COMEDIANS AT A LOSS WITH PALIN RESIGNATION

July 3 2009

Juneau, AK – The spectacular rise of Sarah Palin from a relatively unknown Governor to Vice-Presidential candidate and to a global profile took many by surprise. The rise from obscurity to overnight success was the embodiment of the American
Dream, a dream that came crashing to reality on election night in November but many had hoped that she would once again rise to public prominence. As she carried the hopes of the Republican so too did she carry the hopes of comedians across the country with the promise of aw shucks honesty and endless verbal gaffes.

With Palin giving her resignation notice the hearts of many sank. The Governor announced that not only will she not seek another term but will leave the office at the end of the month, a full year and half before she was scheduled to leave. With her political and public future still a mystery, questions about the future of the Republican Party and the future of political comedy in the United States are starting to swirl. With many predicting doom for both and no successor readily apparent both the right wing of America and comedians are finding themselves without direction.

“My choice is to take a stand and effect change and not just hit our head against the wall. Millions of dollars go down the drain in this new political environment. Rather, we know we can effect (sic) positive change outside government,” said Palin in her resignation speech. “Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a pay check. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that. I never believed that I nor anyone else needs a title to do this, to make a difference. I'm determined to take the right path for Alaska, even though it is unconventional and it's not so comfortable.”

It is believed that Palin will continue do some kind of work that will likely keep her in the public eye. Though pundits have weighed in on what this announcement may or may not mean for a possible run for President in 2012, many in comedy are for the first time since her arrival on the political scene concerned that she may no longer be ripe fodder.

“I don’t think there’s a comedian alive today in the United States who isn’t a little taken back by this news. It’s really been a terrible week for us with the loss of Michael Jackson and now this. It feels almost as though someone is deliberately targeting comedy and comedians. I don’t know how we will be able to go on in this environment,” said a spokesperson for Comedy Central. “We had been planning on all kinds of content over the next few years particularly for ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Colbert Report’ and now those shows may be in jeopardy. We are already struggling with advertising revenue and now we may be totally without content, especially if we continue to see erosion like this.”

Governor Palin just recently ended a feud with David Letterman after a handful of jokes. She has also waged a public battle against blogger Celtic Diva over a photo shopped picture. It’s not clear if Palin’s resignation was a deliberate attack against those comedians or any others who would seek to make fun of her.

“Part of being in politics is having a thick skin and whether honestly or not Palin hasn’t really had that. Granted these last ten months were her first shot at real politics and so she may simply not have been acclimated to the environment, but regardless of the reasons
she reacted harshly to the commentary. I don’t think she will come off very well if it is determined that she resigned to deliberately hurt the comedy community,” said Scrape TV Political analyst Gabriel Kinsey. “Luckily for many of them as well as the Republican Party Bobby Jindal’s star is still rising. That could possibly give hope to the Right wing as well as comedian’s across the country, especially if his early potential pans out and he ends up where most people expect he will.”

Reportedly Alaska wildlife officials are ‘very concerned’ over what Palin will be doing with her spare time. Russian officials still had not heard of the Governor.

Edward Bastil, Political Correspondent

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