Tina Fey reprised her role as Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live this weekend in a funny skit in which she and Sen. John McCain (the real McCain) pretended to hawk QVC products in response to the 30-minute national primetime infomercial Obama aired earlier in the week.

Both McCain and his wife get points for being able to poke fun at themselves (unlike Sarah Palin, who didn't really participate when she visited SNL), but most of the jokes were aimed at the Obama-Biden ticket. That's fair and to be expected, but it was hard for me to find McCain's jabs at Obama in this sketch very funny given the unprecedented amount of fear, racism and xenophobia the McCain-Palin ticket has created and perpetuated in the last few months.

Also sobering is the prospect that Americans might forget about all of that at the polls on Tuesday because McCain made them laugh on Saturday night.

Think I'm worried about nothing? Talk me down in the comments — please!

But you betcha Tina Fey is just as funny as she always is doing her Palin imitation. Watch the sketch here now (and you can watch McCain's Weekend Update speech here):

Best joke? When Palin goes rogue and pitches her "Palin for 2012" t-shirts. As Liz Lemon would say, it's funny 'cause it's true.

Also funny was McCain's comment that "I'm a true maverick — a Republican without money;" the reference to Palin's clothes when he said "These campaigns sure are expensive;" and the Joe Biden doll that talks for 45 minutes.

But forget the Joe Biden or Joe The Plumber dolls, or even the Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, and Sarah Palin dolls (yes, they really do exist) — where's our Tina Fey doll?

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin earned some points tonight for being a good sport by making a cameo on Saturday Night Live, in which she mocked Tina Fey mocking her. Tina Fey scored some points for letting her show 30 Rock be mocked by Palin. And Amy Poehler ran away with the game with her Sarah Palin rap.

Who lost points for this? Whoever wrote the skit, which seemed haphazardly assembled, not very funny, and a huge waste of an opportunity. Tina Fey and Sarah Palin in a skit together, and you can't wring more than a couple of laughs out of it? Really?

Watch their skit below, or just skip to the next videoof Amy's rap...

Great lyrics, great delivery, and the moose wandering through the set was inspired. (Jason Sudeikis's Todd Palin impersonation was pretty funny, too.) … continue reading

Celebrity website PopCrunch recently compiled its favorite Tina Fey moments, and since we know Tina pretty well, we thought we'd put in our two cents.

By now, you've probably all seen her Sarah Palin skits and her "Mom Jeans" commercial, so we'd like to reminisce about a few of our other Fey faves.

Liz Lemon gets some fashion advice
Dirty diva, indeed!

Tina Fey guest hosts on Ellen
Tina is not Ellen's first choice for her fill-in, but she'll do. Our favorite Tina line: "I hope you get sick!"

… continue reading

The old Saturday Night Live philosopher Jack Handey once said that before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in her shoes. That way, when you do criticize her, you'll be a mile away and you'll have her shoes. That would never work for me and Sarah Palin, because if I had to walk a mile in her shoes, I would break my neck.

You know how I know? Because Associated Press photographers cannot get enough of the Alaska governor's legs.

Last week, Newsweek's cover photo was in Sarah Palin's face, quite literally. The folks at Fox News had a fit over the picture, shouting sexism to anyone who would listen. Newsweek denied the charge, saying that it does not alter political photographs. If it was a man, they'd happily let readers have a look at his wrinkles, they said.

While Fox and Friends were having a raucous debate about the magazine photo, I was rolling my eyes — because there are some much better pictures for making that case than the Newsweek cover.

Photos like this:

In fact, after doing a little research, I found AP photos of Palin's legs from every national debate and convention thus far.

A quick search of Twitter confirms that I am not the only person who has noticed the trend of Palin leg photos. … continue reading

In a move that may prove way too meta for the Joe Six Packs and hockey moms of this country, rumors are swirling that Sarah Palin will be appearing on Saturday Night Live to spoof Tina Fey, who, as you know, was single-handedly responsible for reigniting the show's popularity by playing Palin.

Is your head exploding yet? What will happen if the two bespectacled giants do end up meeting at the offices of 30 Rock? Will the mavericky pit bull in lipstick approach her doppelganger with her trademark folksy candor, before threatening to crack her skull with a flying hockey puck or a hunting rifle? … continue reading

Sarah Palin: "Hi, Tina. Can I call you Tina?"

Tina Fey: "Sure."

Sarah Palin: "Doggone it, Tina. Those impressions of me sure have those SNL ratings jumpin'!"

Tina Fey: "Say it ain't so."

Sarah Palin: "By golly, even as the Dow falls like a moose staring down the barrel of my rifle, SNL ratings are blowing up, kind of like what I'd like to do to Russia and Iran! And gee whiz, it's all because of you, Tina! You really aredoing heaven's work!"

Tina Fey was back on Saturday Night Live tonight to play VP candidate Sarah Palin in a spoof of this week's 2008 vice-presidential debate. Jason Sudeikis played Joe Biden, and Queen Latifah played moderator Gwen Ifill.

Watch it here if you haven't seen it yet (or hop over to NBC.com to watch in full screen):

I didn't find this skit nearly as funny as SNL's first two Palin parodies (watch them here and here), but the debate didn't leave the writers much to work with.

The skit did manage to capture the gist of the event, though, and included some very funny moments — like Fake Biden's constant referral to John McCain as a close friend, and his frequent references to being from Scranton, PA. (Did anyone else visualize Michael from The Office every time he mentioned Scranton?) Fake Palin's repeated use of the word "maverick" in this skit, complete with drinking game reference, was fantastically spot on.

I especially loved that SNL made a point to skewer both candidates on how they handled the gay marriage question. … continue reading

Tina Fey was back on Saturday Night Live tonight with her hilarious and eerily accurate portrayal of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin, re-enacting with Amy Poehler Palin's now-infamous interview with CBS news anchor Katie Couric last week.

Watch it here now (and if you missed Fey's first Palin imitation on SNL, watch it here):

The most salient point made by the skit was showing how Palin ducks difficult questions by rephrasing the question as the answer, using half-finished thoughts, or acting "increasingly adorable." (Even conservative Republican columnist Kathleen Parker wrote this week that Palin "filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.")

But the best/scariest aspect of the skit? Several lines of Palin's (Fey's) answers — on topics like how she and McKain would spread democracy, and how exactly Palin has gained foreign policy experience by living near Russia — weren't even made up, they came directly from her interview with Couric (watch and read transcripts here and here).

But let's set aside the accuracy of the spoof — since that will be covered everywhere else — and get to the funny.

Favorite Fey/Palin hand gesture(s)? Pretty much all of them.

Favorite made-up line? On visiting the U.N. for the first time: "... I was disheartened by how many of them were foreigners. I promise that when Sen. McCain and I are elected, we're going to get those jobs back in American hands!" Brilliant summary of America's myopic foreign policy approach over the last 8 years.

Second favorite line? "Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines now." I'll bet she would!

What was your favorite line/moment/gesture? And, aside from the fact that Tina Fey is a Democrat who stands against, and is repugnant to, almost everything Republicans believe in, is there any reason the Republicans shouldn't dump Palin and make Tina Fey McCain's running mate? I mean, not to belabor the point, but can you give me even one specific reason?

Maxim, the magazine known for its stellar political reporting, released its list of the “World's 10 Hottest Politicians” on its website this week. The list does a good job of globetrotting, but tends to stay away from the real issues.

While there were plenty of accomplished, attractive women in the bunch, we at AfterEllen.com tend to look past the tailored pantsuits to the issues at hand. It takes more than winning a beauty pageant to win our hearts.

The ladies in Maxim’s top spots left something to be desired; namely, a general interest in human equality.

Maxim’s #1: Mara Carfagna, Italy

Sure, she is a gorgeous Italian socialist and former actress, but Carfagna, the Italian minister for equal opportunity, apparently doesn't understand what "equal" actually means. As a former showgirl, you would think she would give some credit to women working in the sex industry, but this month she criminalized street prostitution, calling it a ”a shameful phenomenon.”

Carfagna also claimed that gays in Italy shouldn't need a gay pride march, because gay rights were ”no longer a problem.” Obviously, this woman doesn't get out much. She also opposes gay marriage. … continue reading

Sarah Palin can officially be bought and sold. No really, it’s true. If you haven’t heard yet, Hero Builders toymakers are selling Sarah Palin dolls for you to collect and cherish for years to come. (Go ahead and take a minute and process this; I know I needed a few when I found out.) You can now own a 12-inch replica of Palin to do with as you wish (I’m sure it will be different for everyone). Malibu Barbie’s days in the sun may be numbered now that political dolls (or “action figures” for those who like to play rough) are available for purchase.

Much like her Barbie counterpart, the Palin doll is available in multiple fun styles that will cost you up to $29.95.

There is Executive Palin, complete with a pantsuit that seems to say, "I may not be Hillary, but I can certainly dress like her"; Super Hero Palin, complete with miniskirt, Matrix-style trench coat and a gun strapped to her thigh (so she can fight off the evil Alaskan Moose Posse); and, if all that weren’t random enough, you could have your very own School Girl Palin a la Britney Spears, circa 1998.

If these dolls do fly off the shelves, we may able to look forward to a series of other limited-edition Palins such as Alaskan Hunter Palin (rifle and fishing pole included) or Hockey Mom Palin, (lipstick and hockey stick included; minivan sold separately). And if the McCain/Palin ticket does make it to presidency, I’m sure the Palin Dream White House will be available just in time for Christmas. … continue reading

When Katie Couric took over the CBS Evening News in 2006, no one questioned her journalistic integrity, her skills as an interviewer or even her likeability. No, the question in 2006 was whether or not Americans were ready to get their real news from a woman. Oh, and people also wanted to know how much leg Couric would be able to show if she was forced to sit behind an anchor desk all the time.

Sexism and playground bullying go hand-in-hand, in that speaking out on your own behalf will only get you beaten up with greater frequency and ferocity. Knowing this, Couric never mentioned the unfair shake she was given by her fellow reporters. During this year's primary election season, however, she finally found a platform to speak her mind.

In her Reporter's Notebook segment after the primary elections, Couric said this:

Like [Hillary Clinton] or not, one of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued — and accepted — role of sexism in American life, particularly in the media. Many women have made the point that if Senator Obama had to confront the racist equivalent of an "iron my shirt" poster at campaign rallies, or a Hillary nutcracker sold at airports, or mainstream pundits saying they instinctively cross their legs at the mention of her name, the outrage would not be a footnote, it would be front-page news. It's not just Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season, it's all the people who cross the line, and all of the women and men who let them get away with it.

Plenty of people suggested Couric could have taken Clinton's name out of her speech, and inserted her own, because the sad truth is that, under Couric, the CBS Evening News has consistently come in last in ratings among the three major networks. … continue reading

I have always loved Wonder Woman. Something about those star-spangled hot pants and that Golden Lasso spoke to untold parts of my prepubescent psyche. Oh, and there was also that little bit about her being a kick-ass Amazon princess who took out the bad guys. So naturally I loved Lynda Carter, too, and after hearing her thoughts on Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, I couldn't possibly love her more.

Last week, when asked offhandedly by Philadelphia Magazine what she thought of Palin being compared to her most-recognized character, Wonder Woman, the 57-year-old star pulled no punches:

Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hilary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn’t she?

Pardon me while I swoon.

But the daughter of Hippolyta wasn't done yet — not by a long shot. … continue reading

On last night's season opener of Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey returned to play Alaskan Gov. and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, while Amy Poehler reprised her dead-on impression of Hillary Clinton, in one of the funniest skits I've seen on SNL in a long time (and alas, one of the only funny skits of the night).

Palin and Clinton joined forces to send a "nonpartisan message" asking for an end to sexism in the presidential campaigns. Watch it here (or on NBC.com):

Palin's shotgun pose and enthusiastic pronouncement that "I can see Russia from my house!"? Hilarious. And Clinton's comment about sexism in the media being "An issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about" was genius — and very, very true. … continue reading

Jon Mallow rants about Sarah Palin and Jennifer Vanasco compares creationism with unicorn-hunting, all on this week's episode of The Gay Agenda.