Sarah Palin Vlog #8: LIBRARY!

When I was talking with Aparna Nancherla about She-Ha for the last Comedy in DC feature, we got onto the subject of women in politics, and whether or not this year of prominent female candidates would affect the careers of women in comedy. She pointed out the Sarah Palin Vlogs YouTube series, masterminded by Sara Benincasa and DC’s own Diana Saez, who plays the candidate’s fictional hair stylist/assistant/La Leche League liaison/campaign manager Dina Heath-Barr. 

While the appointment of Gov. Palin to the Republican ticket has certainly been a bonanza of material for Tina Fey, Palin’s distinctive hair, glasses, and accent make her an impression-worthy candidate for all manner of female comedians. Saez and Benincasa’s twist on the usual candidate humor, putting her in front of a webcam rather than a lectern and teleprompter, is a unique reflection of our current politics of personality- while it’s debatable whether American presidential elections have ever been about issues and policies rather than personal appeal, an campaign defined by text messages, Facebook fan pages, and other forms of hyper-personal expression is a particularly fine target for parodying with a portrayal of a candidate as the typical narcissistic camgirl. Thanks, Sara and Diana, for shattering the glass ceiling for YouTube bunnies everywhere.

In the interests of equal time and bipartisan mockery, We Love DC is happy to feature a good example of Democratic presidential ticket parody.  Send your suggestions to tiffany -at- we love dc dot com.

Tiffany Bridge

Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.

Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.