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Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Google.com Sarah Palin is the Republican nominee for vice president. Palin's image has drawn parody and praise from the media.

Media Credit: Google.com Actress Tina Fey has twice satirized Palin on "Saturday Night Live." She has no plans to rejoin the permanent cast.

Throughout the ages, many comedy duos have dominated the media - Laurel and Hardy, Lucy and Ethel, Cheech and Chong and now ... McCain and Palin?

The self-proclaimed "hockey mom" from Alaska, who - in case you've been living under a rock for the past month - was selected as Republican presidential nominee John McCain's running mate in late August, has been a major source of satire everywhere from YouTube to Matt Damon interviews. And, with thousands of videos, comics and photos mocking the possible future vice president, it doesn't look like the trend of Palin parodies will slow down any time soon.

The search term "Sarah Palin parodies" has over half a million hits on Google, ranging from short videos to Photoshopped pictures of the Alaskan governor, gun in hand, clad in a bikini.

Palin is among the most mocked politicians of recent times - but perhaps the most famous Palin parody of all is Tina Fey's impression on Saturday Night Live. The show's former head writer and cast member has returned twice this season (and is rumored to make more appearances) to mock McCain's running mate, drumming up huge laughter by satirizing Palin's infamous comments - including the now-catchphrase "I can see Russia from my house." The skits have been hailed by viewers as "comedy genius" and "spot-on," but also "unfunny" and "totally ridiculous."

But does this plethora of Palin parodies actually affect voters' views, and will they change the general outcome of the election? Tenley Fontaine '12, a conservative student who recently was given a button proclaiming, "When I grow up, I want to be Sarah Palin," doesn't think they will.

"You have to watch them with a grain of salt. I think the parodies and mockery come together to help me see that she's either doing something very, very wrong or something very right, and I don't believe I would support someone so wrong," Fontaine said. "In a way, it's almost encouraging to hear the parodies."

Another first-year - Alexandra Wertz '12, an Obama supporter - agrees with Fontaine that the parodies will have no effect on the election.

"I get a kick out of the SNL parodies. Tina Fey is hilarious and does a great impersonation of Palin. I think that in such a scary time with our country, it's important to step back and be able to laugh and create some humor," Wertz said. "They don't make me lean one or the other necessarily. I'm not sure how strong of a candidate Palin is, but SNL skits are a great way of looking at her and her perspective on issues in a new - and positive - lens."

The McCain camp recently came out against the famous SNL skit, calling it sexist. "Just because Sarah Palin has different views than Hillary Clinton does not mean she lacks substance," Carly Fiorina, a McCain adviser, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

Fontaine disagreed with the statement. "I don't find these parodies sexist or demeaning towards women at all. I find them kind of, somewhat, amusing, and I take them as a light jest instead of a hard insult," she said.

Wertz added, "As far as the sexism goes, I don't think it is relevant. Sarah Palin should be treated as any other politician."

While many liberals - and a few conservatives - see McCain's pick of Palin as some sort of joke, the media is definitely doing its best to bring out the actual humor in what is sure to be a very interesting election.

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