Rarely has an American political candidate triggered so many associations with a famed British comedy troupe of stage, screen, television and phonograph recordings:
"I used to think that Michael Palin was the funniest Palin on earth.... [Sarah Palin] is like a nice-looking parrot, because the parrot speaks beautifully and kinda says 'Aw, shucks,' every now and again, but doesn't really have any understanding of the meaning of the words that it is producing, even though it's producing them very accurately.... I mean, Monty Python could have written this."-- John Cleese, co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus (Clip here.)
(See above. Monty Python did.)
"But Palin is as ridiculous as the competitors from Monty Python's Upperclass Twit of the Year competition, jumping over hurdles that are nothing more than a stack of matchbooks." -- Anne Lamott, Salon.com
"Cue marching band music and a big cartoon foot. US Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, hackers have revealed, has used a Yahoo! free webmail account to talk government business with aides."-- David Winder, ITwire
"As Monty Python used to say, 'No one expects the Spanish Inquisition' -- which is another way of saying that no one expects the unexpected."-- Mark J. Penn, Politico
So many times over the last nine years (especially the last nine years) I have watched politicians on television and thought of John Cleese. No so much of the parrot sketch (to which he also alludes in the quotation above) but of another beloved Python bit he did...
... as a master thespian pontificating on the actor's art of memorization and performance. As in, say, a play or a speech. Or, maybe, a televised debate. Or an ostensible interview or press conference that consists entirely of scripted talking points. Called "Great Actors," it features Cleese as a pompous Shakespearean actor named Sir Edwin who explains the challenges involved in remembering what to do with all those words. It's from the end of side one (of three) of "Monty Python's Matching Tie and Handkerchief." See if you can spot the relevance to the American political scene of the 21st century.
One of my favourite sketches is Election Night Special, with candidates from the Sensible Party (Alan Jones) and the Silly Party (Tarquin Fin-tim-lim-bim-lim-bin- bim-bin-bim bus stop F'tang F'tang Olé Biscuitbarrel).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FFTx6AKmU
More proof that the Monty Python team was decades ahead of their time. And John Cleese is on the money. Ask Sarah Palin a question they haven't trained her for, and she essentially says "Pretty bird"...
Speaking of Python...
In "Life of Brian", there was a scene in which lunatics were babbling incoherently about their religious beliefs to small crowds.
In "Religulous", Bill Maher stands on a soap box in Hyde Park in London and starts preaching the basic tenets of Scientology. Briefly shown are several others orating about various subjects. He is crowned with balloons, which gives the viewer the impression that the observers thought he was the craziest person in the park.
Life imitating art?