, gosh, we have to have somebody speak for him. and that could work for us xheed comedically. that was one aspect.

>> we're pacing around my house, my apartment. we wanted to find that voice for the president, but also, you know, my -- you know, my partner keegan , he's pretty excitable. he gets going. he's like cory booker with three red bulls , you know? he gets pretty heated. so we found this -- we found this sort of two-man impression that would also sort of allow people to, you know, have this moment of catharsis and release of things that a lot of people know but not a lot of people are talking about.

>> we have -- go ahead. here's another clip following the second presidential debate where the president turned his guns. they deconstruct the night and go over it like you do after a big night . let's listen.

>> he was proud of his efforts to include qualified women in his cabinet.

>> you made it sound like finding a qualified woman is like hunting down a sasquatch.

>> drew a tenuous connection between single parent householdses and gun violence .

>> yes, children of single parents usually grow up to use ak-47s. or become the president.

>> wow. tell me what -- i always liked the few minutes i had with the president. they are scarce and rare. but he always has this other level to him, which is very cool, very funny, very hip.

>> yeah.

>> do you want -- jordan , you want toe start on that, what it was like to chat with him?

>> that's right. we got to meet him at the beverly hilton, where he was staying, after that whole big clooney thing, where the real stars were. we got a special meeting. first thing he says, he looks at keegan and goes, now, i need luther . i need him. going to have to wait till second term, but i need him. out of the gate he was pretty hilarious. you know, it was just the best experience of our lives. we got bro hugs from him. he said, you know, i know it's hard for a brother on tv, i know it. you know, motive, you know. he puts his hand on your shoulder -- on your shoulder. just really sort of warm guy.

>> yeah, he is that way. he's very -- i wonder whether he rehearses this stuff ahead of time because it's so to the point. michael , you guys come from mixed parents, black and white parents. this thing about one of you guys were -- it was peele the other night talking to me about how you guys can tell jokes that nobody else on the planet can tell, like football players' names, the birth names. they can be pretty original.

>> with my name, my name is, you know, keegan - michael key, and i've been cursed with this name my whole -- in fact, in this very broadcast you've called me michael , which is certainly not your fault because my parents gave me a weird name.

>> well, what did they call you at home?

>> keegan . they call me keegan at home. but it's like, because of my name, i'm fascinated with really interesting names. i think it's a testament to the mother's imaginations. i think they want their kids to have really good names or interesting names that nobody else has. but part of it is being biracial jordan and i can be -- we're kind of like racial referees, in a way, because we straddle both cultures. and as does the president in a particular way.

>> i guess he does.

>> so it's like thomas jefferson , you know, he used to have a bed you could walk into either room, depending on what side of the bed you got out of but he had a biracial experience himself, come to think of it.

>> yes, he did. seven of them, at least. thank you, guys. good luck with everything you're doing. keegan - michael key and jordan peele .

>> thank you.

>>> when we return, let me finish with president obama 's second term and the need i need to go for greatness like he he did for the first time. joe biden is celebrating his 70th birthday