Letterman apologizes again for 'bad' Palin joke

[Midnight Mike]

Letterman apologizes again for 'bad' Palin joke

Mon Jun 15, 5:22 PM PDT

David Letterman said his joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter was a lousy joke, no matter how you cut it, and he's sorry.

But the late-night host insisted that what's got people really riled is the misconception over which Palin daughter the joke was about.

On Monday's edition of "Late Show," Letterman explained that the risque joke thought by some to have targeted Palin's underage daughter, Willow, was actually referring to 18-year-old daughter Bristol. The name of the daughter wasn't mentioned in the joke, which was part of Letterman's monologue on last Monday's show.

It was "a coarse joke," "a bad joke," Letterman told viewers. "But I never thought it was (about) anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure, in fact, that she is of legal age, 18."

"The joke, really, in and of itself, can't be defended," he declared.

http://tv.yahoo.com/the-late-show-with- ... n__ER:1358 (http://tv.yahoo.com/the-late-show-with-david-letterman/show/31647/news/urn:newsml:tv.ap.org:20090616:us_tv_letterman_pali n__ER:1358)

[Matt Molnar]

What he said was dumb, but Palin took it too far and milked it for every ounce of mainland publicity it was worth. Nobody thought he was talking about the 14-year-old.

[Big Tim #70]

I thought it was a pretty funny joke but you really can't blame Palin for being so pissed.


What drives me crazy is the FALSE outrage. The Right had no problem trashing a teenage Chelsea Clinton but now that the roles are reversed, they're calling for Letterman's firing.

The Left is no better. The people/politicians that are downplaying the joke are the same ones who called for Imus's firing.

It drives me crazy. They're jokes people, if you don't like them then turn the dial.

The Left & the Right just wait for the other side to slip up so they can trash them in the media.

I hate Politics.

[Midnight Mike]

I thought it was a pretty funny joke but you really can't blame Palin for being so pissed.


What drives me crazy is the FALSE outrage. The Right had no problem trashing a teenage Chelsea Clinton but now that the roles are reversed, they're calling for Letterman's firing.

The Left is no better. The people/politicians that are downplaying the joke are the same ones who called for Imus's firing.

It drives me crazy. They're jokes people, if you don't like them then turn the dial.

The Left & the Right just wait for the other side to slip up so they can trash them in the media.

I hate Politics.

The jokes against Chelsea Clinton were kept to a minimum & once Hillary Clinton said stop as Chelsea was not a political figure, just about everybody honored her wishes....

Now, have you noticed that there have been no jokes about the Obama kids :wink:

[Midnight Mike]

What he said was dumb, but Palin took it too far and milked it for every ounce of mainland publicity it was worth. Nobody thought he was talking about the 14-year-old.

Dave Letterman was spot on wrong, I think that Governor Palin ripped David Letterman a new one for several reasons, one of which she was probably tired of her family being attacked since she was named a VP candidate....

Some of the comments went beyond humor & became rude, to say that Palin's 5th child was actually the daughter of Palin's
older child, that comment reached a new height of lunacy...

[T-Bird76]

She's a public figure and she openly choose to bring her kids into the spotlight on a number of occasions. The Clinton's kept Chelsa in the background to hide her from the press. Once Palin did that her family became open game. Yes the jokes were in bad taste and in some cases not very funny but I highly doubt Letterman thought for a second that raping a 14 year old was ok. Palin took this too far herself and once again proved how naive she is.

[lijk604]

She's a public figure and she openly choose to bring her kids into the spotlight on a number of occasions. The Clinton's kept Chelsa in the background to hide her from the press. Once Palin did that her family became open game. Yes the jokes were in bad taste and in some cases not very funny but I highly doubt Letterman thought for a second that raping a 14 year old was ok. Palin took this too far herself and once again proved how naive she is.

...how naive she is, and how sad it is that our country is turning into the "feel sorry for me, someone made a joke about me" society. This is political correctness gone way too far. It's sad that comics can no longer joke about anything that mentions a persons name, race, religion, age, sex, etc... anymore. Everyone has become too sensitive, and we are a weaker society because of it.

[PhilDernerJr]

I thought it was a pretty funny joke but you really can't blame Palin for being so pissed.


What drives me crazy is the FALSE outrage. The Right had no problem trashing a teenage Chelsea Clinton but now that the roles are reversed, they're calling for Letterman's firing.

The Left is no better. The people/politicians that are downplaying the joke are the same ones who called for Imus's firing.

It drives me crazy. They're jokes people, if you don't like them then turn the dial.

The Left & the Right just wait for the other side to slip up so they can trash them in the media.

I hate Politics.

I don't recall anything like that against Chelsea, you'll have ot refresh my memory.

Also, this wasn't the right taking exception to the joke, it was only Palin. I didn't see anything about other GOPers agreeing with her.

Bad joke, that's all. She took it to far.

[Midnight Mike]

She's a public figure and she openly choose to bring her kids into the spotlight on a number of occasions. The Clinton's kept Chelsa in the background to hide her from the press. Once Palin did that her family became open game. Yes the jokes were in bad taste and in some cases not very funny but I highly doubt Letterman thought for a second that raping a 14 year old was ok. Palin took this too far herself and once again proved how naive she is.

So, then you are saying that the Obama children are fair game? I mean, afterall, the Obamas have thrust their children to the general public :?:

[Matt Molnar]

It has nothing to do with Palin's family being fair game...the joke was about Bristol, who is a public figure...she made TV appearances after she had her baby. It's hard to compare her to the Obama kids who are much younger and have not done any interviews.

[T-Bird76]

It has nothing to do with Palin's family being fair game...the joke was about Bristol, who is a public figure...she made TV appearances after she had her baby. It's hard to compare her to the Obama kids who are much younger and have not done any interviews.

EXACTLY!

[Tom_Turner]

In a way, its unfair to pick on Letterman or any one other personality, but overall, the mainstream media is simply a toilet; especially broadcast TV. As the FCC rules are defined, and the attempt to get around them, coupled with declining culture have left broadcast TV a cesspool and what is on cable - less restricted is actually a clear cut above.

Everything is a joke to everybody so long as their ox isn't being gored.

Can anyone possibly imagine Bill Maher joking about "911" terrorists had they flown a plane into the Academy Awards Ceremony? An event like that would've been elevated to the sanctity of the Holocaust for the media folks.

But, yes, apart from that hypocrisy, it is ironic, because as the culture continues to coarsen, people are simultaneously more sensitive (selectively) than ever... Not that I am necessarily any better... I am looking forward to the Bruno movie myself... :D

Tom

[Midnight Mike]

It has nothing to do with Palin's family being fair game...the joke was about Bristol, who is a public figure...she made TV appearances after she had her baby. It's hard to compare her to the Obama kids who are much younger and have not done any interviews.

First off, the joke was told about Palin's 14 year old daughter, though, Letterman intended it to be directed at the 18 year old.

That should not matter, as Bristol is not a political figure...

As to the Obama children, they have been interviewed on several occasions & have been on the cover of magazine covers, hell, the kids were almost on the Hanna Montana TV show :wink: