Disarmingly Funny: The Perils of Television's Political Comedy

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On September 13, 2008 the season premier of Saturday Night Live opened with comediennes Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and New York Senator Hillary Clinton. The sketch aired in the final months of election coverage, and introduced what would become Fey’s most noted and celebrated SNL character. Greeting the audience of a “press conference,” a smiling Fey-Palin recounts how excited she was to learn that she would be sharing the stage with Poehler-Clinton. The latter, visibly unhappy to share the spotlight with anyone, much less her nemesis, wryly remarks that she was told that she would be appearing alone. As the two women comment on their campaign experiences, Fey-Palin suggests that, regardless of politics, “women everywhere can agree that it is time for a woman to make it to the White House!” Poehler-Clinton’s reaction is a brawling “Mine!” Pounding her fist on the podium: “It is supposed to be mine. … I didn’t want a woman to be president. I wanted to be president. … And I don’t want to hear you compare your road to the White House to my road to the White House. I scratched and clawed through mud and barbed wire. And you just glided in on a dogsled!” As the sketch ends, Fey-Palin reflects on the prospect of being “one heartbeat away from the presidency.” She infers that, “Anyone can be president; all you have to do is want it.” In response, Poehler-Clinton cackles, “You know, Sarah, looking back, if I could change one thing, … I probably should have wanted it more!” She concludes, “I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can’t, I will lend you mine.”