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Sarah Palin became a subject of parody, satire and derision soon after her nomination for Vice President on the Republican Party ticket for the United States presidential election of 2008.

Immediate comic reaction

A Comedy Central writer joked that "she's a pitbull who wears lipstick for some reason!" (in response to her statement at the 2008 Republican National Convention that the difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom was lipstick). In addition, David Harrington's "Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator" generates hunting, industrial, hockey-related, and other idiosyncratic personal names from names that are supplied to it. Also, comedienne Julie Brown re-wrote her 1980s single "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" as a parody titled "The Ex-Beauty Queen's Got a Gun."

Tina Fey and Saturday Night Live

On September 13, 2008, Tina Fey appeared in a comedy skit, "A Nonpartisan Message from Governor Sarah Palin & Senator Hillary Clinton", on Saturday Night Live as Sarah Palin, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. The sketch was written by Poehler, Fey, and head writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers.

Due to its popularity, additional sketches with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin were seen in later SNL episodes leading up to the weekend before the election, with Fey ultimately performing her impersonation alongside both the real Palin and John McCain.

Gina Gershon

Actress Gina Gershon self-produced and posted several parody videos in which she portrays Palin for the comedy website Funny or Die. In one of the videos, Gershon, as Palin, dons a stars-and-stripes bikini and totes a gun, a reference to a widely-circulated, but faked, photograph purporting to be the real Palin in such a scenario.

Sara Benincasa

YouTube contributor Sara Benincasa created video logs, or vlogs, in which she stars as Governor Palin. In these vlogs, Benincasa (as Palin) compares the experience of heading up a Parent-Teacher Association to the responsibilities of running Alaska and discusses how being a mother of five children makes her fit to run the United States. In the skits, Benincasa's sometime comedy partner, Diana Saez, appears as Palin's (fictional) cousin and assistant Dina Heath-Barr.

Doonesbury

The comic strip Doonesbury mocked Palin through the use of Zipper Harris, a slacker college student. The strips of October 20-25, 2008 depict Harris dodging questions from his botany professor by paraphrasing Palin's evasive language, in an attempt to cover up the fact that he has not studied the relevant course material and does not know the answers.

Live with Regis and Kelly

Kelly Ripa impersonated Palin on the Halloween edition of Live with Regis and Kelly (broadcast October 31, 2008), parodying phrases associated with Palin such a "Say it ain't so, Joe" and "Maverick", wearing Palin's well-known red outfit, and speaking in Palin's accent. Her co-host, Regis Philbin, impersonated Joe Biden.

This Modern World

Liberal comic strip This Modern World returned to its "Parallel Earth" series, where candidates appear literally as the metaphors used to describe them, to skewer Palin. Upon John McCain's choice of Palin, the parallel Republican presidential candidate, a neanderthal named Ugg whose foreign policy consists of smashing enemies with big rocks, chooses an actual deer caught in the headlights as his running mate.

Porn video

Hustler Video released a pornographic video exploiting Palin's perceived attractiveness. Who's Nailin' Paylin? was released on November 4th. Actress Lisa Ann starred as the spoof Sarah Palin character, "Serra Paylin", while Sindee Jennings played the young Paylin in her college years.

Critic John Patterson of The Guardian says that "the script's literary values are close to nil, and its political jabs... are often to infantile." Patterson's review also cites "ridiculous dialogue" such as "Drill, baby, drill!" and "I'm speaking in tongues!"

Thandie Newton and Ricky Gervais read dialogue from the movie on The Graham Norton Show.

Caribou Barbie

Following her nomination, Palin was often tagged with the epithet "Caribou Barbie", owing to her background as a beauty pageant contestant in her home state of Alaska. Palin herself uttered this phrase when she made an October 18, 2008 guest appearance on Saturday Night Live, filling in the blank for Alec Baldwin, who could not remember what people called her.

References

1. Dennis DiClaudio."Sarah Palin, Still Strong on Women's Issues"; ComedyCentral, September 9th 2008
2. "Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator", Poli Tsk Tsk Tsk (politsk.blogspot.com); accessed October 25, 2008.
3. Gene Weingarten, "Chatological Humor", Washington Post, September 16, 2008 (accessed October 25, 2008)
4. Christie St. Martin, "Soup Landmine Palin", Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2008 (accessed October 25, 2008)
5. Gilbert Cruz, "Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator", Time, September 23, 2008 (accessed October 25, 2008)
6. http://www.youtube.com/user/Kielan2154
7. http://juliebrown.com/blog/index.php
8. Wallenstein, Andrew (2008-09-18). "NBC's Web sites see surge in traffic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
9. "Tina Fey Guest Stars On Saturday Night Live Season Premiere As Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin" (Press release). NBC Universal Media Village. 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
10. SNL Transcripts
11. Luchina Fisher, "Will the Real Sarah Palin Please Stand Up?", ABC News, September 15, 2008
12. Gina Gershon. "Gina Gershon index page". Funny or Die. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
13. Gina Gershon. "Gina Gershon Strips Down Sarah Palin". Funny or Die. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
14. Samantha Chang, "The Improper: Sarah Palin Bikini Photos Are Fake", The Improper, September 4, 2008 (accessed 2008-10-31)
15. "Video: Gina Gershon Spoofs Sarah Palin", US Magazine, September 11, 2008 (accessed 2008-11-01)
16. David Sarno, "Bikini-clad Gina Gershon spoofs Sarah Palin", Los Angeles Times, September 10, 2008 (accessed 2008-11-01)
17. Brian Braiker, "The Palin Parodists", Newsweek - "Web Exclusive", September 3, 2008.
18. Glenn Chapman. "Palin parodies flood the Web". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
19. Siddhartha Mitter. "Poking Fun at Palin". WNYC.org. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
20. Doonesbury comic of October 20, 2008
21. CNN (2008-11-03). "CNN Showbiz Tonight: Funniest Campaign Ever". CNN.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help) (video)
22. This Modern World cartoon of October 2, 2008.
23. David Edwards and Muriel Kane. "Fox concludes Larry Flynt's 'Palin porno' is legal". The Raw Story. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
24. David Sullivan (2008-10-08). "Hustler Sets Cast for Sarah Palin Spoof". AVN.com. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
25. "Nailin' Paylin". TMZ.com. 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-10-11. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
26. ^ Patterson, 2008, Under the Skin.
27. Rashid Razaq, "Corporation attacked for offensive joke about the queen", London Evening Standard, 31 October 2008, thisislondon.co.uk.
28. "'Sarah Palin' Porn Script read by Thandie & Ricky - The Graham Norton Show - BBC Two", youtube.com.
29. Chris Weigant, "My 2008 'McLaughlin Awards'" Huffington Post, December 26, 2008.
30. "Caribou Barbie" Urban Dictionary.
31. David Freddoso, "Following ‘Caribou Barbie’", National Review Online, September 5, 2008.
32. "Tina Fey & Sarah Palin Cross Paths on SNL", People Magazine, October 19, 2008.

External links

• Burkeman, Oliver. "Parody Extravaganza: Twenty US election spoofs you may have missed". The Guardian, October 30, 2008.
• User Sara Benincasa at Youtube: includes the first series of Benincasa's Sarah Palin vlog.
• 236.com videos: includes the second series of Benincasa's Sarah Palin vlog (also available at YouTube).
• Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator
• Palin and Hillary Open at NBC.com
• Couric and Palin Open at NBC.com
• Biden and Palin Open at NBC.com
• Real Sarah Palin Open at NBC.com
• Bush, Palin and McCain Open at NBC.com
• Tina Fey Guest Stars On Saturday Night Live Season Premiere As Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin (September 13, 2008 sketch transcript)
• Presidential Parady Dominates Saturday Night Live (September 27, 2008 sketch transcript)
• "Tina Fey On Palin Persona" (Interview on "The Late Show with David Letterman") on YouTube

v t e Sarah Palin
9th Governor of Alaska (2006–2009) Mayor of Wasilla (1996–2002) Born (1964-02-11)February 11, 1964
Politics	Electoral history Early political career Governor of Alaska Political positions
Elections	Gubernatorial 2006 Vice presidential VP candidacy 2008 campaign selection convention debate election U.S. House 2022 (special) 2022
Books and media by Sarah Palin	Going Rogue: An American Life America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas Sweet Freedom: A Devotional Sarah Palin's Alaska Amazing America with Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Channel
Book and media coverage	Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down Public image and reception Katie Couric interviews Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare Game Change (book, film) The Undefeated
Parodies	Saturday Night Live parodies
Family	Todd Palin (ex-husband) Bristol Palin (daughter) Levi Johnston (father of grandson) Dakota Meyer (ex-son-in-law)
Related	Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal Gravina Island Bridge Death panel Drill, baby, drill Mama grizzly The Masked Avengers' prank Sarah Palin email hack
Conservatism portal Category

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from December 2008
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• Saturday Night Live sketches
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• 2000s fads