Sunday, September 28, 2008

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

I used to love Tina Fey. Now I want to marry her. (But if Sarah Palin makes it into the White House, I guess THAT won't be happening...)

Last night's SNL opened once again with Palin, this time parodying the Katie Couric interview she stumbled through this week. Tina Fey might have left SNL, and Amy Poehler is on her way out, but here's hoping they keep coming back to reprise this. They've hit upon comedy GOLD.



Seriously, Sarah Palin interviews are quickly becoming must-see TV. Tina Fey doesn't actually make up a lot of what Palin says. She's becoming notorious for dodging questions by rambling so much she doesn't actually make any sense, thus baffling her interviewer into forgetting what they'd originally asked.

In the actual Katie Couric interview, when Couric asked her what she really means when she keeps mentioning Russia's proximity to Alaska, Couric responded:

“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.”

When Couric pushed her on the point, asking if she's ever been involved in any foreign negotiations, she answered:

“We have trade missions back and forth,” said Ms. Palin. “We do. It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, 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 our state.”


As Bob Herbert of the NYT wrote, "It was surreal, the kind of performance that would generate a hearty laugh if it were part of a Monty Python sketch. But this is real life, and the stakes couldn’t be higher." He cautioned, rightfully so, "The alarm bells should be clanging and warning lights flashing. You wouldn’t put an unqualified pilot in the cockpit of a jetliner. The potential for catastrophe is far, far greater with an unqualified president."

11 comments:

KeepingAwake said...

Thank goodness someone helps us laugh at this possible national tragedy!

Hope that you are going to be commenting on Dexter this year! :)

Loretta said...

Tina Fey is brilliant. I'm so glad she got so much recognition at the Emmy's this year. Hopefully people will start finally watching 30 Rock!

Lisa-Maladylis said...

that is too funny ! I went looking for the real interview since I didn't see it and I only got the part about Russia on YouTube but it was just about the same as the skit on SNL she comes off as so silly. Thanks for posting that.

Jazzygirl said...

I am just in awe at Tina Fey's abilities! You almost can't tell them apart! I watched part of the Charlie Gibson one and you're right...all the skits are NOT that far off! How frightening! I'm for Obama anyway but still...

Ryan said...

I agree - what makes this one so funny is that Tina Fey is basically reciting Palin's lines and only adding great comedic timing and slight exaggeration. She doesn't have to do much else...

"It's about creating jobs...under the umbrella of job-creation..."

Anonymous said...

It is very scary but very true (for me at least) that I'd prefer Tina Fey in the White House than Sarah Palin!

Chris in NF said...

"... and Bono, the king of Ireland!"

Laughing my ass off, but suspecting it's the laughter of the damned.

Nikki Stafford said...

lisa: A really good section of the interview, where you can watch Sarah fumble through the economic crisis questions (and you can see what Amy Poehler was doing with the constant batting of the eyelashes) is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP12aNzocSc

Chris in NF: The Bono quote was actually my second choice for title of this blog entry, haha!!

K J Gillenwater said...

I'd love it if they would also parody Biden, who has had his share of stupid comments that never make it into the main stream news. Sadly, America's newspapers and most of the tv news is horridly biased for the left.

Wondering what you think of that? Wouldn't you want to know about gaffes, mistakes, problems on the other side? But we don't hear a thing.

What was horridly revealing was a side-by-side Q&A I read in VFW magazine just last week. Both Obama and McCain were questioned about VA programs and about funding these programs. Every single one of Obama's answers about funding went back to: once we end the War in Iraq, we will use that savings to fund these VA initiatives.

Does no one see a problem with that? A war is temporary spending. Spending that we cannot afford to continue indefinitely. It disturbs me that THAT is a huge part of Obama's spending plan.

I didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but it just disturbs me that only ONE side is really being delved into by the press. It should worry everyone that we are not getting a clear picture of the other side. And this tracks right back to SNL.

The Chapati Kid said...

Kristin, have you bothered to look up the definition of satire or parody? Maybe that will help you realize why it's only Palin who gets picked on.

Furthermore, if you had a clue, you would perhaps be cognizant of why the American economy is in the shitter. You can read about it here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/

An in case you don't want to click on that link, here's a choice quote to let you know how much the U.S. Government is spending on the Iraq war: "Using a “top-down” calculation based on U.S. budget appropriations, the group estimates the total money spent or allocated comes to about $255 million per day, or a little less than $1.8 billion a week. That figure includes both military and non-military spending on things like reconstruction."

So even if the war is temporary, it may interest you to know that money does not grow on trees, and the deficit Bush and his cronies have created isn't magically going fill up like the porridge pot that wouldn't stop. Why do you think the 700 billion dollar bailout is going to come from YOUR TAXPAYER pockets? Because your government has poured all its money into the war FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS (exactly the time it took for the American economy to hit rock bottom. Coincidence? Only if you think like a Republican.)

So what Obama's saying is that part of the war spending needs to be diverted to be brought back to the U.S. and used to fund programs here, including the VA Program.

I hope this explanation isn't too difficult for you to understand. If not, you should let us know. I think Nikki has a standard on rational capacity for her readers.

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