by Suzy Shuster, The Huffington Post
Dear Ms. Fey,
We, the people, need you.
We need you to be Sarah Palin each and every Saturday night, live from New York.
How else to explain the sudden about face of Governor Palin's popularity in the polls just days after your brilliant spot-on impersonation on one of the highest rated Saturday Night Live's in the show's history? The hair, the glasses, all perfect, but truly it was the flat mid-western accent, the lip-lick, and the insipid comments which did seem like they came directly out of Palin's mouth ("I can see Russia from my house!") made you question whether it was real or was it Memorex.
Frighteningly, it was too real.
From the Friday before the skit on SNL aired to the following Tuesday, Palin's approval rating dropped ten points. Coincidence? I think not. After all, people in this country are tending to be more influenced by who or what they see on entertainment television, more so than on broadcast news or in print. Americans tune into Jon Stewart for their political appetites more than ever ( and why not). So when you, Ms. Fey, don your Palin wig, you influence millions of voters more than Charles ("Charlie") Gibson or Brian Williams, Paul Begala or that anorexic blond McCain spokeswoman ever could.
And I think its your responsibility to do so, or else we face the consequence of a woman in the White House who would strive to take away your daughter Alice's right to choose along with every other woman's in this country.
Most of us who read the Post are already scared out of our wits of what this woman could "accomplish," should she reach the Vice Presidency or beyond. Abortion outlawed even in the case of incest or rape. Global warming research dismissed. Polar bears left unprotected, not to mention moose murder celebrated. But you, Ms. Fey, have the ability, with just a wink and a smirk, to change the minds of millions of casual viewers and even more casual voters, to educate them as to what this woman stands or doesn't stand for. These viewers don't react to a radical move like Republican Senator Chuck Hagel coming forth to question Palin's credentials or credibility, or really care about what political pundits prognosticate on cable news shows. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, many swing-state voters get their information and cue from you, Ms. Fey, and you need to provide as much of it as one woman possibly can, before the election is upon us and it is too late.
Comedy can cure and comedy can enlighten, but it must be a constant to reach enough ears to change the hearts and minds of this country, Ms. Fey, and not a minute more can afford to be wasted. So smear on your lipstick, get that slightly crazy look on your face, sharpen your No. 2 shotgun and get to work.
When you won your three Emmy awards the other night (congrats on that, by the way) you wondered aloud:
"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5. So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."
Well, I think it's obvious. That person is you.
Save us, Tina Fey. You may be our only hope.
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