[youtube j5g8kE_g-YA nolink]
—
To be amazed at how low David Letterman will stoop in order to humiliate Sarah Palin means we still think of him as an entertainer, instead of what he is: a leftist ideologue willing to do whatever it takes to destroy a perceived threat to the Democrat majority. Letterman’s nothing special or unique. He’s merely joined the whole of the entertainment industry in sacrificing his place as an entertainer and legacy as an artist to wage ideological war.
Maybe our first step in fighting back is to wake up to this fact and stop being amazed.
Once upon a time I loved David Letterman. I loved him because Johnny Carson did, and that was good enough for me. Before he found his place in Late Night, Letterman had a short-lived daytime show. Some of you might remember it. I never missed an episode, and like Johnny, I thought Dave deserved the “Tonight Show” spot … but we were both wrong.
Johnny Carson defined show business class and so it’s not hard to imagine what he would’ve thought of a comedian willing to use an innocent 14-year old girl as a political weapon of humiliation. But to have learned it was Letterman…
There’s a whole lot more here, including John Ziegler’s interview with Governor Palin and her response to Letterman. Glenn Reynolds. Ace. Jim Treacher. Protein Wisdom.
To be clear: Glenn Reynolds and Ace have both noted that the daughter in question, the one who accompanied Governor Palin to the Yankee game, was Willow Palin, born 1995 … 14-years old.
UPDATE: Conservatives4Palin posted these statements from Todd and Sarah Palin:
“Any ‘jokes’ about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too.”
– Todd Palin
“Concerning Letterman’s comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he’d ever dare make such comments about anyone else’s daughter): ‘Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, contribute to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'”
– Governor Sarah Palin
Even if Letterman had told this joke about Bristol, is that really any better? It’s a disgusting, degrading comment about anyone, especially an innocent bystander regardless of her age. But a 14-year-old?
I’m guessing Don Imus is pretty curious about where this might be headed.
2nd UPDATE: EW reports that Letterman responded to the uproar during today’s taping:
“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter [Bristol]… and now they’re upset with me…” Letterman says on tonight’s show. “These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl…. Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No.” Saying he hopes he’s “cleared part of this up,” Letterman extended an invitation to Palin to come on the show as a guest.
Still curious what Don Imus thinks of all this.
Well, none of my Top Ten proved true, but I do think Letterman’s further damaged what little audience goodwill he had left. This was also one of those moments that ends up defining how a person is remembered; a shorthand description of who they are.
This is Letterman’s “definition of what is – is” moment, his Dean Scream.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.