It's politics season. Like any good American, I'm trying to keep myself as informed as possible. But I've got to be honest, I've been watching the Republican National Convention mostly for the jokes. Not their jokes, my jokes... rather, the jokes I'll need to be able to make in a Whirled News show or the jokes I need to write for our upcoming sketch show.

It's interesting to see all sides scramble to define what "character" each candidate becomes. It's most obvious with Governor Palin right now( but to some extent it's true with all the players). She's a Hockey Mom. She's a Cynical Ploy. She's a Nutjob Hiding Baby Conspiracies. Everyone won't completely agree, but eventually some kind of generally accepted persona will stick.

And a big part of defining that will be the comedians. The jokes we hear, the impressions we see. Just like how everyone that does a George H.W. Bush impression is really just doing an impression of Dana Carvey's impression. Or, it's like "finding the game" in an improv scene (something funny happens and the premise of the scene presents itself and everyone jumps onboard, working together on the shared joke). They're oversimplifications, sure, but every presidency I've lived through can be boiled down to their joke persona (Dubya, Slick Willie, Nah Gonna Duh It, Wellllll....).

During last weekend's Whirled News show we did a scene about Sarah Palin's beauty pageant past, improvising vice presidential debates with an evening gown competition. It was funny and well received (especially the idea of Joe Biden in a dress). We talked about writing it up for our upcoming sketch show, but it already seems a little off-the-mark to me. Look, in case you couldn't guess, I'm not a fan, but I don't think vapid pageant queen is going to be the lasting joke. I think there are truer jokes to be had that are funnier(/scarier).

Mostly, while watching her speech, I kept getting distracted by the giant Liberty Bell picture behind her. What was the secret message I was missing? Is Liberty Bell code for something I don't get? Every interpretation I could think of was fairly negative. Besides the crass one (which, I have to admit, I did say out loud, and it made Sarah, my girlfriend, laugh, but shake her head disapprovingly), the only thing I could think was "The Liberty Bell is a powerful symbol that none the less doesn't actually work."

By the end, I had a few more ideas about who she is (Tracy Flick? The Weakest Link lady?), but I'm still not sure what will still be funny about her in a couple months.

[An odd side-note. There's a rumor swirling around my extended family that one of my uncles briefly dated Sarah Palin. I don't know if it's true (a cousin texted an aunt who told my mom). He's one of my favorite uncles, but I only really talk to him at the occasional family Christmas, so it would probably be rude to e-mail him and say, "Hey, did you really date her?"]