Tina Fey by Melissa Raé Shofner

Author:Melissa Raé Shofner [Shofner, Melissa Raé]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

“Feylin” and Foreign Policy

Palin gave Fey a lot of material over the course of the campaign. For example, when the governor was criticized for having little foreign policy experience, she argued that Alaska’s nearness to Russia qualified as such. The claim was silly and exposed as hollow by most observers, including Fey, who made fun of it in a sketch later that week in which she, as Palin, said, “I can see Russia from my house!”57 In fact, Fey’s take on Palin’s comment was so popular that for a while, the “I can see Russia from my house!” quote was attributed to Palin on countless blogs and forwarded e-mails.

Fey took another stab at Palin’s claims to foreign policy experience by imitating another part of Palin’s interview with Couric. Couric had asked Palin to further explain her foreign policy experience. The conversation went as follows:

Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land—boundary that we have with—Canada ...

Couric: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does because our—our next-door neighbors are foreign countries. They’re in the state that I am the

executive of. And they’re in Russia—

Couric: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth. We—we do—it’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia ... where—where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is—from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to—to our state.58

Again, Fey (with Poehler as Couric) took a light hand in making fun of Palin’s long-winded answers. In an SNL skit that aired a few days after the Couric interview, she kept the message closely linked to the original, adding a few comedic touches:

Poehler, as Couric: On foreign policy, I want to give you one more chance to explain your claim that you have foreign policy experience based on Alaska’s proximity to Russia. What did you mean by that?

Fey, as Palin: Well, Alaska and Russia are only separated by a narrow maritime border. You got Alaska here, this right here is water, and this is Russia. So, we keep an eye on them.

Poehler: And how do you do that exactly?

Fey: Every morning, when Alaskans wake up, one of the first things they do, is look outside to see if there are any Russians hanging around. And if there are, you gotta go up to them and ask, “What are you doing here?” and if they can’t give you a good reason, it’s our responsibility to say, you know, “Shoo! Get back over there!”59

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