The part about rape kits and evolution was gone, leaving only Fey’s more harmonious — and blander — comments about Palin and politics: “I would be a liar and an idiot if I didn’t thank Sarah Palin for helping get me here tonight. My partial resemblance and her crazy voice are the two luckiest things that ever happened to me. All kidding aside, I’m so proud to represent American humor, I am proud to be an American, and I am proud to make my home in the ‘not real’ America. And I am most proud that during trying times, like an orange [terror] alert, a bad economy or a contentious election that we as a nation retain our sense of humor.”

Was PBS shielding its viewers from Fey’s more pointed remarks?

“It was not a political decision,” responded Peter Kaminsky, one of the broadcast’s executive producers. “We had zero problems with anything she said.”