It was Sarah Palin versus Sarah Palin late on Saturday in a bizarre comedy double-take that saw the Republican vice presidential candidate join her own television mimic.
Hit NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live opened with actress Tina Fey pretending to be Senator John McCain’s running mate at a spoof press conference.
The big hair-do, little red jacket and rimmed glasses were perfect. So too Fey’s Palin-style winks, smiles and twangy accent.
Then the camera cut outside the studio to the real Palin watching her imitator on a monitor.
Palin, whom Fey has relentlessly mocked, proved that lagging in the polls ahead of the Nov. 4 election has not dented her sense of humor.
She replaced Fey at the fake press conference and boogied to a rap song ridiculing her politics and home state, all against a background of phony Eskimos, an impersonator of her husband, and even the shooting of a theatrical caribou or two.
At the close of the song, Palin, still flashing that trademark smile, said: “I’m Sarah Palin. Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.”
Palin was so inseparable from her look-alike Fey that Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin appeared to mix them up.
He was shown telling Saturday Night Live producer Loren Michaels they could not let Fey join Palin, “that horrible person” who “goes against everything we stand for.”
Michaels then pointed out to Baldwin that they were standing next to Palin, not Fey.
Baldwin said to her: “You are way hotter in person.”
Palin scored a point back by telling Baldwin that she preferred his brother, but she also didn’t hesitate in helping him recall one of her growing number of colorful nicknames: “Caribou Barbie.”
During the ludicrously over-the-top rap song, Palin remained seated but bobbed back and forward in rhythm.
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