US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a prank call that “maybe in eight years” she will be president.
The Alaska governor unwittingly discussed politics, the perils of hunting with US Vice President Dick Cheney and Sarkozy’s “beautiful wife,” during a telephone call with comedian Marc-Antoine Audette released on Saturday and set to air today on a Quebec radio station.
FUTURE PLANS
When the caller tells Palin in a strong French accent that he can see her as president, she laughs and says: “Maybe in eight years.”
Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she received the prank call.
“Governor Palin was mildly amused,” she said.
The comedian, one half of Canada’s popular Masked Avengers duo, drops several clues that the call is a trick. He refers to French singer Johnny Hallyday as his special adviser to the US and to Canadian singer Steph Carse as Canada’s prime minister.
At one point in the conversation, Audette tells Palin that he enjoys hunting and loves “killing those animals.”
“We should go hunting together,” she replies.
Audette then responds that they should not Cheney along, referring to a 2006 incident in which Cheney accidentally shot a friend with buckshot while quail hunting.
‘REVERSE MAVERICK’
Meanwhile, Palin’s running mate Senator John McCain poked fun at his campaign’s financial shortcomings and his reputation as a political maverick in an appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
The presidential hopeful made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the show, with Tina Fey reprising her memorable impersonation of Palin.
McCain appeared during the show’s “Weekend Update” newscast to announce he would pursue a new campaign strategy in the closing days of the campaign.
“I thought I might try a strategy called the reverse maverick ... That’s where I’d do whatever anybody tells me,” McCain said.
And if that didn’t work, “I’d go to the double maverick. I’d just go totally berserk and freak everybody out,” the Arizona senator quipped.
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