Sarah Palin Hits 'Saturday Night Live'

By Rick Porter, Zap2It.com | October 17, 2008

Sarah Palin

Republican VP nominee will appear this weekend

Sarah Palin has been a boon to " Saturday Night Live" this fall, so it's perhaps only fitting that she'll actually appear on the program this weekend.

Rumors about the Republican candidate for vice president appearing on the show have swirled for weeks. CNN reported Thursday that the Palin would pop up on the show this weekend, and the McCain-Palin campaign confirmed her appearance on Friday (Oct. 17).

There's no word on what she'll be doing on the show, or whether former "SNL" regular and Palin doppelganger Tina Fey will join her. (Fey, by the way, appears on "The Late Show with David Letterman" Friday night, and since Letterman pretapes his Friday shows, you can see her discuss how she puts together her Palin impression.)

"Saturday Night Live" has enjoyed a ratings surge this fall thanks to the heat surrounding the election. The show's ratings are up by more than 40 percent compared to the first few weeks of last season, drawing 9 million viewers per week for original episodes (last week's show was a rerun). A pair of "Weekend Update" Thursday specials have averaged 9.6 million viewers over the past two weeks.

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have each made appearances on "SNL" during the long campaign, as has Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton. That leaves Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, as the odd man out in the "Saturday Night Live" club so far. But there are two more live shows before Election Day.

Josh Brolin, who plays President Bush in Oliver Stone's film " W.," is hosting Saturday's show.