Everyone by now should have heard about the media frenzy regarding Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. It calls into question serious identity issues concerning the Alaskan governor. Is she fit to serve?I’m not concerned with those minor leaks about her use of personal e-mail accounts for public purposes. That’s silly and irrelevant.I’m talking about a recent skit on Saturday Night Live.Tina Fey plays Palin, who is joined by Sen. Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler) in a joint press conference. The script lambasts Palin and even aims a few jabs at Clinton.Poehler is quite funny as a frustrated and inadvertently self-deprecating Clinton. But Fey steals the show.In Palin, Fey has found a role she was born to play. Fey’s accent has a little more twang than Palin’s — a stereotype which plays well with anyone born south or east of St. Louis. Fey is taller, thinner and prettier than Palin. Fey’s Palin has more nuanced knowledge and better humor about the campaign issues. Finally, as the skit points out, Fey has been sporting some fashionable eyewear long before the spotlight found Palin.Tina Fey is a better Sarah Palin than Palin herself.My first exposure to this sort of satire was through the brilliant Nickelodeon sketch comedy show of the 1990s: All That. There, the young, aspiring actress Katrina Johnson showcased her talents as a priceless Ross Perot.The jokes were cheap, and the props consisted or nothing more than a bunch of fake Benjamins, thrown about as though Johnson was visiting a strip club. Any political undertones were completely wasted on the show’s young audience — or, at least, wasted on me.Maybe other nine-year-olds out there were concerned with fiscal responsibility. My sole priority was completing the Megazord.My point is this: Look at where they are today. Ross Perot is still a multi-billionaire. And Johnson has faded into obscurity.Will Palin and Fey share parallel fates? Probably not. But have Fey and the rest of SNL accomplished anything more than causing a few laughs?That remains to be seen. But with almost two months until the election, and the video clocking in at 5 minutes per view, I’ve got a good 13,250 more laughs before I have to care.—-Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]