Will the Real Sarah Palin Please Stand Up?

Sept. 15, 2008— -- Some politicians are just ripe for satire. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is one of them.

Almost as soon as Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced her as his running mate, fake blogs, YouTube videos and comedians have sprung up to take swipes at Palin.

"Palin is ripe for satire because her politics are so hideous she is almost a parody of herself!" comedian Margaret Cho told ABCNews.com.

"The humor comes from the fact that she seems to be a stunt choice," said Sara Benincasa, a New York-based comedian who impersonates Palin in 11 videos she shot and posted on YouTube. "She's like an acrobat doing backflips over a bed of nails. She's entertainment."

Palin impersonators, from lesser-known comedians to actress Gina Gershon, have popped up on the Web, and the topic of conversation for weeks had been who would play Palin on "Saturday Night Live."

Tina Fey, the former head writer and cast member of "SNL," returned to her old show for the season premiere Saturday to play Palin alongside Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton.

Much ado had been made about Fey's resemblance to Palin.

On last Friday's "The View," Whoopi Goldberg asked her fellow co-hosts, over a split-screen of photos of Fey and Palin, "Will Tina Fey go to 'Saturday Night Live' and play Sarah Palin?"

"And her friend, Amy Poehler," co-host Elizabeth Hasselback asked, "would she play Cindy McCain?" The resemblance between McCain and Poehler in side-by-side photographs was also uncanny.

"SNL" addressed the comparisons being made between Fey and Palin in its opening sketch. Poehler's Clinton complained of the Alaska governor's quick rise to popularity and her "Tina Fey glasses."

A few digs were made about Palin being less experienced than Clinton. As Poehler bragged about her foreign policy experience, Fey exclaimed, "I can see Russia from my house."

When Poehler's Clinton said she disagreed with the Bush doctrine, Fey's Palin acknowledged, "I don't know what that means," a reference to Palin's apparent confusion on the subject in her first major interview earlier this week on ABC.

Poehler wrapped up the sketch with, "In conclusion, I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can't, I will lend you mine."

Stripping Down Palin on the Web

Donning glasses, single-strand pearls and a down-do in a a Web video for Funnyordie.com, Gina Gershon playing Palin "sets the record straight" on rumors about the Republican veep pick.

"Like so many of you, I went to five colleges in six years to get my journalism degree," she said directly to the camera. "Barack Obama only went to one."

Gershon's Palin said she only tried to ban one book, "Are You There, God, It's Me, Margaret," and if the book had been called "Are You There, God, and I Mean That as a Rhetorical Question, Because I Know You Are, It's Me, Margaret," she wouldn't have had a problem.

Gershon as Pallin also praised McCain for his leadership: "He met with me for only 15 minutes and then spent another two hours with me and that was it. I was his choice. That's exactly the kind of decision-making we need in the White House."

At the end, Gershon stands up, rips off her blouse and skirt -- revealing a Stars and Stripes bikini and a pageantlike sash that reads "Vice President" -- picks up a rifle and says, "Excuse me, I've got some hunting to do."

For her YouTube videos, Benincasa zeroed in on Palin's unusual accent that both Alaskans and Midwesterners claim as their own. She stars in the videos with her comedy partner, Diana Saez, who plays Dina Heath-Barr, Palin's fictitious campaign manager/cousin/stylist/nail technician/jazzercise partner.

"Woven into our jokes about moose hunting are some actual salient points about her opposition to women's reproductive rights, in terms of access to abortion and real sex education," Benincasa told ABCNews.com. "Ultimately, we did it just to be funny. We're lampooning a political character that we think is ridiculous in some ways and definitely beneath McCain's caliber."

As for who's getting the joke, Benincasa said her fans include "whiny liberals like us" and a surprising number of conservatives. She's gotten e-mails that say, "I like Sarah but I like you too" and "I'm a Republican but I think this is funny."

But Benincasa said she would be surprised if any of these comic swipes have any effect on the electorate.

That's unlikely to stop the Palin impersonators from taking their best shots. If Fey doesn't return for an encore, comedian Cho has thrown her name in the ring.

"I think I make a pretty good Palin myself," she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.