Sarah Palin: SNL 40 & an Historic Election & Impression

http://www.hulu.com/watch/34465 Remember 2008? Remember Joe the Plumber, Joe Six Pack, and Joe Biden? Hope and Change? Bailout? Hockey moms and pitbulls? Terrorist fist jabs? Really, that entire year was just a bunch of buzzwords, I doubt we even had the time to speak in complete sentences. As a high school senior preparing to vote in her first presidential election, I was glued to every screen available to get a glimpse of the political circus. And I was certainly not alone. The Obama-Clinton (and don't forget John Edwards!!) Democratic primary had captured the nation's attention with its historic implications upon race and gender in the White House, and the Republican party had excitement of its own. Remember when Mike Huckabee played bass guitar a whole bunch of times? And he was endorsed by Chuck Norris back when Chuck Norris jokes were a thing! (Death once had a near-Chuck experience LOL ROFL) John McCain ultimately beat out Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination and Hillary Clinton was thrilled to be endorsing her former opponent at the Democratic National Convention--the race was on!! But oooooOoOoOoOooo, the show was just getting started for the less politically minded of the American populace. John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate over the Jindal's, Pawlenty's, and Romney's of the world brought the race to the forefront of the first true presidential election of the social media age. A largely untested, attractive, young, socially conservative, Governor of Alaska as a running mate? **late night comedians laughing maniacally And SNL seized the day. http://www.hulu.com/watch/36863 With declining ratings and cultural relevance and the ever thundering "The Simpsons SNL sucks now" crowd chiming from the mountains to the ocean, Sarah Palin gave Lorne Michaels and Seth Meyers moose rifles (that's a thing right?) with which to fire back at the critics. But which castmember could be their Palin? In Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, she discussed the decision to come back to SNL and play Palin, noting she was reluctant initially. Impressions are NOT Fey's strong suit. Like, at all. Fey is Fey. She's played Tina Fey in every single film and television role post-SNL--Baby Mama, Mean Girls, , 30 Rock (you get it). And imitating one of the most newly famous women in the world? Under pressurrrrre. Yet the resemblance was uncanny, and Tina Fey caved. Thank Caribou Barbie she did. http://www.hulu.com/watch/729981 Palin's kooky accent, anecdotes, and Alaska's proximity to Russia gave SNL its first Palin cold open, "A Non-Partisan Message from Governor Palin and Senator Clinton" and it was a runaway hit, playing on "serious" news networks worldwide. If Tina Fey wasn't already running and starring in her own sitcom, then maybe this would have been her coming of age moment, a career maker. Same goes for the very pregnant Amy Poehler, playing an embittered Clinton marveling at the potential history of a woman in the White House--a woman that was not her. And Tina was mistaken for the real Palin by many on the Interwebz. Perhaps I was among them... The McCain camp had been cautious initially with Palin's media appearances, keeping her at GOP-friendly events with pre-written sound bytes letting her showcase just a glimpse of her maverick-y personality. Yet finally, Palin was let loose upon Charles Gibson followed by Sean Hannity. Then came Couric. Palin went above and beyond with miscues, mishaps, and every "mis" imaginable in that interview, in what many see as a turning point for the entire election. Never in my lifetime had a running mate had such a profound influence upon an election. I can name a handful of VP's from US history. No way could I pass a US citizenship civics test! Couric drilled Palin on her foreign policy experience, Bush's economic bailout, and what newspapers she read, and Governor Palin butt fumbled the ball.

COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this – to stay informed and to understand the world? PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media, coming f– COURIC: But like which ones specifically? I’m curious that you– PALIN: Um, all of 'em, any of 'em that, um, have, have been in front of me over all these years. Um, I have a va– COURIC: Can you name a few? PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where, it's kind of suggested and it seems like, 'Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C. may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska?' Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/39808 The interview aired and SNL was all over it, giving us wall to wall Palin. It was another flawlessly timed performance from Poehler (this time as blinking Katie Couric) and Fey embodied the bumbling Palin, they became one. At this point, a number of political commentators then and since have criticized Fey for being unnecessarily cruel to Sarah Palin. Here were Fey's thoughts on the matter:

 'She should be ashamed of what she did to Sarah Palin,' which I think is a discredit to both me and former Gov. Palin. She's not fragile. And I'm not mean. And to imply otherwise is a disservice to us both. No one ever said, 'Oh, that Will Ferrell. He should be ashamed of the way he's conducting himself playing George W. Bush.' No one would ever say that."

[Speaking of Will Ferrell..... (click the link for some Fey-Farrell)] In response to the beyond viral SNL impressions, the McCain campaign sent Palin to poke a bit of fun at herself. On October 18, the two Palins appeared in a meta Cold open, then sat at the update desk alongside a rapping Amy Poehler. The episode drew the largest ratings for an episode of SNL since 1994, pulling in a 10.7, or 14 million viewers to the live broadcast. SNL history and regular ole history was made. And, people actually watched live television! Partying like it's 1969. McCain himself came along to run a QVC ad with the woman impersonating his running mate (and wrecking his campaign) in November. It was another successful episode, but the GOP would have preferred to succeed with Gallup rather than Nielsen. You know the rest, Palin has gone on to become a reality television show star, public speaker extraordinaire, Julianne Moore, Fox News contributor; much of this Kardashian-lite fame can be credited to Saturday Night Live. And Fey? She has some more thoughts on the Palin fame/exploitation since the election:

Mrs. Palin told conservative filmmaker John Ziegler that Katie Couric and I had exploited and profited by her family. But I know better than to respond to attacks in the media. Although if I were to respond, I would probably just say, 'Nice reality show.'"

TLC BURN. And this Saturday, on SNL's 40th anniversary episode, Sarah Palin herself IS BACK. Will her doppelganger Fey appear as well? You can guarantee it. Happy 40th SNL. You're not getting older, you're getting wiser. Can we say the same for Sarah? You betcha!! Hit the jump for some post-2008 Palin skits: http://www.hulu.com/watch/338481   http://www.hulu.com/watch/239637 [Sarah Palin Network which won't embed, thanks Wordpress]