Cryptic, sarcastic — that was Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen in July at the TV critics’ press tour.

During a press conference to talk about the show’s 34th season, which begins at 11:30 p.m. Saturday (WTHR, Channel 13), critics wanted to know more about Armisen’s impersonation of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. One writer asked: Is there something that you've seen this summer with Sen. Obama that you're especially eager to tackle once you get back on?

Armisen’s answer: “That's, you know, it's private. Not to sound like I'm evading the question, but — this may sound vague, but people are good and people are great. May we all have a good time.”

Weird, eh? Maybe it was the spate of “Can we make fun of Obama?” stories that had been all over the media the week before. Or perhaps he was reticent to give away what he’s been working on.

Whatever it was, he couldn’t have been more pleasant in a one-on-one conversation. In fact, the first thing he said was, “How did I come off? Was it good sarcastic?”

We pick up the conversation from there.

NUVO: It was funny. But if you’re looking for substance to write a story, it’s hard to make that funny.

Armisen: Sarcasm is a weird thing. With something as serious as politics, even talking about yourself can come off so self-important. If I went up there and said, “My process …” and “I’m representing …” it’s almost like a defense mechanism. Like, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not saying I don’t want to talk about it. But it makes light of the whole thing.”

NUVO: Is there something about Obama you find funny?

Armisen: That’s the thing I find funny about him — is that there isn’t. The humor part — there’s like no jokes there. You know what I mean? It’s like a blank slate that you’re trying to fill in. So it’s really interesting in that way.

NUVO: Are you interested in politics?

Armisen: I’m always a Democrat; I think a lot of comedians are. But as far as active, not necessarily, no.

NUVO: If you like the guy, is it harder to make fun of him?

Armisen: No, it’s easier if you like the person. When you dislike the person, little, mean things come out. And you don’t want to be mean. That’s bad.

NUVO: When you saw the debate and Hillary Clinton brought up the SNL sketch about Obama getting cushy treatment from the media, what did you think?

Armisen: That’s like your whole life, everything mixing up so much. We all watch CNN. Even to hear the name Saturday Night Live on CNN, that’s a little shocking. However big we are, we still think of ourselves as this little show. And to hear that people are paying attention, it’s great.

NUVO: How soon before the start of the season, do you know what’s going to happen?

Armisen: Nothing. The more you think about it in advance, the worse the turnout is. Everything is last minute. Everything. I’ve tried to come up with stuff over the summer, but things change too fast.

NUVO: You can’t plan comedy, I guess.

Armisen: You can’t plan. You cross your fingers and hope something works. That’s all you can do.

There’ll be 22 original episodes of Saturday Night Live this season (two more than usual), beginning this week with Olympic sensation Michael Phelps as host. In addition, SNL plans to do three half-hour specials called Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update, Thursdays beginning at 9:30 p.m. Oct. 9, and Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash, the Monday before Election Day.