Sarah Palin Appears on Saturday Night Live

Sarah Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live was a somewhat unexpected turn, given how sharp Tina Fey's caricature of the vice-presidential candidate has been. But she held her own very well and was able to set up the players on the show to deliver the humor. This is somewhat of a departure from other recent appearances by politicians in the spotlight and kept the heat off of Palin to have perfect comedic timing.

She played the straight role and the skits built around her seemed to work out well. The opening of the show had Palin and Lorne Michaels backstage watching Tina Fey, as Sarah Palin, addressing a mock press conference. Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin were also involved, as Baldwin mistakenly addressed Palin as Tina Fey and went on to scold Michaels for allowing Palin to appear on his show.

Baldwin quickly realized his mistake and changed gears, telling Palin that Tina Fey wasn't nearly "hot enough" to play Palin, whom he said is even more attractive in person.

Eventually, Palin went out to address the press conference and kick off the show with its signature "Live from New York..." introduction.

Later, Palin appeared on the Weekend Update segment with Seth Myers and Amy Poehler, where Palin was again allowed to simply play it straight and introduce the sketch that surrounded her. Amy Poehler eventually performed an intricate rap number that was "supposed" to have been performed by Palin. As Poehler danced and rapped around the Weekend Update set, several background characters emerged to give visual support to the lyrics and provide background vocals.

Overall, not a bad performance from Palin and the skits built around her were some of the strongest of the show.