Political spoofs have represented a must-see throughout the presidential campaign season. Now that the confrontation between Barack Obama and John McCain approaches its end, one of them will be forced to leave the major stage and television satires whose main targets have been the contenders will presumably open their doors to new lines of attack to the disappointment of TV viewers.

For instance, think about Tina Fey’s recent impressions of John McCain’s running mate, which have drawn huge audiences for NBC and have brought “Saturday Night Live” back on track. The popularity of the late-night sketches has lured both the real Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Sarah Palin into the show, which has registered its highest ratings in more than a decade.

The Alaska governor made an appearance on the program on October 18 and drew an estimated 15 million viewers, the highest audience result for “Saturday Night Live” in 14 years. In addition, although John McCain’s act, which took place some two weeks after his running mate’s, did not manage to outshine the number of people who tuned in to see Sarah Palin on the show, Saturday’s episode drew a rough estimate of 12 million viewers, which makes it the second most watched “SNL” show in 11 years, when NBC aired a Christmas compilation on December 20, 1997, according to preliminary estimates. Final numbers are due to be released on Thursday.

During a Sunday campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio, Sarah Palin delivered a quite poised message to the “30 Rock” creator, explaining that she should get ready to impersonate her for four more years. She did not make it clear, however, whether Tina Fey should prepare herself for an impression of the vice president of the United States.

The Alaska governor praised John McCain’s acting skills, saying that he played his role like a pro in Saturday’s political skits.

Next to a faux Sarah Palin, the Republican presidential contender poked fun at his own campaign, as well as his Democratic opponent’s. In the beginning of the show, he said that his campaign could only meet the expenses of airtime on QVC, making a not-so-subtle allusion to Barack Obama’s prime time buy.

He also described his fake new campaign strategy, which he dubbed the “reverse maverick” and said that, according to the tactic, he would do everything he was told. John McCain added, nonetheless, that if it did not work, he would turn to the “double maverick.”

“I’d just go totally berserk and freak everybody out,” he explained.

On the other hand, man of the moment Barack Obama has also drawn huge audiences for broadcast networks, as his appearance on “The Daily Show” boosted ratings for the program hosted by Jon Stewart. An estimated 3.6 million people tuned in for the Comedy Central show last week, marking the show’s biggest audience ever, as well as the first time it reached 3 million viewers.

Moreover, “The Colbert Report” episode that featured host Stephen Colbert’s public endorsement for the Democratic presidential candidate drew 2.4 million viewers and was the most watched episode of the program, too.

Therefore, we can affirm that this campaign season was a real blessing for television shows. It is not certain, however, what we will miss more: the real political figures or their impersonators?