The American election that would not end has finally come to a close. This is our final piece of election coverage here at AfterEllen.com, and it's about the other winners — the women who scored a resounding victory during the buildup to yesterday's historic election.

6) Amy Poehler
Those of us who lived through it will always remember Poehler's Hillary Clinton on sexism: "An issue I'm frankly shocked to hear people suddenly care about." We'll think back fondly on her turn as the rapid-blinking Katie Couric. But what our collective consciousness will forever be seared by is the sight of third trimester Poehler rapping between Eskimos and then busting a cap in a "mother-humping" moose. That is the moment she slipped out of Tina Fey's shadow forever.

5) Katie Couric
She didn't have it easy when she left the Today Show for the CBS Evening News. In fact, lots of people forgot about her altogether -- until a woman news anchor was needed to bat down the "sexism" cry and ask Sarah Palin some tough questions. It was excruciatingly necessary, like a root canal. In the end, Couric's interview was one of the top ten Google searches of the entire election. … continue reading

News of how ABC is wimping out on some of its strongest women characters reminded me of a list The Park Bencher recently compiled of “Twelve Fictional Females Who Don’t Take Crap From Anybody.” This seems like a good day to remind ourselves of such characters that have both survived and thrived onscreen — and to give us incentive to demand more from film and television producers.

Here are some of my favorites from the list.

Princess Leia, Star Wars

Leia may have needed a better hair stylist, but she was the voice of reason in Star Wars. She survived Vader’s torture and Han Solo’s attitude. Without her, the Empire would’ve been little more than Egos in Space. With her, the Federation refused to lose — and she won most of her battles wearing little more than gold lamé underwear. … continue reading

Tina Fey reprised her role as Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live this weekend in a funny skit in which she and Sen. John McCain (the real McCain) pretended to hawk QVC products in response to the 30-minute national primetime infomercial Obama aired earlier in the week.

Both McCain and his wife get points for being able to poke fun at themselves (unlike Sarah Palin, who didn't really participate when she visited SNL), but most of the jokes were aimed at the Obama-Biden ticket. That's fair and to be expected, but it was hard for me to find McCain's jabs at Obama in this sketch very funny given the unprecedented amount of fear, racism and xenophobia the McCain-Palin ticket has created and perpetuated in the last few months.

Also sobering is the prospect that Americans might forget about all of that at the polls on Tuesday because McCain made them laugh on Saturday night.

Think I'm worried about nothing? Talk me down in the comments — please!

But you betcha Tina Fey is just as funny as she always is doing her Palin imitation. Watch the sketch here now (and you can watch McCain's Weekend Update speech here):

Best joke? When Palin goes rogue and pitches her "Palin for 2012" t-shirts. As Liz Lemon would say, it's funny 'cause it's true.

Also funny was McCain's comment that "I'm a true maverick — a Republican without money;" the reference to Palin's clothes when he said "These campaigns sure are expensive;" and the Joe Biden doll that talks for 45 minutes.

But forget the Joe Biden or Joe The Plumber dolls, or even the Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, and Sarah Palin dolls (yes, they really do exist) — where's our Tina Fey doll?

Having withdrawals from 30 Rock? You can get your fix a week early thanks to NBC. They have made the season premiere available here.

In the "Do Over" episode (written by star Tina Fey), Jack (Alec Baldwin) returns to in hopes of getting his job back, and Liz (Fey) gets evaluated by tough adoption agency representative Bev, played by Megan Mullally. … continue reading

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin earned some points tonight for being a good sport by making a cameo on Saturday Night Live, in which she mocked Tina Fey mocking her. Tina Fey scored some points for letting her show 30 Rock be mocked by Palin. And Amy Poehler ran away with the game with her Sarah Palin rap.

Who lost points for this? Whoever wrote the skit, which seemed haphazardly assembled, not very funny, and a huge waste of an opportunity. Tina Fey and Sarah Palin in a skit together, and you can't wring more than a couple of laughs out of it? Really?

Watch their skit below, or just skip to the next videoof Amy's rap...

Great lyrics, great delivery, and the moose wandering through the set was inspired. (Jason Sudeikis's Todd Palin impersonation was pretty funny, too.) … continue reading

Celebrity website PopCrunch recently compiled its favorite Tina Fey moments, and since we know Tina pretty well, we thought we'd put in our two cents.

By now, you've probably all seen her Sarah Palin skits and her "Mom Jeans" commercial, so we'd like to reminisce about a few of our other Fey faves.

Liz Lemon gets some fashion advice
Dirty diva, indeed!

Tina Fey guest hosts on Ellen
Tina is not Ellen's first choice for her fill-in, but she'll do. Our favorite Tina line: "I hope you get sick!"

… continue reading

No, she's not going to play a contestant on the fabled "MILF Island" — even though she totally qualifies. Instead, actress Salma Hayek will have a recurring role as Elisa, the love interest of boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) on NBC's Emmy Award-winning 30 Rock.

Who had the power to lure Hayek to the nest of The Peacock? The woman that none of us seem to be able to resist: Tina Fey. As part of NBC's announcement, Hayek said, "I have been a fan of Tina's talent, both as an actress and a writer, since working with her years ago on SNL. I am so excited to be part of such an intelligent, funny show, as well as working with the brilliant Alec Baldwin and the rest of the cast of 30 Rock."

The love fest continued when Fey gushed over Hayek: "Salma is smart, funny and gorgeous. I think she will be a great strong presence opposite Jack Donaghy."

Here are some preliminary photos from the 30 Rock set (including a shot of Hayek with her daughter, Valentina:)

… continue reading

Richard Nixon refused makeup during his televised debate with John F. Kennedy; Michael Dukakis put on a military helmet and allowed himself to be photographed in an M1 Abrams tank; Bill Clinton played his saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show — every presidential election has its public opinion turning point.

When political analysts look back at 2008, I don't think it's far-fetched to say that the moment they will pinpoint as the permanent shift in public opinion toward Barack Obama is the moment Tina Fey stood behind a mock podium and said, "I can see Russia from my house!"

Tina Fey's uncanny portrayal of Sarah Palin has not only ramped up Saturday Night Live's ratings, it has become the most emailed, most shared, most quoted thing in this presidential election. It also has a direct, negative effect on support for Palin among independents, according to a recent poll. My grandpa recited a bit of one of the skits for me at lunch last week, causing my grandma to double over in a fit of giggles. (They're voting Obama.)

We could talk for hours about why the sketches are so effective, but an equally fair question is: Should Tina Fey, or any celebrity for that matter, publicly endorse a political candidate? And if they do, should their endorsements matter? … continue reading

In a move that may prove way too meta for the Joe Six Packs and hockey moms of this country, rumors are swirling that Sarah Palin will be appearing on Saturday Night Live to spoof Tina Fey, who, as you know, was single-handedly responsible for reigniting the show's popularity by playing Palin.

Is your head exploding yet? What will happen if the two bespectacled giants do end up meeting at the offices of 30 Rock? Will the mavericky pit bull in lipstick approach her doppelganger with her trademark folksy candor, before threatening to crack her skull with a flying hockey puck or a hunting rifle? … continue reading

Sarah Palin: "Hi, Tina. Can I call you Tina?"

Tina Fey: "Sure."

Sarah Palin: "Doggone it, Tina. Those impressions of me sure have those SNL ratings jumpin'!"

Tina Fey: "Say it ain't so."

Sarah Palin: "By golly, even as the Dow falls like a moose staring down the barrel of my rifle, SNL ratings are blowing up, kind of like what I'd like to do to Russia and Iran! And gee whiz, it's all because of you, Tina! You really aredoing heaven's work!"

Tina Fey was back on Saturday Night Live tonight to play VP candidate Sarah Palin in a spoof of this week's 2008 vice-presidential debate. Jason Sudeikis played Joe Biden, and Queen Latifah played moderator Gwen Ifill.

Watch it here if you haven't seen it yet (or hop over to NBC.com to watch in full screen):

I didn't find this skit nearly as funny as SNL's first two Palin parodies (watch them here and here), but the debate didn't leave the writers much to work with.

The skit did manage to capture the gist of the event, though, and included some very funny moments — like Fake Biden's constant referral to John McCain as a close friend, and his frequent references to being from Scranton, PA. (Did anyone else visualize Michael from The Office every time he mentioned Scranton?) Fake Palin's repeated use of the word "maverick" in this skit, complete with drinking game reference, was fantastically spot on.

I especially loved that SNL made a point to skewer both candidates on how they handled the gay marriage question. … continue reading

Tina Fey was back on Saturday Night Live tonight with her hilarious and eerily accurate portrayal of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin, re-enacting with Amy Poehler Palin's now-infamous interview with CBS news anchor Katie Couric last week.

Watch it here now (and if you missed Fey's first Palin imitation on SNL, watch it here):

The most salient point made by the skit was showing how Palin ducks difficult questions by rephrasing the question as the answer, using half-finished thoughts, or acting "increasingly adorable." (Even conservative Republican columnist Kathleen Parker wrote this week that Palin "filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there.")

But the best/scariest aspect of the skit? Several lines of Palin's (Fey's) answers — on topics like how she and McKain would spread democracy, and how exactly Palin has gained foreign policy experience by living near Russia — weren't even made up, they came directly from her interview with Couric (watch and read transcripts here and here).

But let's set aside the accuracy of the spoof — since that will be covered everywhere else — and get to the funny.

Favorite Fey/Palin hand gesture(s)? Pretty much all of them.

Favorite made-up line? On visiting the U.N. for the first time: "... I was disheartened by how many of them were foreigners. I promise that when Sen. McCain and I are elected, we're going to get those jobs back in American hands!" Brilliant summary of America's myopic foreign policy approach over the last 8 years.

Second favorite line? "Katie, I'd like to use one of my lifelines now." I'll bet she would!

What was your favorite line/moment/gesture? And, aside from the fact that Tina Fey is a Democrat who stands against, and is repugnant to, almost everything Republicans believe in, is there any reason the Republicans shouldn't dump Palin and make Tina Fey McCain's running mate? I mean, not to belabor the point, but can you give me even one specific reason?

White men over 30 living in a bygone era, and the white women who support them — that is the focus of the winning programs in the Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Drama Series categories at the 60th Annual Emmy Awards (John Adams and Mad Men, respectively).

Unfortunately, it's also an accurate description of this year's Emmy awards show.

The Emmys have never been known as a bastion of diversity, but watching the 60th Annual Emmy Awards tonight was like going back in time several decades, to the days when sexism was funny, and everyone important was white, male, and over 40.

I knew things were were going to take a bad turn 10 minutes in, when the Dancing With the Stars host and William Shatner physically pulled off Heidi Klum's pants suit to reveal her skimpy glittering outfit beneath.

Klum just smiled, struck a sexy pose, and said, "Now that I've got your attention..." (Because who would pay attention to her with her clothes on?)

It only got worse from there. … continue reading

It is a truth universally acknowledged that lesbians love funny women. So when this week's Rolling Stone showed up at Scientistics headquarters, we were beside ourselves with merriment, because Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman and Amy Poehler all made the cover (front, back and pullout) of the golden age of comedy issue.

Inside the magazine were loads more of our favorites: Mindy Kaling, Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes, Phyllis Diller and Julia Louis-Dreyfus — an all-star comedy list!

We couldn't help but notice that the funny guys got lots more coverage that the funny gals. How much more, you ask?

We didn't dwell on that, though, because there was research to be done. Below we've condensed the content to help us determine which woman is funniest. … continue reading

On last night's season opener of Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey returned to play Alaskan Gov. and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, while Amy Poehler reprised her dead-on impression of Hillary Clinton, in one of the funniest skits I've seen on SNL in a long time (and alas, one of the only funny skits of the night).

Palin and Clinton joined forces to send a "nonpartisan message" asking for an end to sexism in the presidential campaigns. Watch it here (or on NBC.com):

Palin's shotgun pose and enthusiastic pronouncement that "I can see Russia from my house!"? Hilarious. And Clinton's comment about sexism in the media being "An issue which I am frankly surprised to hear people suddenly care about" was genius — and very, very true. … continue reading

The celebs seem to be lining up to get in on Liz Lemon's action — and who can blame them? This week, the media queen herself, Oprah Winfrey, confirmed that she, too, will guest star on 30 Rock this season. Gossip Girl's Blake Lively and Leighton Meester will follow suit.

Oprah is slated to play her very famous self, and is no stranger to guest stardom. In 1997, she played therapist to Ellen's character, Ellen Morgan, on quite possibly the most famous Ellen episode ever, urging her to come out to friends and family. Leave it to Oprah to be on board for such a historical event: Ellen’s coming out was the first time a gay character ever came out to audiences on primetime television.

You go, O. … continue reading

Oprah’s episode is tentatively scheduled to air Nov. 6, and she reportedly will share a lot of screen time with Tina Fey.