Though David Letterman officially apologized last night for his controversial Sarah Palin joke, it's not stopping Palin supporters from calling for his dismissal.It's the latest chapter in a story bearing an uncanny resemblance to herpes. It never goes away, and you're never sure when it's going to pop up again. In an attempt to end the furor, Letterman took a moment during his Monday night broadcast to apologize directly to Palin and her family.
"It's not your fault that (the joke) was misunderstood. It's my fault," Letterman said. "So, I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."
He added, "I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself. I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future."
As apologies go, it's a home run. The only criticism that can still be leveled at Letterman is that it was a little late and could have been offered last week.
Unfortunately, Letterman's statement won't silence his critics who have founded websites to call for his dismissal. The Fire David Letterman crowd plans to picket The Ed Sullivan Theater before Tuesday night's Late Show.
It leaves us wondering at what point does someone wronged by a crude, insensitive joke cross over from victim to vindictive by refusing to let the resulting controversy go?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-16-2009 @ 8:48AM
Martin said...
ok, if he did mention the 14 year old, then maybe they would have something there, but come on, this is just ridiculous, and is just a lame excuse now to bring more publicity to Palin and seems to be partly payback for losing the election...
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6-16-2009 @ 9:03AM
nffcnnr said...
Stay classy, Palinites!!
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6-16-2009 @ 12:25PM
MacGuffin said...
It's wonderful to see these Fundamentalist Christians -- you know followers and practitioners of the Word of God -- exhibit such compassion and forgiveness. Makes me want to be just like them. Not.
6-16-2009 @ 9:03AM
Joyce N. said...
I believe him that the joke was about the 18 year old. I heard it and it never crossed my mind for a moment that it was about Willow. I commend Dave for the public apology. The joke was in very poor taste. This should be the end of it but it won't be. Palin will stretch this out longer because it benefits her to do so for the reasons Martin mentioned. Just hope this will finally be laid to rest.
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6-16-2009 @ 11:12AM
lynp said...
Oh, it was not the 14 year old teenager but the 18 year old teenager. Not that daughter but some other daughter. This is a slam against all women and girls and particularly using a crass term "knocked up" which demeans pregnant women. Sometimes an apology is not enough and this is one of them. Fire David Letterman, fire him now and get any sponsers of CBS off the CBS airways. Now we have Mand M, Kellog associated with statuatory rape of a minor or just a plain old 34 year old married men having his way with a teenager.
6-16-2009 @ 12:03PM
Adam said...
Yep, it's an obvious ploy to maintain her relevance. Literally a day before this broke Drudge posted an article about the internal debate Republicans are having about how to deal with Sarah Palin, and a few days before Palin was at a Republican fundraiser event where Newt Gingrich not only replaced her as the keynote speaker, but they didn't even let her speak at all! It's obvious her "career" is over. She was only brought into the campaign as a tactic to woo away Hillary supporters, and that went up in flames the second her positions actually came to light. Here's the question I have, if Palin is all about empowering women then why is she always playing a victim? First it was "the media", then it was the McCain campaign, then it was women who hate her for not having a abortion, and now its Letterman who somehow expressed his desire to rape her 14-year old daughter.
6-16-2009 @ 8:26PM
Laura said...
I certainly wish he hadn't apologized. What happened to freedom of jokes?
6-16-2009 @ 9:04AM
Jimmy said...
I lost a lot of respect for Letterman during the 2008 Presidential campaign, but this takes the cake. Apologizing for a joke? What a joke!
Anyone who thinks the joke was made at the expense of Bristol's under-age sister is an idiot.
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6-16-2009 @ 1:28PM
Vito said...
He's taken the wrong approach. He'd be better off telling his writing staff to just dedicate themselves to excoriating her at least once every single night.
6-16-2009 @ 9:04AM
Freak Mojo said...
And just another way for her to remain in the spotlight until she gets her Hallmark Channel movie deal done and book deal under wraps.
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6-16-2009 @ 9:09AM
Jack said...
Precisely. This is about drumming up campaign funds for a future run by fanning outrage among supporters. Yawn.
6-16-2009 @ 9:18AM
Jean said...
First, if Letterman had been sincerely sorry for his "joke", that apology would have come out much sooner. I bet it was only after hours of meetings with lawyers and management that it was decided it was a go. Secondly, this whole thing isn't just about Palin and her family. It's about the whole culture of thinking that that type of joke is OK, it's funny. It's completely off base and thank God people are finally waking up and shouting out their offense to this crap. People like Letterman need to go; what a symbol of the dying school of thought that we can pick on different ethnic cultures, religions, etc. for a cheap laugh. I've never liked him in the several shows I've watched and this is just the final nail in the coffin.
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6-16-2009 @ 9:24AM
Adam said...
I guess you don't like Mel Brooks movies either.
Look anyone who believes he was making jokes about statutory rape are idiots. And anyone who believes the Palins are actually offended by this are bigger idiots. It kept her name in the news. That is what she is really after.
6-16-2009 @ 9:35AM
Maureen said...
Palin's supporters are now calling for his DISMISSAL? What happened to FREE SPEECH in this great country of ours? If you don't like him, don't watch him!
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6-16-2009 @ 9:59AM
Nate said...
I think Lettermans apology is much more sincere than Palins' "outrage" at his joke. Letterman told a lame joke that was tasteless and not very funny. He does that all the time, which is why I never watch his show, his humor isn't normally what I consider funny or entertaining. That is a matter of different people having different tastes in humor. However, I dont think Letterman is guilty of anything other than telling a bad, crude joke. He made a mistake and he explained it and then apologized for it. He tells probably thousands of jokes a year, so some of them are bound to be a little weak and some will push the boundaries of taste. That pretty much goes with the territory of being a late night comedian.
I dont think Letterman had any intent to insinuate anything about an underage 14 year old girl, as Palin is alleging. Palin is doing what conservative Republicans have been doing for a long time, twisting or downright ignoring the facts, feigning outrage for the purpose of gaining publicity and pandering to their lunatic fringe right wing amen corner. The uproar she is orchestrating is likely far worse for her daughter than anything Letterman said in his initial joke. Letterman made an error in judgement that he takes responsibility for and apologized for. Palin has chosen to take a simple misunderstanding and blow it wildly out of proportion and has even exploited one of her own children to score a few, probably very few, cheap, political points and keep her name in the media. Sarah Palin became a cartoonish figure during the presidential election and she continues to make a joke of herself.
All in all, I think Letterman comes away from this looking much better than Palin does. Letterman looks like a reasonable person who made a mistake and took responsibilty for it. Palin looks like a hysterical media whore, intent on fanning the flames of a media firestorm for as long as she can, for whatever dubious benefit she feels she can get out of it.
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6-16-2009 @ 10:21AM
Kat said...
All I can say is "AMEN!"
6-16-2009 @ 11:21AM
Fabrice said...
I guess the writer will picket tonight then.
At a point you have to stop apologizing.
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6-16-2009 @ 10:43AM
Sy said...
Listen up for the last time you Letterman apologists, the ONLY daughter in NY with Palin was Willow the 14 yr old daughter, Bristol is married and in Alaska.
Stop using the excuse that the joke was intended for Bristol. It didn't work for Letterman with his first apology attempt and its not working for you guys now.
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6-16-2009 @ 11:07AM
Terry said...
..check your facts. Bristol is NOT married---despite having a baby and being paraded for the world to watch as a campaign prop.
6-16-2009 @ 10:51AM
Adam said...
I've always been a Leno guy, and I now I just go to sleep after the local news. If I were a nielson household I'd just leave the TV on Letterman now b/c he's totally earned my respect. "It's not your fault that (the joke) was misunderstood. It's my fault". That's classic. You're an idiot, and because you and your following of imbeciles are so stupid I should have made my joke abundantly clear that I was referring to the only DAUGHTER THAT WOULD ENABLE THE JOKE TO MAKE ANY SENSE!!! I cannot stress this enough, if you didn't/don't know that he was referring to Bristol, and how the joke would make no sense had he applied it to Sasha, Malia, or Trig, Piper, whatever other Palin kids there are you need to be spayed or neutered and have your voter registration revoked. Palin and Heidi Montag are marginalizing actual Women's rights causes the same way Sharpton and Jesse Jackson do with blacks. I and everyone I know shout to the rafters that neither Sharpton nor Jackson speak for me, and women need to do the same with these two nitwits now.
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