Pharyngula

Posted by: Jared | September 28, 2008 2:27 PM

The first few seconds of it, I thought it was the actual interview.

Posted by: JCmacc | September 28, 2008 2:33 PM

LOL. Unless you'd seen the actual inteview, there's no way you'd find this funny - it looks like they've gone way over the top trying to make Palin look like a moron. As it is, they own Palin a writer's credit as they used her most derranged babble almost totally verbatim.

Posted by: Patricia | September 28, 2008 2:35 PM

I fully expected the Katie character to call her an ignorant slut, and then stomp off the set.

Posted by: E.V. | September 28, 2008 2:40 PM

Very brilliant satire without resorting to hyperbole. The Palinistas can't say that Fey defamed Palin, since she made her so "adorable" while parrotting her almost verbatum. Poeler and Fey make a great team.

You are scaring me Lago @#3. I'm sure Biden will provide a few foot/mouth moments of hilarity too (and I like Biden) without driving our country further in the ground. His Roosevelt on TV for the1929 SMC was hysterical.

Posted by: Mr.Pendent | September 28, 2008 2:44 PM

Is it possible that both our nationwide press and SNL have woken up and realized that they have something they should be doing besides sniffing their own armpits?

Is it too early to hope?

Posted by: Sili | September 28, 2008 2:53 PM

Those pauses were as pregnant as a teenaged Palin.

I'm slightly surprised the blinking didn't blow the interviewee right out the studio.

Posted by: E.V. | September 28, 2008 3:00 PM

Yeah Patricia, they have to treat Palin carefully. Any "You Stupid, Clueless,Vapid, Ignorant Bitch" commentary against Sarah just feeds the Palinistas' persecution complex. They are sure the godless-immoral-Liberals-who-are-destroying-this-Christian-Nation™ are trying to discredit Sarah because she's God's annointed candidate. GE will put pressure on SNL if they anyone threatens a boycott due to demonstratable bias - freedom of speech/artistic license be damned. Gotta sell those washers/dryers and lightbulbs! SNL was neutered years ago but now GE execs are threatening a lobotomy.

I can't tell you how many blog comments have stated "(Blank) was mean to Sarah Palin in an interview, I'll never watch him/her again. I"m only going to watch the real news on Fox."

Posted by: SC | September 28, 2008 3:00 PM

"I'd like to use one of my lifelines" - classic.

Also:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/09/debate_open_thread.php#comment-1128741

Posted by: Darwin's Dagger | September 28, 2008 3:05 PM

I almost agree with Lago. The magnificent farce of a Palin presidency would almost be worth the end of human civilization that would certainly result. I'm guessing Bush called McCain when he was making his choice and begged him to choose someone that would make Bush look like a genius. Who would've guessed he would find someone.

Posted by: clinteas | September 28, 2008 3:06 PM

I'd suck her toes.....

Posted by: E.V. | September 28, 2008 3:13 PM

"We have the candidates we deserve."
(I read this on a blog and am inclined to agree with the irony)

Posted by: foxfire | September 28, 2008 3:19 PM

Tina Fey for V.P.! (just kidding). She was perfect!

As to the "real" interview - I agree....very scary.

Kathleen Parker has an an interesting column on Palin as VP choice:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker092608.php3

Posted by: Quine | September 28, 2008 3:25 PM

I don't know what SNL is paying Tina to take time away from her own show to do this, but it can't possibly be enough.

Posted by: Brian Coughlan | September 28, 2008 3:48 PM

This skit was especially ingenious, because for entire sections (the commentary on the economy for example) the script was near verbatim the actual interview. Sarah Palin is now so bad, she has become a self perpetuating black hole of comedy, she may have already slipped beyond the parody event horizon.

Has that happened before?

Posted by: cactusren | September 28, 2008 3:52 PM

I remember thinking when I first saw video of Palin that SNL had to get Tina Fey to play her. But appearences aside, I'm amazed at how quickly Tina has mastered an impersonation of her.

As for the comedic aspect of Palin's potential presidency, I think the flushing sound of our country going down the toilet would easily drown it out. Not to mention that late night comedy writers would be out of a job with Palin as VP or president. You simply wouldn't need to write satire with her in office--the inanity speaks for itself.

Posted by: Reginald Selkirk | September 28, 2008 3:58 PM

Also, Amy Poehler deserves some credit for perfectly skewering the supreme uselessness and helplessness of Katie Couric when she pretends to be a responsible grown-up journalist.

Posted by: chgo_liz | September 28, 2008 4:39 PM

Reginald @ #32:

"I don't watch TV, so I don't know her history, but i have to give Couric credit for coming through with the goods this time. Her interview showed Palin to be vacant and shallow to an extent not revealed in prior interviews."

That's because nearly all adult women in the US have suffered in junior high and high school thanks to the cruelty of the "mean girls" posse, of which Palin clearly was (and is) the leader.

We KNOW this bitch.

Posted by: RN Lee | September 28, 2008 4:48 PM

Has that happened before?

Oh, hell yeah. It's one of a few striking similarities between Palin and Spiro Agnew.

Posted by: electricbarbarella | September 28, 2008 5:04 PM

All of the fundie blogs/websites I'm reading are calling for an SNL boycott, writing to SNL for these "attacks" and that they are "disgusting" to watch, pretty much what someone above said. It's just so scary that some actually want this vapid vamp as our VP.

Personally, if I knew it would matter, I'd ask for everyone to write Tina Fey in as VP this year. :)

Otherwise, the skit was classic.

toni

Posted by: Crudely Wrott | September 28, 2008 6:02 PM

Spot. On.

It's got the earnestness, the appeal to sympathy, the vacuity, the legs . . .

It really is hard to tell the difference between the actual interview and the satire so faithfully presented by SNL. This, all by itself, is probably the bone that is stuck in the craw of the ever-so-moral true believers who are, after all, justified in their anger and confusion.

Be it ever so projected, there's nothing like self-created angst. Poor things. This must be quite painful for them.

Posted by: Carlie | September 28, 2008 6:31 PM

I dunno, I thought I heard Tina Fey say somewhere a few months ago that she was thinking of voting for McCain.

She said after the first SNL skit that she really doesn't want to keep coming back to SNL to play Palin, so everybody please make sure that doesn't happen.

Posted by: SC | September 28, 2008 7:08 PM

Come on, be fair. Tina Fey has professional writers and is herself a veteran professional performer.

By the way, it's worthy of mention that Fey was the head writer of SNL for several years before she was a performer on the show.

Posted by: Ferrous Patella | September 28, 2008 7:34 PM

That's it! It is the GOP's answer to vice-presidential debate. They kidnap Fey and make her stand in for Palin. No one would be able to tell the difference and *anything* Fey did would be better then Palin

Posted by: Ubiquitous Che | September 28, 2008 7:44 PM

New slogan:

Palin did it for the lulz.

:P

Posted by: Newfie | September 28, 2008 8:20 PM

Great episode on dogs and their evolution on Nature tonight.

Posted by: Patricia | September 28, 2008 8:46 PM

Since we're on the topic of humor, here's a cute piggy giving a good opinion of the campaign so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9erlZMekZO&feature=related

And just for Rev. BigDumbChimp - the Typo Dance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeyJY_Nwtgs&feature=related

Posted by: Patricia | September 28, 2008 8:56 PM

Dammit! That's what happens when you have NO flipping computer skills.
Try this one for the piggy-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VORUNy_Fmik&feature=related

Posted by: Newfie | September 28, 2008 9:00 PM

It is great. I've seen it a couple of times.

New ideas that I didn't know, one likely location, and the garbage dump. I love science, and dogs.

Posted by: Zeno | September 28, 2008 9:04 PM

I wandered over to Free Republic (I don't recommend it) to see what the freepers had to say about their beloved Sister Sarah. Lo and behold, several had seen the SNL skit and were duly offended. My favorite complaint?

"This skit had the worst writing"

Ha ha ha! The script was nearly a transcript of the actual Couric/Palin interview. Palin did her own writing. (No wonder they won't let her loose in public.)

Posted by: maxamillion | September 28, 2008 9:19 PM

"The Palinistas can't say that Fey defamed Palin"

You mean Palin needs assistance to achieve that?

Posted by: scooter | September 28, 2008 10:31 PM

OT
Hello from LA LA Land: Here is the audio from PZ's evening at Commie Central, and some pics too.
http://acksisofevil.org/pz-la.html

Posted by: Ichthyic | September 28, 2008 10:45 PM

Am I the only one in the country who doesn't get that joke/reference?

could be.

Didn't you want to be a Millionaire?

Posted by: Greg Esres | September 28, 2008 10:51 PM

Didn't you want to be a Millionaire?

I haven't watched TV in at least 10 years, if that helps. :-) I have heard references to some Millionaire show, so I guess you're saying that's where it comes from. That will help me google, thanks.

Posted by: Ichthyic | September 28, 2008 10:53 PM

google:

"So you want to be a millionaire"

It was a highlight of Regis Philbin's career.

I think I might have watched it once, but pop culture references to it are everywhere.

Posted by: Chironex | September 28, 2008 11:20 PM

That was priceless! Great vid!

Posted by: Patricia | September 29, 2008 12:00 AM

Scooter - The audio wouldn't work for me.
You gotta dumb it down to the Luddites with magneto's & kickers man.

Posted by: Patricia | September 29, 2008 12:23 AM

In my little corner of Dumbfuckastan the folks are saying Obama is going to trade in Biden for Hillary.

Posted by: scooter | September 29, 2008 12:44 AM

Patricia

the link was to a page that has an audio link at the bottom right. Click the link to the page from Pharyngula first.

go to the audio link, right click (save link as) download it, then open with windows media player or whatever.

That's the brute force no fail method. I'll be thinkin about you bwap bwappin the canyons tomorrow.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg | September 29, 2008 12:49 AM

Bit: Sarah Palin as Tina Fey interviewing Tina Fey as Sarah Palin.

BTW, I never thought I'd see so many creationists commenting on the skit here.

...

...

...

...

They weren't?

...

...

...

Damn, they sounded so much like creationists.

Posted by: Patricia | September 29, 2008 1:26 AM

I'm sorry sweethearts, I'm having such a fun fest over on YouTube with Lord of the Rings farts, and Pixar farts that I just have to fade off into fartastan. Palin farts probably aren't too many minutes away.
Simple things for simple minds. Pfffft!

Scooter - You can't expect me to figure out a link. I'm a one kicker.

Posted by: scooter | September 29, 2008 3:39 AM

The Amazing Sastra Memorial Web Page
http://acksisofevil.org/sastra.html

Sastra was every bit as hot as Paul Newman, she will be sorely missed.

Posted by: Pat | September 29, 2008 4:32 AM

Ouch... I watched the provided clips of the actual interviews, and that ouch is from physical pain. It's like when I used to watch Three's Company after they jumped the shark, and the plots were so painfully obvious in their direction and scripting that it hurt to watch.

That kind of painful. Late seventies/early eighties sitcom painful.

I keep waiting for Mr. Furley to barge in and say "Jack! What's a woman doing in your place? I thought..."

Posted by: Ramases | September 29, 2008 5:12 AM

A more complete version of the original interview is here - http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=cP12aNzocSc

Have to give it to you Americans - you sure know how to keep those of us out here in the rest of the world amused!

Posted by: alex | September 29, 2008 6:10 AM

painfully unfunny.

Posted by: Nick Gotts | September 29, 2008 6:50 AM

Wrong, This is typical of the way in which politicians behave when they don't have an answer or understand the question. - Maxamillion

Nonsense - they are normally fairly skilled in appearing to answer; Palin just babbled.

Posted by: negentropyeater | September 29, 2008 7:16 AM

I'm looking forward to the debate with Joe Biden this Thursday, this should provide for some good laughs.

BTW, this SNL video isn't really a parody, they didn't really exagerate anything, the text is almost identical to the original.

I thought Sarah Palin's answers on Russia and the bailout were almost the political equivallent of Miss Teen North Carolina's ;

"I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

Poor Palin, can you imagine trying to recover the years of educational deficit that she must have within so little time, they must be prepping her like a goose, every day, hundreds and hundreds of questions that she has to learn by heart.
Poor thing, under stress, she gets everything mixed up, and that's what transpires in her interviews.

This debate with Biden is really going to be make or break for McCain/Palin. If she fails as bad as she did with Couric or Gibson, they've both had it.

Posted by: RB | September 29, 2008 8:41 AM

Tina Fey does do a knock dead Palin, but as head writer for SNL for years, she put it in the tank with endless hump jokes. So brilliant isn't the word for Fey.

Posted by: Nick Gotts | September 29, 2008 9:01 AM

I want so much to like him [Biden] for his honesty - DangerAardvark

Like the time in 1988 he inserted in his speech a riff about his poor-but-honest background and how he was the first in n generations to go to university, taken without attribution from (of all people) Neil Kinnock?

Posted by: E.V. | September 29, 2008 9:16 AM

RB:

...So brilliant isn't the word for Fey.

Posted by: Carlie | September 29, 2008 9:53 AM

This isn't a parody, it's just an imitation.

That's what makes it so funny, that Palin doesn't need any changes to be a parody of a vp running mate.

Posted by: Freidenker | September 29, 2008 10:15 AM

"That's what makes it so funny, that Palin doesn't need any changes to be a parody of a vp running mate. "

Or sad. It depends.

I was actually really shocked to find out that she was merely saying the exact same words with almost the exact same tone of voice. I'm not an American, but it scares me that people who are so silly they produce their own satire get a position of power that gives them access and control over hundreds of millions of people.

Besides, I'm Israeli, if America goes down the drain, so do we. We didn't win our independence because we're cute and cuddly and Jehova likes us, we won our wars because America's been throwing billions of dollars at us for centureies.

Posted by: Nick Gotts | September 29, 2008 10:25 AM

Besides, I'm Israeli, if America goes down the drain, so do we. We didn't win our independence - Freidenker
[my emphasis]

Oh, is that what you call stealing most of the land and killing or expelling most of those formerly inhabiting it? Well, I guess the foundation of the USA does provide a precedent.

Posted by: Rick Lumb | September 29, 2008 10:55 AM

That is spooky. Although, try as she might, she hasn't really made it any more painful than it was originally

Posted by: Nick Gotts | September 29, 2008 11:25 AM

johannes,
You are correct that all national states have been founded by force. You are simply wrong in asserting that this has usually meant the death or expulsion of most of the former inhabitants. Genetic studies of the British, for example, show that most are mostly descended from the first inhabitants of the island after the last Ice Age.

Posted by: Qwerty | September 29, 2008 12:08 PM

They replayed part of the actual interview on "The Stephanie Miller" show today. It was the part where Katie questioned her on McCain taking time off from his campaign to deal with the bailout. A caller said it was like Palin had crammed so long that she had all her talking points in a closet. Katie opened the door and Palin had to get them all out at once.

Personally, I would call this "scrambled talking points."

Posted by: Nick Gotts | September 29, 2008 12:32 PM

That depends on how you define "expulsion". - johannes

That was obvious from the context: expulsion from the territory of the state being founded. My point stands. The foundation of Israel can be seen as part of the Great European Land Grab over the past five centuries.

Posted by: PPNL | September 29, 2008 5:16 PM

"Isn't there a retard somewhere for all you highly educated folks to go laugh at?"

Yes but Bush was never very funny.

Posted by: Kel | September 29, 2008 6:51 PM

Thunderfoot ftw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEE9Zy-qQQ

Posted by: Ichthyic | September 29, 2008 11:15 PM

Believers...godless...doesnt matter. Just mean.

I'm sorry, but you're just screaming at me to say it.

fuck you.

Posted by: Kel | September 29, 2008 11:37 PM

Isn't there a retard somewhere for all you highly educated folks to go laugh at?

Posted by: Ichthyic | September 30, 2008 12:32 AM

I agree with bk. Stupid people should be coddled and praised and given positions of power. Who needs to be smart, anyway? Geeks and losers, that's who.

Yeah! I lurnt that frum watchin' da Simpsons.

Dun' taught me wut happens when you edumacated "mensa" types lord it over us reglar folk.

no, wait, didn't Stephen Hawking save the day, there?

now I'm really confused, and my brain hurts.