Yes, she’s playing the victim card.

(Washington Times) — Satire and live comedy are not for the thin-skinned, as comics from Lenny Bruce to Michael Richards have learned.

Apparently nobody bothered to tell Tina Fey, who has reacted to a small popular backlash against her biting impersonation of Sarah Palin with . . . self-pity.

Ms. Fey’s memoir, “Bossypants,” debuted in the top spot on the latest New York Times best-sellers list. She’s touring the country in support of the book, speaking at venues packed with adoring fans. But reading it, one gets the strange feeling that Ms. Fey sees herself as a victim — of her own success.

Some victim.

The former “Saturday Night Live” performer and head writer became a household name during the 2008 election, when she returned to the show as a guest with a pitch-perfect impersonation of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Week after week, she poked fun at the Alaska governor for everything from her family foibles to her lightweight answers to reporters’ questions. “I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers,” Fey-as-Palin deadpanned during a spoof of the vice-presidential debate.

Ms. Fey’s first appearance as Ms. Palin, on the premiere episode of the show’s 34th season, became NBC.com’s most-watched video ever, getting nearly 6 million views in a few days. A month later, on Oct. 18, she appeared on the show alongside the real Sarah Palin; the pair was responsible for the best-rated “SNL” in 14 years.

Impressive work. But in “Bossypants,” Ms. Fey has only complaints. Her parody made her a “lightning rod” and garnered her “hate mail.” The writer-actress who became the first female head writer on “SNL” thinks sexism contributed to the reaction.

“No one ever said it was ‘mean’ when Chevy Chase played Gerald Ford falling down all the time. No one ever accused Dana Carvey or Darrell Hammond or Dan Aykroyd of ‘going too far’ in their political impressions. You see what I’m getting at here,” Ms. Fey writes.