Live from New York, Palin plays Palin on 'SNL'
— -- Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin made her long-anticipated appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live, and it proved an instant hit online and on the air.
Though official Nielsen figures won't be available until later this week, early estimates point to as many as 14 million viewers for the show, which would be the highest ratings since skater Nancy Kerrigan visited SNL after her Olympics run-in with Tonya Harding in 1994.
Meanwhile, by Sunday afternoon, NBC's website had logged more than 1.5 million views of Palin's appearance in the opening sketch, plus 800,000 for Amy Poehler's Eskimo rap performance during the Weekend Update segment.
In the opening, Palin critiqued Tina Fey's impression of her as she and SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels watched Fey's news conference sketch in a hallway outside the studio.
"I just didn't think it was a realistic depiction of how one of my press conferences would have gone," she told Michaels. (She hasn't held any.) "Why couldn't we do the 30 Rock sketch I wrote?" she asked, referring to Fey's low-rated sitcom, which Michaels also produces. "Honestly, not enough people know that show," he deadpanned.
Fey's 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin, pretending he thought the woman beside Michaels was Fey, told him, "This is the most important election in our lifetime and you want her, our Tina, to go out there and stand next to that horrible woman?" Corrected by Michaels, he backpedaled, telling Palin, "You are way hotter in person."
Palin returned for Weekend Update, declining to perform but swaying to the beat as Amy Poehler did a Palin-tribute rap that featured fake snow and a dancing (soon to be shot) moose.
Fey's take of Palin has helped SNL ratings spike as much as 50% this season.
And while official polls will ultimately determine what, if any, boost she gets from the guest stint, an unscientific poll on USATODAY.com had 43% of respondents saying their opinion of Palin was more positive after the appearance, while 20% said it was less positive and 37% said it hadn't changed.
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