After much not-so-secret speculation that vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin would be appearing on “Saturday Night Live” this week, her overall role in the show was about as exciting as the Cubs in the playoffs.

Palin appeared during a sketch within a sketch on the popular comedy show. While Tina Fey was portraying the Alaskan governor in the opening monologue, Palin herself was seen backstage chatting with SNL guru Lorne Michaels.

She said little, and when she did speak, nothing funny came out.

Alec Baldwin was brought in for comic relief after he confused Sarah Palin as Tina Fey, but “SNL” and Palin missed a huge opportunity here. Instead of presenting Palin as the comedic centerpiece, she was background fodder for Alec Baldwin and Amy Poehler.

In the latter skit with Poehler, Palin appeared on Weekend Update only to (in character) tell Seth Meyers that she wasn’t going to do the skit which she agreed to do. Instead, the very pregnant Poehler launched into a rap song about Palin while two Eskimos sang back-up behind her.

For a political punchline like Palin, appearing on a show like “SNL” when it is red-hot could have been an amazing chance to show the American people that she can actually be a humorous hockey mom. Perhaps she’s humorless, but even George W. Bush appeared on “The Tonight Show” in 2000 where he purposely poked fun at himself when he mispronounced the word “flammable.”

Palin should have taken a cue from Obama, Clinton or McCain who have all achieved comedic success in the past. With such hype surrounding the show, a sketch with more self-humoring jokes from Palin would have provided to be much more entertaining water-cooler fodder.