HILLARY CLINTON, Barack Obama’s defeated opponent in the Democratic primary, has infuriated his supporters by praising Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, for her performance in last week’s television debate.

“It is amazing, you know, she’s been thrust in the spotlight with very little national preparation and I think, all things considered, you saw a very composed and effective debater,” Clinton said.

Her husband Bill recently issued some compliments of his own. “I come from Arkansas, I get why she’s hot out there,” he said.

Her husband’s lukewarm endorsement of Obama was parodied on Saturday Night Live, the satirical show that has become must-see television after the deadly accurate portrayals of Palin by Tina Fey, the comedian.

During her debate with Joe Biden, her Democratic rival, Palin had provided perfect new material for Fey by winking at the audience and using colloquialisms such as “doggone it” and “you betcha!” Fey, 38, creator and star of 30 Rock, the comedy show, mocked the Alaska governor’s descent into gibberish when interviewed by Katie Couric, the CBS newscaster.

The comedian scored again last night with her parody of Palin's debate performance, using some of the Alaska governor's exact words. "Can I call you Joe?" Fey-as-Palin asked Biden. "Because I've practised a couple of zingers where I call you Joe."

She went on to say, "May I say, up close, your hair plugs don't look nearly as bad as people said?" Asked if she would like to answer a specific question, she said, "No thank you, but I would like to talk about being an outsider."

She gave a "shout-out" to the third graders of Gladys Wood Elementary "who were so helpful to me in my debate prep," and said, "We don't know if this climate change - whoosie, whatsit - is man made or if it is just a natural part of the end of days." Asked to give a closing statement, she pulled out a flute and said, "Are we not going to do the talent portion?"

It was a triumphant follow-up to her earlier mock interview with Couric. On that occasion, when she was asked about visiting the United Nations, Fey-as-Palin said she was disheartened to find that so many interesting people there were foreigners.

How had things gone? “They embraced me figuratively and a couple of them Pakistani guys literally.” She then referred to Bono, the U2 singer and activist, as the King of Ireland.

Challenged to explain how Alaska’s proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, she replied: “Every morning, when Alaskans wake up, one of the first things they do is look outside to see if there are any Russians hanging around. If there are, you gotta ask, ‘What are you doing here?’ and if you can’t give them a good reason, it’s our responsibility to say, you know, ‘Shoo! Get back over there!’”

Watch Sarah Palin's greatest interviews

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