Letterman's Palin Joke and the Liberal Bubble

June 20, 2009 6:00 AM 9 comments
Fair game because shes a Republican.

Fair game because she's a Republican.

David Letterman is a pale shadow of his former edgy self… all of those years of hosting his own show have worn him down until he’s reduced to taking cheap (and safe) shots at people like Sarah Palin.  In the little bubble Letterman lives in it’s okay to mock Conservatives because everybody he knows thinks the same way.  If Letterman had any “edge” he would have made a joke about Obama’s daughters.  For some reason, in yet another apology issued by Letterman he is still fixated on his joke not being about Palin’s 14 year old daughter.  According to a story in the Associated Press:

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.”

So in what passed for American talk show humor it’s okay to joke about an 18 year old girl getting raped by a baseball player but if that girl is 14 it’s in poor taste?  It seems as though Letterman figured Palin and her family would be a decent punching bag and there would be no fallout… seems as though, like a scolded dog, he slunk off into the corner:

“I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke,” he said. “It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault that it was misunderstood.”

He apologized to both daughters, “and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke,” he said as the studio audience applauded. “I’m sorry about it, and I’ll try to do better in the future.”

What Letterman has shown is that, aside from sitting there with his sarcasm he really doesn’t have any other kind of act.  I think this incident shows that Letterman should be ushered into retirement as he has no edge and no ideas… he’s just plain nasty.  Would he want his children to be mocked with the possibility of being raped by A Rod?

Been a long while since youve been funny.

Been a long while since you've been funny.

Now that we have a Democrat in the White House it is getting more and more difficult for Liberal comedians to make their jokes.  Bill Maher, who started on late night TV with his show Politically Incorrect on ABC is now reduced to attacking Republicans even though they lost the elections.  There are other “safe” topics for a Liberal Hollywood comedians to mock such as NASCAR fans and people who go to church but even these have become tiresome.  But they refuse to go on the attack against Liberals with the same vigor they did when a Republican was in office.

What is even more unsurprising about this entire incident with Letterman and Palin is that feminists have not really come out to condemn his attacks.  I think NOW added a link to their website naming Letterman as being “bad” but imagine the outcry had Letterman talked about Michelle Obama.  We’d be hearing from Al Sharpton, NOW, and every other crackpot feminist out there.  But, with Palin… nothing.

Somehow, because Palin isn’t a Democrat I guess she doesn’t enjoy the same type of “sisterhood” other women enjoy.  What this entire episode has exposed, for perhaps the 5 millionth time, is that Democrats, who claim to “celebrate diversity” only embrace others who buy organic produce at Wholefoods and not Walmart.

 

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9 Comments

  • I would not go so far as to say it is time for David Letterman to retire, but I would agree with you that Sarah Palin is entirely correct about this joke. It was a reprehensible joke, there was no excuse for it, and David Letterman should have been even more forthcoming in apologizing for it and saying there was no excuse for it. And I say that as someone who disagrees with just about everything else that Sarah Palin has ever said. Of course, maybe you have to take into account that I have a teenage daughter, so I do not find it funny in the least to joke about raping or molesting young women of any age.
    .-= Joe Markowitz´s last blog ..The arc of the moral universe =-.

    • We agree. But the culture in which these people (Maher, Letterman, etc.) live they view this sort of thing as being okay to joke about. The culture we find in Hollywood has made it very tough for girls to not be made to feel like whores.

  • Unethical joke. But is Hollywood really so liberal?.)!
    For a true liberal, in the classical way, ethics are a core value.
    .-= Hans´s last blog ..Day Opening – June 21 =-.

  • I’m tired of hearing about Palin. I am sick of the liberals and conservatives that keep bringing her up. She lost the election, and is irrelevant. Enough about her already.

  • Why Letterman played second fiddle to Leno and now to Conan.

  • PALIN HAS DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STAY IN THE NEWS …… SHE TRAVELS AROUND AMERICA, RATHER THAN STAYING IN ALASKA AND GOVERNING HER STATE ….. THUS, SHE IS FAIR GAME FOR THE COMEDY OF POLITICAL SATIRISTS …. AND THE MORE SHE FIGHTS BACK …. THE MORE SHE REMAINS IN THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT …. WHICH IS WHAT SHE WANTS ……. SHE IS GETTING READY FOR 2012 …. SMELL THE COFFEE

    • So that makes it okay to joke about her daughter getting raped and her looking like a slutty flight attendant? Not sure I follow…

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