c) be original and dependent on the person that writes them?
I’m not a comedian, so I don’t know the criteria of a joke, but they can be fiction can’t they?
Actually, she was the chief joke writer for SNL at the time.
The joke fails because what Palin actually said was that Alaska borders Russia, and that you can see Russia from the Western Most part of the state. She was pointing out that Alaska is at all times in a slightly higher state of readiness due to it’s proximity Russia. Never said anything about her house.
Fey had some funny moments as Palin, especially the part when she posed and pretended to cock the shotgun while “Hillary” was talking.
But the portrayal was hardly “iconic”.