Reading The Pictures: Palin Misses Her Match

Did Palin and her minders somehow restrict the Governor's role on SNL last night, effectively reducing her to a prop? Did the show merely bring out the fact she's "not ready for prime time?" Or, did the liberal entertainment complex deservedly give it to Palin, just like Letterman gave it to McCain the other night?

Alec Baldwin, who blogs here at Huff Post (and clearly cannot stand Palin) not only reduced SP to a sex object, he barely looked at her even when he was supposed to.  And then, Baldwin's line: "Lorne, you can't let Tina go out there with that woman" telegraphed why the show was an unmitigated disaster for Palin.

The reason was, Palin failed to achieve the dramatic justice of confronting Tina Fey's fractured version of herself.

Such an interaction was the only plot option that could have dignified Palin's appearance on the show (in the same way Hillary Clinton's SNL appearance naturally dictated a confrontation with Amy Poehler's version of Hillary).  Far from any such meeting taking place, however, Fey not only parodied Palin again, but did so to Palin's face while the Veep candidate stood there watching her on a monitor before a national television audience.

As such, the sequence of the night (if not as cutting as the Moose rap later on) was this one of Tina Fey, having just finished mocking Palin, actually walking right past Sarah without even giving her a glance.  More biting still, before exiting the stage Fey throws a look back acknowledging that she got off scot-free.

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Baldwin/Palin clip; Poehler Palin news clip.

(screen grab: nbc.com)

Follow Michael Shaw on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bagnewsnotes

Comments

[AProudRepublican]

Of course SNL tried to make Palin look bad - they're incredibly biased, and what they did to her was really sick and mean spirited. It reminds me of high school. However, I thought Sarah handled it beautifully - she was calm, composed and confidenct despite being in waters full of sharks.

I used to think Tina Fey was really cute as Sarah Palin (she does do a great job, after all). However, after seeing her on Letterman and hearing her incredibly disrespectful and mean remarks about Palin, it's hard to continue liking her.

[yellow72]

palin was not funny. end of story

[mommadona]

Palin's jaw was torqued, with a nasty little smirk firmly in place....

She was 'projecting' to 'her base'...

Pulling her best Annie Oakley martyr trip by being amongst the 'unwashed' but not of them....

"Holier than thou"...I do believe a Dana Carvey return as the Church Lady right at that weird little "hand off" would have been the proverbial icing on the cake.

A missed comedic opportunity, for sure...

"NOW, ISN'T THAT SPECIAL?"......

[sadiehawkins]

I don't get this, Palin cannot appear on a relevant newschannel but she agrees to appear on SNL and Faux news. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!!!

[JTyroler]

I guess Halloween 2009 when Sarah Palin is handing out candy in Wasilla, she won't be dressed as Tina Fey. She'll hand out the candy and the trick-or-treaters will be giving her Snickers in return.

[mlaiuppa]

I think a lot more is being read into this than there really is.

I notice the first picture, where Palin is looking daggers at Fey as Palin, hasn't even been mentioned.

[yulooloo]

As good as Tina's Palin is, it's still pretty easy to tell them apart: Tina's a comedian, while Palin's just a joke.

[RRonin]

There's only one reason a pol appears on SNL, and that's to show they're a good sport, no hard feelings, can laugh at themselves, etc etc etc. In other words, a strictly self serving attempt to bank a little goodwill for 2012.

[MarryAnn]

Thank you. Someone who doesn't believe she hit it out of the ballpark.

[pinandpuller]

The best ratings in 14 years and all she had to do was show up. Maybe she can spread some ratings around to other shows that have fallen on hard times.

[mlaiuppa]

Too bad it won't translate into votes.

[jchurch27]

DaretoHOPE:

Thanks for the correction. After I posted it I realized it was Groucho (and not Chico) in the scene. From my faulty memory it seemed like all three of them were running around in a madcap way. Is it Duck Soup or Night at the Opera?

If Sarah Palin had the basic self-awarenesss to laugh at herself (along with a minimum level of acting talent) it would have been fun to see a "Dueling Palins" skit with Tina practicing her speech in "the mirror" and Sarah giving her back her lines......."I see Russia from here................" However, the two key comic players in the skit (Fey and Palin) only directly interacted with each (for a few brief seconds in passing) thus the main comic potential of the skit was never really broached.

[DaretoHOPE]

Hi jchurch27,

The scene is from Duck Soup and yeah they are all kinda running around back and forth through (hiding under a bed and in closets) out the scene with all three dressed the same in nightgown and cap. Makes me smile just imagining it.

I agree the comic potential for a skit around the mirror scene would have been great, but I also don't think Tina Fay wanted to spend that much time with Palin.

Regards :)

[mouselion]

You are right, Michael Shaw, if SP had kept her eyes trained on Tina Fey with a bemused, mildly condescending look on her face, laughing a little as Fey exited the stage -- she would have shown a sense of finesse with the audience, but she did not. If it is true there was a great amount of ad lib space as Chevy Chase reveals, then she could have hammed it up however she liked. A president or any high level politician has to have that much ease. A comedic performance is a tester for how a leader thinks on their feet.

[Strepsi]

I also read the body language (and worked in comedy) and I guarantee you the reason that there was no "duelling Palins" because Baldwin and Fey will not HELP her to salvage her reputation. For Palin, it was a fail -- if they had all been in a funny sketch together it would have really enhanced her reputation (like Justin Timberlake and Baldwin's appearances) but this election is too important. Fey and Baldwin have the clout to veto any "laughing WITH", and the comedy, though it seemed fair, always stayed just on the side of "laughing AT".
VERY WELL DONE SNL.

[bknott]

Thanks for the comment. I was wondering how the Palin sketch was going to work - since Fey loathed Palin, and Palin was obviously going onto the show for good press. I was impressed that Palin came out looking more like a stick than Hillary, Al Gore, or even Bob Dole.

[Pacojam]

We read way too much into Palin.

She is someone who learned a couple of tricks of how to play politician and tricked alaskans into electing her mayor and then governor.

McCain had poor judgement enough to not look beyond her shell before picking her for VP.

On SNL, she was scared to death, shaking in her boots just waiting for it to be over. Just like she and McCain are just waiting for this election to be over.

But don't forget to vote!

[snarkopolitan]

Not shaking in her boots. We may want to believe everything bad about her in every way, but that's not a help.

The woman is made of titanium. She thinks she can tackle anything, including the Presidency! I'm sure she thought she killed (all awkward resonances completely intended). And she wasn't screamingly funny, but she leaned into the camera and screamed "It's SATURDAY NIIIIIGHHHHHTT!!!! with unnerving authority.

Always bad to let your dislike of someone cloud your perception. Obama's opponents have repeatedly believed their own line about his being an empty suit, and then seem shocked when he outsmarts them.

[FTracy3]

Tina Fey has too much class to let her political views get in the way of a good performance and a funny bit. I can almost guarantee she wasn't trying to "get" Sarah Palin by not looking at her while walking off the stage...it was more in keeping with the acting surprised and asking Baldwin "the real one?" and acting embarrassed as she left the podium. SNL has had political figures on for years and the cast and crew have always been gracious. Palin has already been "gotten" by SNL, as have major political figures going back to Jimmy Carter.

Incidentally, go back to season one of 30 Rock..Tina's character confesses "I tell everyone I'm voting for Barack Obama but I'm really voting for John McCain."...Even though I suspect she's for Obama now (she was for Hillary), it shows she doesn't put her own views ahead of a good joke or try and ram them down our throats.

[BassMent]

"Dueling Palins" would have been potentially hilarious, and a genuine opportunity for Palin to show herself as a good sport (and possibly even funny).

I think everyone loved the HIllary-Pohler faceoff during the primary season (especially Hillary asking, "Do I really laugh like that?" and Amy coming back, "Umm... yeah."). It was clear they were both having fun, and it humanized Hillary for a lot of people.

Did Palin's handlers know what was going to happen on this show? Was the goal for her to be totally victimized in the hope of generating some kind of sympathy that might translate to votes?

MASSIVE. FAIL.

As Michael Shaw points out, she looked like a prop, a sex object, a bimbo, a chickenshit and a crap dancer. And not for a moment was she funny.

I guess you could say she was a good sport for letting herself be so thoroughly savaged.

[helleborine]

Wolf Blitzer keeps saying she had "great moves" during the rap...

[muypolitico]

He is one of those guys who believes Palin is wikin' at him through the camera.