Opinion: Live from New York, it’s “Sarah Palin”! (Oh, and “Hillary Clinton,” too)
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“Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 34th season last night with a “nonpartisan message” from Sen. Hillary Clinton (SNL regular Amy Poehler) and Gov. Sarah Palin (guest Tina Fey).
As the two stood behind a lectern, flanked by American flags, ‘Palin’ said they were “crossing party lines” for this unexpected joint appearance “to address the now very ugly role that sexism is playing in the campaign ...”
“... an issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about,’ interjected ‘Clinton.’
And it got better from there.
“PALIN”: ‘You know, Hillary and I don’t agree on everything ...’ “CLINTON” (OVERLAPPING): ‘Anything. I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.’ “PALIN”: ‘And I can see Russia from my house.’ “CLINTON”: ‘I believe global warming is caused by man.’ “PALIN”: ‘And I believe it’s just God hugging us closer.’ “CLINTON”: ‘I don’t agree with the Bush Doctrine.’ “PALIN”: ‘I don’t know what that is.’
Poehler portrayed Clinton in a number of sketches last season, including one that satirized what was seen as the media’s love affair with her opponent for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama. Fey’s strong resemblance to Palin was noted as soon as Sen. John McCain picked the virtually unknown Alaska governor as his running mate two weeks ago. Fey played that resemblance up last night, arranging her hair in a striking updo and perfectly mimicking Palin’s flat prairie accent.
[UPDATE: Palin was flying from Nevada to Colorado when the show was broadcast but was able to see it, thanks to the satellite TV system on her JetBlue charter. According to ABC News, there were guffaws from the sizable press pack aboard the plane -- but only silence from the front cabin, where Palin and her advisors were seated, even though flight attendants told reporters that it was on there too.]
Speaking of Obama, he had been scheduled to appear on ‘SNL’ last night but canceled, citing the devastation in Texas resulting from Hurricane Ike.
-- Leslie Hoffecker