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Friday, June 12, 2009

Letterman should apologize for joke about Sarah Palin's daughter, doesn't matter which one he was referring to

Chicago Tribune - Steve Johnson Tribune Internet critic June 12, 2009

Putting aside any political prisms, it's hard to see the David Letterman- Sarah Palin dust-up in any other way than this: Letterman was wrong for joking on his show about grown men having sex with a teenage Palin daughter, either teenage Palin daughter, and he ought to flat-out apologize.Until he does, the Alaska governor and her husband, Todd, have parental rights, even a duty, to press Letterman on the main point: that his jokes Tuesday night about the Palins' visit to New York and Yankee Stadium -- "There was one awkward moment during the seventh-inning stretch; her daughter was knocked up by [Yankee player] Alex Rodriguez" and "The hardest part of her trip was keeping [former New York Gov.] Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter" -- were in terrible taste.Letterman, on Wednesday's show, stepped up to the edge of an apology but did not get there. He defended himself by saying that he was joking about 18-year-old Bristol Palin, mother of a child out of wedlock, not 14-year-old Willow, the daughter who accompanied Sarah and Todd Palin to New York.But he acknowledged that "I can't really defend the joke. I agree: unpleasant, ugly." And: "Do I regret having told them? Well, I think I probably do." But instead of apologizing -- and he didn't Thursday, either -- he labeled them two of many bad jokes told over the years for "cheap laughs." ...continues...

2 comments:

Stray Yellar Dawg? said...

What I don't agree with about tis article is....

Palin is trying to "press her advantage?"

WTF??

She made a simple statement. AFTER the blogosphere exploded about the matter. That is now called "pressing one's advantage?"

Amarissa said...

I think what they meant to say, although it made me doubt also, is that even if she used it for political reasons, it was well justified because of the atrocity of Letterman's comments.
Amarissa