At 7am Sarah Palin sat patiently on the “Today” show couch — with a stack of newspapers, a running gag going back to the 2008 Katie Couric interview when she was asked what newspapers she read. Other than telling a quick anecdote about a tourist she ran into outside 30 Rock yesterday who mistook her for Tina Fey, Palin would have to wait a few minutes for her first segment. Matt Lauer and Ann Curry lead off the show as they always do. Then it was on to the news with Savannah Guthrie in for Natalie Morales.
At 7:08 Palin, introduced as a Fox News analyst, and Lauer discussed politics, specifically the GOP contest and what the eventual VP pick will have to face: “It doesn’t matter if that person has national level experience or not,” Palin told Lauer. “They’re gonna get clobbered by the lamestream media who does not like the conservative message.”
As Lauer alluded to Monday, Palin’s co-hosting stint will be mostly left to 8am… “which technically makes you part of the lamestream media, for that hour,” Lauer joked.
We’ll see if the stunt, meant to take attention away from Couric’s week-long fill-in on “Good Morning America” will have its intended effect when overnight ratings come in tomorrow.
Over on “GMA” Couric led off day two of her fill-in stint showing pictures — some of which went out over Twitter yesterday — of the day she spent with her GMA colleagues, including stopping by Madame Tussaud’s with Josh Elliott and getting this picture of a waxed Lauer: “One of my oldest friends. Friends of long standing, that is,” said Couric.