Tina Fey, Sarah Palin, and SNL

UPDATE: SNL Season Premiere NOT Palin-Friendly
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On August 29, the day John McCain announced his VP running mate to the world, I made a prediction.

I wrote:

When Saturday Night Live has its season premiere on September 13, Olympian Michael Phelps will be the host.

That we know.

Here's a prediction: Tina Fey will portray Sarah Palin.

Want to bet?

The latest:

Tina Fey is "likely" to play Gov. Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live," said a person close to NBC's sketch comedy show.

Fey is "likely" to return to her former show Saturday to play the Alaskan governor and Sen. John McCain's running mate, a person close to the show told The Associated Press on Friday night. The person requested anonymity because the decision has not been announced officially. No further details were available.

Since Palin's entry onto the national political stage, speculation has been rampant over who might play Palin on the program. Many have commented that Fey resembles her.

In an interview earlier this week with The AP, "SNL" executive producer and creator Lorne Michaels said, "The whole world cast her in that role."

...On Tuesday, Michaels said that should Fey play Palin, she was unlikely to remain in the part in the long-term, which depending on the election results, could be for four years or longer.

It's not like I went out on a limb with that prediction, but it does appear I may be right.

When Tina Fey hosted SNL on February 23, 2008, the first live episode after that lengthy Writers' strike, Fey returned to her old place at the Weekend Update desk.

She did the women's news.

She did a few jokes on a few stories, and then went into her Hillary Clinton appeal. Fey made the case to elect a woman and vote for Hillary.

She talked about how far women have come. They are so empowered that they don't feel obligated to vote for a woman.

Fey said, "Women today feel perfectly free to make whatever choice Oprah tells them to.

"Which raises the question: Why are people abandoning Hillary for Obama?"

She brought up the bitch issue. Fey said that being a bitch, like Hillary, is good because "bitches get things done."

Fey said, "It's not too late, Texas and Ohio. Get on board. Bitch is the new black."

Fey's pep rally for Hillary got a lot of attention.

Of course, SNL is irreverent. It's about making people laugh. It's satirical, but I hope Palin receives some respect. I don't expect it, but it would be nice to see a Palin pep rally.

Barack Obama was scheduled to appear on the season opener, but Hurricane Ike changed that.

Michael Phelps, greatest Olympian of all-time when measured in gold medals, is hosting.