New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd profiles Tina Fey for Vanity Fair, an assignment that included a reporting trip to Fey’s “comfy, vintage-y Upper West Side apartment” during which Dowd drank “vodka martinis” with Fey’s husband (Fey had white wine) and thought to ask Fey:

Did she ever use the Sarah Palin voice to entice her own First Dude?

No, she said…

Overall, I got the sense from the piece that Maureen Dowd feels a certain warmth toward Tina Fey. And not just the standard girl-crush that all the ladies have. But a kindred spirits-type fondness. And how could Dowd not see herself in Fey?

In high school Dowd translated Latin while “nibbling cheese crackers;” Fey speaks a little German and her 30 Rock character Liz Lemon eats “‘off-brand’ Mexican cheese curls.” Dowd has a Pulitzer; Fey’s got Emmys. Both Dowd and Fey have written screen plays. And, Dowd reports, “In high school, Fey…was involved in…the newspaper, for which she wrote a tart, anonymous column under the byline ‘The Colonel.’” Sound like someone you know?

At County Fair, Eric Boehlert asks:

If we take up a (large) collection, do you think we can convince Graydon Carter to bring MoDo on staff at VF, which would open up a slot on the NYT Op-Ed page for somebody who, y’know, is actually interested in politics and American governance?

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? “The Colonel!”

Here’s a sample of “The Colonel”s work circa 1987, from a 2006 Philadelphia Weekly Fey profile:

One 1987 Fey column that ran just after the crowning of the homecoming king and queen read: “And so out came the Homecoming Court. The Colonel was outraged … There they stood on the platform, gloating over the prize that was rightfully the Colonel’s. He saw the voting tabs. Frank Rizzo, you’re not alone … ”

What do you think? Potential? Without being too radical a departure from Dowd?