The shame (one of many) about David Letterman's tired, ham-fisted grasp at humor this past week regarding the daughters of Sarah Palin is that it's become such a political hot potato. It's gotten to the point where, despite the fact that Dave apologized and Palin accepted, Palin's supporters still want to see the late-night host fired.Danny Gallagher says a joke is a joke, but it's taken on more significance than that -- for better or worse.
Liberals point and say, "See! Conservatives can't take a joke. They're too bitter and uptight after losing the presidential election." Meanwhile, conservatives shout back that liberals are "out of touch with decency and only get offended when liberal women are attacked."
What both sides miss is that Letterman's clunky "knocked up" gag is a problem because it attacks a kid (be she 14 or 18, if you want to split hairs). While Sarah Palin is fair game and any comic or pundit can verbally knock around her "slutty flight attendant look" without fear of reprisal, it's an unwritten law that you don't go after the kids when doing political material.
Even in the feverish days of Bill Clinton's impeachment, it was understood that you don't pick on Chelsea regardless of her awkward adolescence. Jenna Bush's partying ways could've been easy fodder for comics, but restraint was shown with the exception of a spring break gag here or there.
In the Letterman/Palin case, you had a nationally televised comic toss in a throw-away barb that targeted one of two teenage daughters of a public figure (depending on whether you buy Letterman's excuse that he got the girls mixed up -- and whether it matters which teen he was mocking). The joke involved themes of statutory sexual assault, premarital sex, date rape and unwanted pregnancy. Sure, all of those comics are usually rich mines of classic comedy gold, but somehow they didn't play on this occasion.
But, beyond the moral and political implications of Letterman's misstep comes the simple sin that he's supposed to be a comedian -- and the joke wasn't funny. It was hacky, heavy-handed and mean-spirited. It was the intellectual equivalent of a poop joke -- and not as humorous. It was one step away from Letterman simply standing up and loudly announcing, "I don't like Sarah Palin, and I think her daughters are whores."
Finally, and most tragically, the incident is a sad statement on Letterman because there was a time when he was so cool, so cutting edge, so free-spirited and gutsy that he would never approach lame political material no matter who was in office. He was above the kind of "...did you hear what the president did today..." blather other comics spouted.
The man was a god to my friends and me back in college because while the ancient Bob Hope would make Reagan/Bush jokes, Letterman would touch the boundaries of post-modernism and surreal comedy by sending Larry "Bud" out on the street in a bear costume and playing straight man to Flunky, The Late Night Viewer Mail Clown.
Now, Letterman is just a tired, angry old man serving up remarks that could play just as well on The View. The mighty haven't merely fallen. They've crumbled to dust.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
6-16-2009 @ 3:46PM
MarcDom7 said...
If anyone is to be offended, it should be Alex Rodriguez.
And has he organized loonies to protest the offense he suffered? Nope? Nobody?
If this continues, comedy will become a dying art form. People like to complain that it's the liberal propaganda machine trying to make the world politically correct, but what we have here is a concrete example of it being the fault of both parties equally.
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6-16-2009 @ 5:02PM
BB said...
Sara Palin should be apologizing to her daughters & the American people, for using her daughters, as political ploys to advance her political career.
Letterman's joke was a joke, and I think a good one. He skewered Palin, Rodriguez, Madonna, New York City, The Yankees - all in one swoop.
I have an 18 yr old daughter, and would not wish the joke's predicament, on anyone, but - again - this was a joke about Palin, Rodriguez, and all that they bring to the table. Much worse is implied, during Prime Time Family TV hours.
Get Real!!!
6-16-2009 @ 5:13PM
Dan said...
Exactly, anyone who is complaining about any JOKE is clearly without a sense of humor. I've heard a lot more offensive things said in Russell Peters' stand-up routines than anything Letterman has ever said.
I don't even like Letterman (I don't like NYC and am annoyed by those 'NYC is the only city' types like Letterman), but this is beyond ridiculous.
Clearly his joke was meant to be about the 18 year old daughter WHO WAS ALREADY KNOCKED UP BY A JOCK. It wasn't about "raping a child" like the nutjobs claim, and it was actually kinda funny.
And since when is family off limits? I remember plenty of comedians making fun of Chelsea Clinton and the Bush Twins, and Clinton was underage too. If you can't take a joke, what are you doing watching Letterman?
It's like the whole Imus thing, I can't stand that jackass, but he was clearly a victim of overzealous PC Nazis. They come from the left and the right, but not from the Libertarian side. If nobody made a fuss about it, I guarantee that the person the joke was about would not even know there was a joke made. Think the Rutgers Women's Basketball team listens to Imus? Think Willow Palin watches Letterman? Even if she does, WHAT HARM DOES A JOKE CAUSE?
What ever happened to "Sticks and Stones will break my bones, but WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME"? Anyone who is offended by the joke or who is trying to oust Letterman is a pathetic person.
6-16-2009 @ 3:55PM
Jimmy said...
This post is only marginally about defending kids. A more accurate headline would read: "Hey, Now It's My Turn To Bash Letterman!"
Dally Gallagher wins this Point/Counterpoint. In a landslide.
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6-16-2009 @ 4:03PM
rose said...
Would someone explain to me why there wasn't any outrage over the comments Jamie Fox made about teenager Miley Cyrus. He made absolutely lewd and crude comments about her and it wasn't in the form of a joke. He seemed to be serious. I can't believe that anyone for one minute thought David Letterman intended that joke to be about the 14 year old daughter. What is wrong with people? It's Ridiculous that the Palin's are so desperate for publicity. Someone please explain to me why Jamie Fox is not being persecuted for his comments. Also, what about Conan, Leno, etc. and all their jokes about young women - Lindsey Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Chelsea Clinton, etc.
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6-16-2009 @ 10:31PM
lynp said...
Who is Jamie Foxx????? Who is Miley Cyprus???? Are these some kind of hollywood types? Sarah Palin is the Governor of the State of Alaska of the United STates of AMerica. Her two teenager daughters are beautiful charming young ladies who are not show biz types.
RESPECT.
6-16-2009 @ 3:57PM
Kevin said...
"it's an unwritten law that you don't go after the kids when doing political material"
Tell that to Chelsea Clinton. She got ripped apart my comedians back in the Clinton era. I don't remember anyone getting on those comedians for inappropriateness.
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6-17-2009 @ 2:46PM
Malren said...
You HAVE to be lying. Rush Limbaugh was threatened by a Congressman for his Chelsea jokes. There were protests outside his studios. Advertisers walked away from him. People called for him to be *KILLED* much less taken off the air.
How do you not remember the heat he took for his stupid, mean jokes about a kid?
McCain's jokes about Chelsea were the first reason I began to dislike him. Not the last, but they were certainly the first.
Letterman was wrong. Period. End of sentence. No need to try to justify it in any way. He. Was. Wrong.
6-16-2009 @ 3:58PM
Willmore2000 said...
And to that I ask, so?
Free speech is free speech. Whether it was a joke, a statement, an opinion, or even a personal verbal assault on a 14-year-old, it was free speech. Whether tasteless or funny, David Letterman should have the right to say whatever he wants. Censoring him before or after the fact is a violation of his and our rights. If you don't want to hear Letterman's jokes, or see the racy Clavin Klein billboards, or be subject to violence in video games, all you have to do is avoid those things, not to have those things removed from existence.
If someone doesn't like this Letterman joke, there will be more that don't like other jokes. And bit by bit, to appease everyone, we will end up in a bland distopic utopia where everyone's sensibilities are appeased.
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6-16-2009 @ 4:03PM
Adam said...
I don't see what the big deal is - he was clearly referring to the teenage daughter of Sarah Palin who has a history of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, not the relatively unknown other daughter.
Bristol Palin is the only Palin daughter most people know about, precisely because of the news surrounding her pregnancy. And that was only news because of Palin's alleged status as a "family values" style conservative who supports abstinence, but was unable to convince even her own daughter to follow such a path.
In addition, it bears mentioning that Rush Limbaugh referred to the teenage Chelsea Clinton as a dog - so I wish "conservatives" would just cut out the false outrage.
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6-16-2009 @ 4:02PM
pmac3522 said...
I don't think it is fair to paint Letterman as the old out of touch curmudgeon you try to because of one joke and the overreaction to it. He tells horrible hacky jokes all of the time, and most of the time, the fact that the joke is lame is what makes it funny. This is the same blog that only a few days ago failed to see the humor in Norm MacDonald telling ancient jokes on Conan's show. This is the same blog that called Letterman a genius for skewering Joaquin Phoenix or Spencer Pratt. Get it straight, is he a genius or is he out of touch?
By the way, Sarah Palin could have kept her kids out of the spotlight, much the way her running mate John McCain did during the campaign. She has to understand that when she put her unmarried, pregnant, teenage daughter on national tv that she was opening herself and her family up to this kind of criticism.
One more thing, the joke was bad, but if we fired talk show host for one bad joke, how did Leno stay on the air as long as he did and why is he getting a new show this fall?
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6-16-2009 @ 7:16PM
Vito said...
If Sarah Palin hadn't sent her kids out into the public again... and again... and again... nobody would have understood that joke.
6-16-2009 @ 4:06PM
mosbutnotall said...
Even if it was about a 14 year old, surely Alex Rodriguez should be the most offended. Irrespective of his thoughts on it, I don't think I've seen anyone complaining that he was supposedly being painted as a pedophile and what a slur it was to him. Sure he's an adult but why does that make it any more right to say supposedly terrible things about him. What it boils down to is that this has been blown out of all sense of proportion by people with an agenda.
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6-16-2009 @ 4:16PM
bsgfan2003 said...
Interesting point about Rodriguez.
I am very uncomfortable with people calling for Letterman's job.
I think it was a filthy joke, and he said he regretted it, and I believe him. No pound of flesh needed.
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6-16-2009 @ 5:39PM
Gordy said...
Hmm...did you have the same position with Don Imus?
6-16-2009 @ 5:53PM
bsgfan2003 said...
Yes I do. I thought Imus was very contrite and should not have taken that sort of beating.
And - I have great admiration for Palin, voted for the McCain/Palin ticket, and will never watch Letterman again. That does not mean I want to see him fired or flogged in the street. When someone says they are sorry, I do my best to forgive.
6-16-2009 @ 4:19PM
zheng ye said...
Adam said "I don't see what the big deal is - he was clearly referring to the teenage daughter of Sarah Palin who has a history of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, not the relatively unknown other daughter." -- oh, really? Clearly??? What was clear to anyone researching facts was that willow was at the game, not Bristol, so clearly Letterman deliberately went after the 14-year old. That is perversity, and CBS should fire Letterman's butt just as they did Imus for racism.
Plus, Dave himself said, a joke that has to be explained is a bad joke; so I guess an apology that has to be explained, which he tried to do and failed, is therefore a bad apology. Instead of trying to justify the joke, he could have simply made a sincere apology, which after a week he has yet to do. Last night's attempt at an apology was so convoluted and ham fisted that it was itself a joke. A sincere apology is pretty easy, even Imus did it, but Letterman is unable to see his own failures.
Memo to Les Moonves: If DL would have made this joke about your wife or daughters, you would have already taken care of business. You have a double standard.
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6-16-2009 @ 4:45PM
DJ said...
I thought with a little common sense that anyone who heard the joke instinctively knew that Letterman was talking about Bristol. The extent at which this joke's dissection was taken was absolutely ridiculous. You'd think this was the first joke of it's kind. Yet, there have been tons of jokes made about her.
Last years election was one of, if not the most highly publicized election in US history. Every facet of each candidates life was magnified and unless you were asleep the last 4 months of last year, there was hardly a magazine, internet article, or political pundit/commentator who didn't touch on Bristol Palin's unfortunate mishap of not having protective sex with her boyfriend. Now, a responsible parent would have taken their child off of the campaign trail and made sure to keep their child's personal life/problems out of the public eye as much as possible, but that didn't happen. She went on to do interviews, do press tours, and be photographed on magazine covers.
Up until last week I didn't even remember the younger palin daughter's name because, well, she wasn't in the news as much as her older sister.
Now, I laughed at Dave's joke. Does that make me some sort of twisted, perverted individual for doing so? No. I just understood the joke from the get go.
Letterman had to apologize, twice, for it, and Palin accepted. However, I would think Letterman would like it if Palin would retract or correct her statement insinuating that he was some sort of sex offender. That is a bold, and dangerous claim that can destroy a person's life/career even when it's pure speculation. A guy tells an off color joke and people actually want to be able to insinuate he's a sexual predator? That doesn't add up. At all.
Bristol went out there and talked about her situation. Her ex boyfriend went out there and talked about it. The families involved constantly talked about it on shows (The father of the child going on Tyra? Really?). This wasn't a case of a young girl getting pregnant and quietly disappearing to take care of her personal business. That would have been the responsible, and logical thing to do. Instead she went on the cover of magazines and press tour like she was some sort of celebrity. And like a celebrity, she was the butt of late night jokes. Like it or not, she was asking for it.
6-16-2009 @ 5:09PM
MarcDom7 said...
All Letterman heard was "Palin's daughter" and assumed it was the one who is the public figure. Stop looking for issues where there aren't any.
6-16-2009 @ 5:48PM
Megan said...
zheng ye said: "What was clear to anyone researching facts was that Willow was at the game, not Bristol..."
Since when do people watching late night talk shows, rush out to research the 'facts' behind the jokes? Most people wouldn't even know the names of the other Palin children. Bristol is the best known of the Palin children. Why? Because she got "knocked up" under her parent's noses. Maybe not at a public sporting event, but certainly in close proximity. The Palin's weren't this concerned about minor's having sex when it was occuring in their own household.