Who should we blame for the disappointment that was this week’s Saturday Night Live? Should we blame the script writers or the influence the people working for Palin’s campaign had over them? The truth is that both are at fault.
In their own respects, each failed to gain anything from Palin’s stint on SNL–something that could’ve helped the election from either side.
SNL’s producers and script writers, in featuring Palin in only a tiny fraction of the show failed to deliver what the 14 million veiwers, a record amount in 14 years, wanted. And what did we want? Well some of us wanted yet another chance to laugh at the VP nominee. Others wanted her appearance on SNL to prove to the American people that she really is just like us, aside from the appearing on national television bit. They wanted to know that Palin can be relaxed, funny and self-depreciating. In short, they wanted to know that she is capable of being something other than a pitbull.
If SNL had featured Palin for longer on the show, like we were expecting, it could have been a huge boost for the McCain-Palin campaign. If she had been allowed to open up to the American people on SNL as more than a stiff, awkward prop, it could have done wonders for her image. Not to mention it would have helped her sketchy reputation for being so damn secretive with the media.
Then again, it was SNL’s Palin related skits featuring Tina Fey that put her in hot water in the first place. If Palin had played an active, rather than passive role in the show, it could’ve turned even more voters against her, cementing her as the laughingstock of the country. So much about Palin is considered laughable, that she might have just embarrassed herself, which perhaps is what all the folks in charge were afraid of.
In the end, it was the No Child Left Behind of television appearances. Much like with her previous interviews, we gained nothing and we learned nothing about Palin–from either side of the aisle
here’s a blog post from the Gaurdian about Saturday’s episode:
An analytical look at the media portayal of Sarah Palin 