Thanks to Tina Fey, Sarah Palin isn’t just a target of jokes – she’s been swift-butted.
Some political scientists contend that Fey’s “Saturday Night Live” skewering of the Alaska governor is playing a large role in spoiling the McCain/Palin ticket.
“Presidential impersonators do influence elections, and in this one, Tina Fey is well on her way to ruining Sarah Palin’s political career,” said Jerald Podair, a professor of American Studies at Lawrence University.
“In a political culture that takes its cues from popular culture, a good impersonator may be worth a million votes,” Podair said.
Click here to watch Fey as Palin on ‘SNL’
Not since Chevy Chase made many viewers perceive Gerald Ford as a clumsy stooge has a television impersonation been credited with altering the political narrative to such a degree, said John Pitney Jr., a professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College.
“The parodies may have done a bit of damage. People remember Gerald Ford through the prism of Chevy Chase,” he said. “Ford was among our most athletic presidents, and he had a wide-ranging knowledge of public-policy issues. But because of ‘SNL,’ many came to think of him as a buffoon.”
A recent Washington Times poll found that independent voters are crediting the “Tina Fey effect” with turning them off to the McCain ticket.
But some experts argue that comedy sketches are not changing voters’ minds.
“Jokes and impersonations only leave lasting damage if they resonate with existing narratives the voter internalized,” said Dorothy James, a professor of Government at Connecticut College.
“Most people who strongly identify as Republicans have internalized the narrative that Gov. Palin is a breath of fresh air, a maverick. Tina Fey’s impersonation only angers them, and may increase their support for Palin,” James said.
“Those who strongly identify as Democrats have an alternative narrative – that she is grammatically chaotic, tied to party talking points, ignorant and unprepared. Fey’s impersonation only reinforces existing attitudes there.”