Life versus art

A report released on Monday suggests that even a brief appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live will boost a politician’s favorability index.

HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion polled 316 Democrats, Republicans and Independents who watched Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in her appearance on the comedy program. The favorability rating rose among all responders when polled before and after the program.

It’s unclear exactly what was on the minds of the 316 test subjects, who reported predominate feelings of “happiness” during the program.

Perhaps it’s because Palin had very few lines.

Perhaps it was because, as drab as the Palin sketches were, they were the highlight of the program.

The most likely scenario is that they, like many of us, tend to prefer Tina Fey as Sarah Palin over Sarah Palin as herself.