Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin Clinton," aired during the thirty-fourth season premiere of "SNL" on September 13, 2008. The sketch starred Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Palin and Clinton, respectively. Fey, the series' former head writer and repertory player, made her third appearance on the series since officially leaving "SNL" in 2006 to work on "30 Rock", a series which she created. The sketch was written by Poehler, Fey, and head writer and "Weekend Update" anchor Seth Meyers. Poehler and Fey are featured in a fictional speech playing New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, respectively. The pair discuss the
Sarah Palin new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength." While aides were preparing the teleprompter for McCain's speech, they found a concession speech written for Palin by George W. Bush speechwriter Matthew Scully. Two members of McCain's staff, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, told Palin that there was no tradition of Election Night speeches by running mates, and that she would not be speaking. Palin appealed to McCain, who agreed with his staff. Political scientists have debated the impact that Palin had on the outcome of the 2008 presidential election. A 2010