.Attention: Saturday Night Live, time to hit the Tina Fey speed-dial because Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are at it again. Commentators were quick to recall the heavily parodied 2008 vice-presidential candidate debate as they reported on the latest volley of insults exchanged by the VP and the former governor of Alaska. The spat flared up on Monday in the midst of the already wild, unpredictable Congressional race in New York District 23. Speaking at a campaign rally for Democratic candidate Bill Owens, Biden took a jab at Sarah Palin's position on U.S. energy reserves. As reported by ABC news' Rick Klein:
Notwithstanding my former opponent, and by the way I like her, I really do--not a joke, this is not a cheap shot--the fact of the matter is Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy was 'Drill, baby, Drill.' No, it's a lot more complicated, Sarah, than 'Drill, baby drill.
Why was Biden using the platform to attack Palin, who isn't even in the race? Two-weeks ago the former Alaska governor made headlines when she publicly endorsed Conservative third-party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican candidate Dede Soczzafava, who has since dropped out of the race. On Monday afternoon, Palin responded to Biden's comments via her Facebook:
As the vice president knows, I have always advocated an all-of-the-above approach to American energy independence...
The vice president’s extreme opposition to domestic energy development goes all the way back to 1973 when he opposed the Alaska pipeline bill...
There’s one way to tell Vice President Biden that we’re tired of folks in Washington distorting our message and hampering our nation’s progress: Hoffman, Baby, Hoffman!
As the Atlantic's own Marc Ambinder noted last week, it appears that Palin and Biden will be dueling for Iowans' attention in Des Moines later this month, as they are both set to appear at separate political fundraisers in the city on the same night. (Nov. 21)