If Letterman Is Sincere, Let it Be
by Big Dog on Jun 16, 2009 at 02:20 Political
I remember when Don Imus made an off the cuff remark about a woman’s basketball team. The outcry of racism was loud and the race baiters called for his head. He apologized day in and day out and he met with the team to apologize. He groveled on Sharpton’s radio program and he still ended up being fired.
At the time I wrote that Imus had made a mistake and he apologized and that the apology should be accepted. I indicated that he should not lose his job because he showed true remorse for what was a distasteful joke. His apology, while possibly accepted, did no good and he was fired.
David Letterman made some seriously distasteful jokes (that were well scripted) that called Sarah Palin’s daughter a hooker and made sport of the idea of her being raped. Letterman handled the flap over it very badly and the voices calling for him to be fired are getting louder.
Yesterday Letterman made what appeared to be a heartfelt apology. I only read the transcript but it seems that this time there was no sarcasm or half hearted apology. Though it was filled with excuses it seems that he got the message.
If the Palin family is satisfied that Letterman is sincere and that he gave an adequate apology then the matter should be over and he should not be fired. As much as I think it would be fair after what happened to Imus, I would be a hypocrite if I expected him to be fired after apologizing when I did not hold Imus to that standard.
If Letterman is sincere and the Palin’s are content then let’s move on.
Sarah Palin could go on Conan’s show and boost is ratings way above Letterman’s but there are ways for us to voice displeasure with his content as well and the best way would be to stop watching his show.
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: apology, hooker, Letterman, palin, rape
I don’t know- yes he apologized, but he has a history of making crude, over the line jokes at the expense of conservatives only, so I view his “apology” with a bit of skepticism, since this hasn’t been the only time he has done this.
I don’t have a dog in this hunt, but I wouldn’t watch him anyway- he has never been funnier than when he was a weatherman.
I remember back in the late 70’s or early ’80’s- when the entertainment business was not soooo politically correct- Letterman had an afternoon show. I found him genuinely funny and refreshing. He had no apparent axe to grind and strove to be entertaining. Now he is but a sad shell of his former self, an embittered political hack. Too bad. But, Big Dog is correct, this feud deserves no further attention, he has apologized under pressure- well and good- let’s move on….
BIGD: “David Letterman… jokes… that called Sarah Palin’s daughter a hooker and made sport of the idea of her being raped.”>>
DAR
Actually, that’s a distortion Palin is making up. Here’s the joke, which Letterman said he was directing at Bristol, the 18 year old, sexually active, famously knocked up, mother:
“One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez,” he quipped.
He did a joke about a girl being pregnant, who was made famous (by her mother) for being knocked up. No hooker, no rape. Palin made that up.
Palin didn’t go on Dave’s show for two reasons:
1) She is famously bad at interviews, Letterman is famously good at them.
2) He would apologize profusely and she would have to accept or look like the ungracious shallow person she is. Better to throw mud from the sidelines and milk the controversy for what it is worth while getting some much desired attention.
Dave did a sex joke, Palin dishonestly made it a rape joke.
Shouldn’t Use Kids at Work.
D.
———————-
“Gov. Palin announced that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant.
And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it.”
–Jay Leno, last year, telling the same joke.
If you think Letterman didn’t know it was her 14 year old who was at the game with her, then both you and he are dumber than I thought, and truly, I didn’t think you could get dumber without having your goats herd you.
Darrel, you must think I am a moron and you again distort what happened. Letterman also said that he the toughest part was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from the daughter. Since Spitzer visited prostitutes (HOOKERS), Letterman was referring to her as a hooker.
It does not matter who the joke was intended for, the 14 year old was there and sex with a 14 year old is rape.
You can claim that her mother did this but it is once again your inability to see the flaw in a liberal. Letterman crossed the line.
If anyone, including Letterman, said that about my daughter, regardless of age, they might end up beat to death. Any questions about that?
When your 14 ear old is there it is a rape joke. He discussed her daughter at the ball game and the 14 year old was there.
You can defend Letterman but you are wrong. If you want to defend people who make these kinds of remarks then be sure to defend them if they ever make statements about Obam bam’s kids.
Suppose Letterman said Obama was In New York and the toughest thing was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from his daughter. He then went to Yankee Stadium and an awkward moment when Alex Rodriguez punished Obama’s daughter by making her pregnant. Good thing daddy believes in abortion…
Now suppose his daughters were not there.
Would Letterman be OK? Would he be discussing rape because the girls are under age, would the issue die because they were not there?
You try to blame it on Palin because you do not like her and you are afraid of her. Fine I get it but if you think it is OK to attack her kids then how will you feel when Obama’s are attacked? They were on the stage quite a bit. How about we attack Pelos’s grandchildren because she brought them out in the public when she was made Speaker?
I had thought you were decent enough to see the difference. Sadly, I am not surprised.
BIGD: Letterman also said that he the toughest part was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from the daughter.>>
DAR
Different joke, different night and as any non hyperventilating reasonable person can see, the butt of the joke above is: Elliot Spitzer. Nothing about rape, nothing about hookers. You made that up. Completely.
BIGD: “Letterman was referring to her as a hooker.”>>
DAR
No he wasn’t. Such an interpretation is *retarded.*
BIGD: It does not matter who the joke was intended for,>>
DAR
Of course it does. All of these jokes were aimed at eighteen year old Bristol, a person who’s penchant for premarital sex was made famous by her mother.
Making fun of Bristol (thanks to her mom) has long been a staple of late night comedy.
“According to the Washington Post, through mid-March Leno had made 15 jokes and O’Brien made 20 jokes at Bristol’s expense, compared to 8 for Letterman.”
None of these guys have (purposely) made sexual jokes aimed at the younger one. That’s unbelievable rubbish.
Palin pretends she is so sensitive about sexual jokes about her kids but note:
“Palin appeared on “Saturday Night Live” after the show performed a skit joking about incest in her family, with comic Bobby Moynihan quipping, “Uhhh — what about the husband? You KNOW he’s doing those daughters! I mean, come on! It’s Alaska!”
Now these is a sexual joke about the dad having sex with the younger daughter. Where’s the Palin outrage for that one?
BIGD: Letterman crossed the line.>>
DAR
He crossed the line in that he didn’t research his joke carefully enough and his joke caught the wrong daughter. Palin loved this because it let her play the martyr again like she did when she pretended “lipstick on a pig” was a comment about her. These games fool maybe 1/3 of the people, 1/3 of the time, for awhile.
Bigd: “…you do not like her [Palin] and you are afraid of her.”>>
DAR
Are you kidding? I think she’s great. Please run the Alaskan Airhead as your candidate next time. *Please.*
BIGD: How about we attack Pelos’s grandchildren because she brought them out in the public when she was made Speaker?>>
DAR
I’ve never seen them, I’ve never heard of them and didn’t know she had any. I can’t say that for Palin’s kids.
As I said in the beginning, best to not take late show jokes too seriously. Comedy is by it’s nature outrageous otherwise it’s boring, not funny. Letterman made a boo in his research which was then able to be misconstrued as being aimed at the wrong daughter. Palin got her fake outrage on again and it’s all a big ta do for a couple of days.
D.
The joke was on the same night. And if it referred to Spitzer then he was calling her a hooker.
Bigd: “The joke was on the same night.”>>
DAR
The joke was on the following night:
***
Media Outlet: CBS, aired 6/8/09
The Offense: Late night TV host David Letterman “joked” that during their recent trip to New York, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter “was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez” during a Yankees baseball game. The next night Letterman said that the hardest part of Palin’s trip was “keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter.”
LINK
BIGd: “And if it referred to Spitzer then he was calling her a hooker.”>>
DAR
No, you’re making that up. The joke referred to Spitzer because the joke was making fun of Spitzer and his sex drive.
And now the headlines:
“Letterman protest draws more media than activists”
That’s funny.
“Letterman’s Ratings Soar On Palin Apology: Beats Conan By 700K”
Which explains this headline:
“NYT: Letterman, CBS Reach Deal To Extend “Late Show” Hosting Through 2012 (And Maybe Longer)”
“Top 10 Reasons Sarah Palin’s “Outrage” is Misplaced and A Little Late…” , LINK
Excerpt:
“5) On October 8, 2008, Sarah Palin walked out on the ice with six year old Piper and 13 year old Willow, before the game, Conan O’Brien said, “Saturday night, Sarah Palin is going to drop the first puck at the Philadelphia Flyers’ hockey game. Then Palin will spend the rest of the game trying to keep the hockey players out of her daughter’s penalty box.”
Oh, yes he did. You get the outrage…but not a peep then. According to the new “logic”, O’Brien was advocating for some really sick stuff.”
D.
——————
Just found this. A good article written by a life long conservative republican. Good advice, powerful stuff:
Attack of the Zombie Republicans
Darrel, MUST you be a liberal stooge? Just move on, there is No advantage in capturing the low ground here.
Blake, of all the things I could capture, the low ground around here is not one of them. You make sure of that.