While it’s widely agreed that one should avoid discussing politics or religion, the recent US presidential election is worthy of mention since Sarah Palin’s vice presidential candidacy gave the race an almost surreal quality as the lines between fact and fiction increasingly blurred. Actor Matt Damon apparently described Palin’s nomination as “like a really bad Disney movie”. Apologies to Disney, but there was a definite similarity to one of those movies when a nominee is plucked out of obscurity by scheming spin-doctors, only to find themselves the surprise victor. Thankfully that didn’t happen, but once the guys from NBC’s Saturday Night Live got involved, the blurring between reality and satire became even more bizarre. Tina Fey’s uncanny resemblance to Palin, saw her assume the role paired with Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. An instant hit on-line, Fey reprised the role, once again opposite Poehler, as together they parodied Palin’s interview with Katie Couric on CBS. But the funniest parts of that spoof, it transpired, were actually taken from the real interview. Then to cap it all, Palin actually appeared on SNL in a sketch that saw Alec Baldwin mistake her for Fey and ask how they could let her (Tina) “go out there with that horrible woman” (Palin). As for Barack Obama’s sweeping victory, many column inches and on-air hours were devoted to the fact that a half-century ago, very few people would have dared hope there might be an African American President of the United States. Much like ‘Back to the Future’ in which the 1955 Doc Brown asks Marty McFly “So ‘Future Boy’, who’s President of the US in 1985?” To which McFly’s reply earns Brown’s retort of chuckling disbelief, “Ronald Reagan? The actor?”