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SNL, Tina Fey, Sarah Palin And Vice Presidential Debate Expectations

Posted by JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief in Arts & Entertainment, Politics.
Sep 28th, 2008 | Comments

Could Tina Fey’s cutting Saturday Night Live parody of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin prove to be a political plus? If viewed in the context of the upcoming Vice Presidential debate’s expectations game, the answer is yes.

Fey’s parody like most satirical comedy is grounded in the use of shared assumptions, which are then shattered or traits that are exaggerated. Here’s her second appearance as Palin on last night’s SNL in a bit lampooning Palin’s interview with CBS’s Katie Couric, which most pundits (including some Republicans) considered disastrous:

The downside for Palin and the GOP: The parody wouldn’t get laughs and be embedded on so many websites if it wasn’t using humor successfully to point out what some perceive as to be truths about Palin.

The upside for Palin and the GOP: All she has to do in her debate with Democratic Sen. Joe Biden is to put in a credible performance and not make any gaffes. She has been kept away from the press by McCain’s high command so she already suffers from a bad press due to her inaccessibility. She has become a comedian’s punchline. And she has been lampooned mercilessly by satirists. If she comes across the debate as being serious, thoughtful and able to respond aggressively with accurate facts to back up her responses, many will consider it a win.

Expectations — and Fey’s two SNL parodies — have now been set so low that even a blah performance with no major gaffes will allow Palin’s partisans to proclaim it a home run and Biden in the eyes of public opinion could indeed be overshadowed.

Meanwhile, Fey can’t wait until her days satirizing Palin are over:

Emmy Awards winner Tina Fey manged to pull off yet another “spot on” impersonation of GOP Sarah Palin in a much expected return as a guest on Saturday Night Live this week. After she and Amy Poehler started off the season with a hugely successful Palin-Hillary Clinton sketch, the comedians reunited for the reenactment of a recent interview that the Republican Vice Presidential candidate gave earlier this week.

The “30 Rock” star, who was just awarded by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with Emmys for lead actress in a comedy series, comedy writing and another one for the show she created, “30 Rock”, is obviously not a Palin fan. She impersonates her brilliantly, but says she wants to get it over with. “I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5,” she said, making it clear that until then, the comedic bits featuring the Alaska Governor will be more ruthless, thus funnier than before.

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pacatrue

Yeah, I think I said in another comment trail that as long as Palin doesn't drool on the floor, she'll be considered the winner.

Overall, the sketch was rather predictable, but I loved the meandering answer from Fey/Palin in the middle. That was hysterical.

pinball

I hear she's rehearsing for her debate by taking notes from the Sarah Palin Quote Generator ..... http://palinquotes.awardspace.com

lips_are_moving

How did McCain stick us with this embarassment?
What did he do in the way of vetting?

Manchester2

I like Gov. Palin, and too bad the McCain powers-that-be have chosen to sequester her from extemporaneous media events. This SNL skit was a hoot! Watch for Gov. Palin to do much better this Thursday in the debate against Sen. Biden.

lips_are_moving

I like Gov. Palin as well and wish her all the best in keeping her present position--since it obviously not equipped her for the Vice Presidency. Who do you think she thought she was convincing?

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

elrod

I agree expectations are very low for Palin. But I'm not sure expectations-gaming will be enough for Palin. She is the VP. And lots of people will be watching her without knowing just how awful she did with Couric. To the seasoned analysts she could exceed expectations. But to non-news junkies she needs to do more than answer complete sentences.

Kamilyn

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on the Tina Fey/Sarah Palin skit. I really enjoyed your blog and the part that was most intriguing to me was how you showed the effects that these skits are actually having on the Vice Presidential candidacy. The pros and cons list really helped me to understand how much of an impact "SNL" has on voters. I do agree with you that "the parody wouldn't get laughs and be embedded on so many websites if it wasn't using humor successfully to point out what some perceive as to be the truths about Palin" and I agree with what you said about how "she has become a comedian's punchline." Although "SNL" stretches the truth about things that people say, they are based on actual ideas that have presented themselves with these people. I definitely agree that the media is using Palin's mishaps as negative effects for the GOP and it is a downside.

However, I do not agree with you when you say that "she has been kept away from the press by McCain's high command so she already suffers from a bad press due to her inaccessibility." I feel that she did a very good job at the Republican National Convention and she was well received. I think that women especially are rooting for Palin and even though she has had issues with the press getting involved in her personal life, I feel that it helps because more people can relate to her. She has a normal life and family with real issues that people go through. Overall, I really admire your thoughts and ideas on the effects Sarah Palin skit. Even though I may not agree with all of your comments, I really like what your blog focuses on.
Kamilyn Zajec

skippy

i read a comment on another blog (sorry don't remember which one) which said essentially that there's always the chance that the mcmuffin campaign is purposely feeding disinformation about how bad palin is doing to set our expectations really, really low, so when she does moderately well, she'll look like a genius.

but, gov. palin, i knew tina fey, tina fey was a friend of mine, and you, gov. palin, are no tina fey.

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