Tuesday, March 19, AD 2024 3:50am

The Degenerate David Letterman

David Letterman Degenerate

[Updates at the end of this post below]

I enjoyed viewing David Letterman when he first came out.  He was nerdy, goofy, and most importantly funny.  I eventually stopped viewing his show not because he wasn’t funny anymore, but because I was no longer in college and I needed a good nights rest for the real world, ie, a job.  Once in a while I would catch his show and remember fondly my days of cold pizza and late night study sessions.

I was well aware of his politics, but unlike most liberals, conservatives do have a sense of humor, especially at our own expense.  I was able to suspend my politics to enjoy good humor because I loved to laugh.

Sadly Mr. Letterman went too far recently in one of his jokes.  Maybe he has been doing this for awhile, but I haven’t noticed since I no longer watch his show for the reasons I mentioned above.

This past Tuesday Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin was visiting New York attending a baseball game at Yankee’s stadium.  The day before her arrival, David Letterman made a joke during his opening monologue that Governor Sarah Palin’s 14 year old was raped by baseball player Alex Rodriguez during the game.  In that same evening Mr. Letterman called Governor Palin a “slutty flight attendant”.

Pretty sick humor any way you look at it.  Regardless of the context that is simply wrong.

The day after of being called out by the Alaska governor Mr. Letterman refused to apologize and continued making jokes about the whole affair.

He is nothing more than a degenerate human being.

One more reason to not watch television.

Oh, and lets not forget that we do need to pray for him for I am sure he thinks he meant no harm.  And that exactly is the problem.  Our culture has become so coarse that insulting and defaming the character of someone whose politics you loathe has become acceptable.  Well it isn’t, no matter what you say.

Update I: Should David Letterman be fired?  Vote at Newsbusters here.

Update II: There is a website already up and running calling for David Letterman (FireDavidLetterman.com) to be fired.  Click for the website here.

Update III: In retrospect I was a bit harsh in saying that most liberals don’t have a sense of humor.  They do.  Just because of my own personal experience of not seeing this, I should give the benefit of the doubt to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  With that said, ‘degenerate’ is too harsh a word as well regarding Mr. Letterman.  I’ll leave the post as is though, but I want to set the record straight that I will be more charitable in the future.

Update IV: David Letterman has apologized and Governor Sarah Palin has accepted his apology.  Issue over.

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Elaine Krewer
Admin
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 1:32pm

I stopped watching him years ago for the same reasons. I also gave up cable and broadcast TV for similar reasons (everything I need to know news, weather, or entertainment-wise I can find online anyway).

Why, oh why, did Letterman have to follow up the excellent fisking he did on Governor Blago — which was actually better by far than a lot of “straight news” MSM interviews that were done with him — with crap like this? I suppose it was a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day 🙂

Tito Edwards
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 1:34pm

Yes, I stopped watching cable. And since I haven’t gotten my digital converter box, I haven’t watched rabbit ears television since this past Thursday. And I might add that it’s a good thing.

You are correct, all the news I need I can get online and unfiltered, ie, without the leftist bias you get from most broadcast and cable networks.

Elaine Krewer
Admin
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 1:53pm

Although as a former (newspaper) journalist I can’t help but feel there is something not so good about people being able to pick and choose only the news they WANT to hear, ignore what they don’t agree with, and find “evidence” to confirm just about any theory no matter how ridiculous.

Of course, I realize that in the allegedly good old days when everybody watched Big Three network news, read daily newspapers, etc. they were not getting an entirely objective point of view. I make an effort to read a variety of news and politics blogs and I even listen to (gasp!) NPR News, which, no matter how liberally biased it may be, gives you information you don’t get anywhere else.

To me the real problem with broadcast television news is that the amount of information it can provide is severely limited and inevitably lacks perspective. Plus, the nature of the medium requires visuals and relies heavily on conflict to attract attention.

There’s nothing like watching on TV a story you just covered for a newspaper, or actually lived through or been part of, to make you turn off TV news for good 🙂

Tito Edwards
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 2:01pm

You make excellent points.

But I find that I can get more accurate information online than I can watching Katie Couric babble on about the latest liberal talking points.

David Mastroianni
David Mastroianni
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 2:18pm

It’s disingenuous to say Letterman made the joke about Willow Palin. He later said that wasn’t what he meant, and we have no reason to assume Letterman even knew Sarah had brought Willow to New York. I didn’t know, and I automatically understood the joke to be about Bristol Palin. Bristol is 18, so the joke didn’t involve rape. Making the joke about an 18-year-old girl is bad, but not as bad as about a 14-year-old girl. David Letterman’s degeneracy ought to be evaluated on the basis of accurate information.

Tito Edwards
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 2:24pm

Disingenuous?

It was Willow that attended the game.

Regardless if it was either one of them the joke is simply disgusting.

Elm
Elm
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 4:22pm

Sarah Palin looks so pathetic and desparate. IMO, It’s Palin who is embarrasing her daughter.

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 4:30pm

Yep Palin is the one who looks pathetic and desperate, not the aging 62 year old comedian making sex “jokes” about the teenage daughters of a politician he hates in an attempt to convince the public that he is still edgy and cutting edge and not a tired man near the end of his career, who is so out of it that he can’t be bothered to get the facts straight on a news item before making an insipid attempt at humor.

Eric Brown
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 4:49pm

I didn’t know most liberals don’t have a sense of humor.

RR
RR
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 5:37pm

Dave said that his joke was in bad taste and he regrets it but that he was talking about the adult Bristol Palin. He said he agreed with Sarah Palin that sexual jokes about minors are off limits. IMO, Sarah Palin is in the wrong for assuming the worst of Dave. Dave never makes any mention of under-age girls. In fact, the joke would only make sense if they were referring to Bristol Palin.

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 5:52pm

A first rate post on this subject at Protein Wisdom:

http://proteinwisdom.com/pub/?p=2844

TomSVDP
TomSVDP
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 6:40pm

Too bad a Hoosier and a maybe somewhat basketballer has gone down this road. He’s real far from his roots. I attended Mass a few times in Evansville, southern part and even down there, there were Notre Dame coats and everything, this about 12 years ago.

I saw Gov. Palin on CNN today but wasn’t able to watch the interview. I think she did well in responding to this, a well-balanced response.

I worked in the business office of a Middle School which had a bunch of that age girls, including a lot of those Hmong we have in St. Paul. Just no way should one say these things and if there is confusion about who Letterman meant, he shouldn’t have said it or at least clearly identified who he meant.

cminor
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 8:02pm

Dang, Donald–Mr. Protein is spot on.
The Palins also have a lot more in common with my redneck neighbors than do most of the inside-the-beltway-types. And she’s popular here in Geawgia.
(One bumper sticker I noticed on a dusty pickup during the campaign last year stated, “I’m for Palin and the white-haired guy.”)

Michael J. Iafrate
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 8:41pm

He is nothing more than a degenerate human being…. Oh, and lets not forget that we do need to pray for him…

Oh brother, Tito!

Surely you’ve written countless blog posts about Rush Limbaugh’s sexist humor, right? I mean, that’s way more common. Can you link to some of your posts on him in which you call him a “degenerate human being”?

Jay Anderson
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 8:41pm

Yeah, you just have to LOVE the response of those defending Letterman and slamming Palin because “he was really talking about Bristol” and she’s “assuming the worst about poor misunderstood Dave”.

Is that REALLY how low we’ve sunk to in this country? Since when were the kids of politicians EVER fair game for this kind of crap? It wasn’t cool when Limbaugh made fun of Chelsea Clinton’s looks and it’s not cool now when EVERYONE piles on Palin’s kids.

Eric Brown
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 8:48pm

Yes. I despise double standards.

TomSVDP
TomSVDP
Saturday, June 13, AD 2009 9:43pm

This response “The Palins also have a lot more in common with my redneck neighbors than do most of the inside-the-beltway-types. And she’s popular here in Geawgia.
(One bumper sticker I noticed on a dusty pickup during the campaign last year stated, “I’m for Palin and the white-haired guy.”)”

It absolutely baffles me as to why she gets such criticism.

TomSVDP
TomSVDP
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 2:12am

CMinor: So, would you find Palin more tolerable and likeable if she was making jokes about mentally challenged children on National Television? Is that what you are saying??

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 6:05am

Tom your last two comments seem odd to me. I am pretty certain that cminor was not criticizing Palin, and I do not believe that cminor made any comment in this thread that is applicable to your last comment.

dekerivers
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 9:14am

I do not have a problem with political jokes. Period.

I expect the late night shows to poke fun at the political class.

I laughed when Clinton was beat every night with jokes. I laugh at those about Obama, and did so with the latest Palin ones.

I do not think we need to have anyone say if a joke is over the line or not. Folks at home can make that decision with the remote. To be honest I did not hear about the jokes until Palin let the press release fly. Had I been watching I would have laughed and not been insulted.

Bristol, is an adult. She is fair game. She goes on national TV for interviews and has now put herself out there.

In a larger context, I think once Sarah Palin put her whole family `out there’ for political purposes in 2008, her son the warrior in Iraq, her troubled daughter who was pregnant, her husband who had worked with a group to have Alaska secede from the Union, then I think Sarah made them all fair game. Politics is a tough business. That is not news. Sarah however decided her goals were/are more important than that of her family.

And NO ONE..execpt Sarah Palin when she tried to make a political point about Letterman by USING her family again in a press release….thought Letterman was talking about anyone except for Bristol Palin. NO ONE. And NO ONE thought there was any rape at all in the joke. NO ONE…except Sarah Palin who wanted some press……at her family’s expense.

Sarah Palin uses her family, and then some conservatives get all excited because she gets what she wants with the media hype.

Sarah can not have it both ways.

So in conclusion…….

Listen to the Letterman joke then…..

Read the Palin press release….

Since there was no mention of the 14 year old in the joke….

But there was mention of the 14 year old in the press release…..

Ask yourself who is really to blame for this whole affair.

Donald R. McClarey
Admin
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 9:21am

“Ask yourself who is really to blame for this whole affair.”

An idiot fading comedian who gets cheap laughs attacking the teenage daughters of a politician he despises in order to hang on to his moment in the spotlight, and people sick enough to think the hatred disguised as humor is funny.

Donna V.
Donna V.
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 12:55pm

I also love the comments blaming Palin for “putting her kids in the spotlight.” As if Andrew Sullivan hadn’t spent months sickly obessessing about who Trig’s “real” mother was. As if the Palin family wasn’t trashed mercilessly by the media from the second they appeared at the GOP convention. Obama and Biden had their children onstage at the conventions too, but only conservative Republicans “exploit” their children, it seems.

Now Palin has found she can’t even take her daughter to a sports event in New York without being slimed. I’m convinced that liberal hatred of Palin’s pro-life views is at the heart of this. Palin committed the unforgivable sin of giving birth to a Downs syndrome child. Her daughter had an out-of-wedlock baby instead of an abortion. For that the Palins must be ridiculed endlessly, months after the election.

Gabriel Austin
Gabriel Austin
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 1:32pm

Having been brought up in the television days of Jack Benny and Bob Hope and such good comedians, I think I am missing a point. Was Mr. Letterman’s crude remark about an 18 year old girl a joke?

Donna V.
Donna V.
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 4:58pm

Willow was the one at the game, not Bristol. So the comment was directed at her. Not that the same joke leveled at an 18 year woman is somehow OK. Actually, if I were A-Rod, I’d also be offended at the insinuation that I’d molest a 14 year old if given the chance.

In the meantime, I’ve somehow missed Letterman’s “edgy” jokes about Biden’s kid with the drug addiction. (And yes, I thought Limbaugh’s joke about Chelsea’s looks was mean and uncalled for.)

Even NOW, an organization with little love for Palin, has criticized Letterman. But those whose partisanship has dulled their sense of decency will go on excusing that unfunny old has-been.

daledog
daledog
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 7:46pm

Donna V:
I believe that you nailed it – Palin’s pro-life stand is what the libs truly hate.

Matt McDonald
Matt McDonald
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 8:26pm

This is just absurd. It was not a joke, it was an obscene smear. It was not political, it was personal.

Look how far we have come from the days when insulting a young girl or a woman’s honor was completely forbidden and was likely to get the offender disgraced, discredited, lights punched out and quite often shot…. Hey, there’s an idea. Dave vs. Todd? Hah… that’s not even fair, how about Dave vs. Sarah? What’s your pleasure? Fisticuffs? Pistols at 10 paces? leg wrestling? It wouldn’t really matter…same result. Sarah Palin 1 – Dave Letterman 0.

Tito Edwards
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 8:33pm

Eric,

I said “most” liberals, not “all” liberals don’t have a sense of humor.

Deke,

Of course you would defend a 60+ year old man in making disgusting jokes about a 14 year girl being raped. You’re part of the problem.

Tito Edwards
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 8:39pm

Michael,

I don’t listen to Rush and I don’t bother with him.

Besides, when he made those Chelsea comments this website wasn’t in existence.

Eric Brown
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 10:28pm

That’s still quite a broad generalization, unfair, and I’m not even sure on what the assumption is based upon.

I surely wouldn’t say *all* conservatives don’t care for the poor. I wouldn’t think saying *most* conservatives would make it any better.

The problem isn’t the joke–I agree with you. I am just saddened that everything takes a liberal-conservative divide when it’s unnecessary. David Letterman may be “liberal,” but I’m not sure if that subscribes every “liberal” to his specific views or brand of humor.

I actually use the term “conservative” to describe myself. I might add (and I frequently do) that Rush Limbaugh doesn’t speak for me.

So instead of this being a matter solely focus on the incident–which should not have happened; it took a political spin and pit liberals against conservatives, which I find to be unnecessary.

Tito Edwards
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 11:12pm

Eric,

I’ve based it on my personal experience in my engagement with my liberal friends. I have been viciously attacked for clean jokes toward liberal politicians.

I do I understand where you are coming from, but my personal experience has shown otherwise, I leave my posting as is.

Sadly, most liberals do not have a sense of humor.

Michael J. Iafrate
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 11:26pm

Tito – I’m glad you don’t listen to Rush. You get a point for that. However, you also said you no longer watch Letterman. So why single him out for his supposedly “degenerate” humor and comments and say absolutely nothing when folks like Rush and Ann Coulter do the exact same thing and with more regularity? (I’m not only talking about “that Chelsea comment.”)

I believe that you nailed it – Palin’s pro-life stand is what the libs truly hate.

This is kind of a stupid comment. I’m pro-life. You would no doubt describe me as a “lib.” I appreciate that Sarah Palin is against abortion (I hesitate to call her “pro-life” in any meaningful sense). I and many other “libs” in fact dislike Palin for other reasons that don’t fit into your binary and abortion-obsessed views.

Tito Edwards
Sunday, June 14, AD 2009 11:29pm

I can’t keep track of what everybody says.

Plus I don’t recall them saying anything offensive about other politicians under-age daughters.

Donna V.
Donna V.
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 12:11am

Michael: we know you have reasons of your own to hate Palin. She’s a Republican. Her son is serving in the U.S. Army (horrors!). The Palins hunt and own guns (man, how you must despise the people of your own home state then. WVA also has, I believe, one of the highest percentages of veterans in the country. I’m surprised you can bear to set foot there.)

The pro-life Catholic left is dwarfed by the secular left (and would be tossed overboard by the secular left in a heartbeat, come the revolution). My point stands: Palin is hated by them because she is not only pro-life but has walked the walk.

Donna V.
Donna V.
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 12:31am

Ann Althouse, a University of Wisconsin law professor who leans left, but is a fair-minded woman, chides Andrew Sullivan:

Nearly all politicians display their families. Do they brandish them? Brandish means to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly/to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner. Occasionally, one reads of some criminal swinging a baby around like a cudgel, but with politicians, the displaying of the family is non-aggressive and without any weapon connotations. Obama displayed and continues to display Sasha and Malia in the conventional political way, and I’m sure Sullivan would be steamed if anyone mocked them or said anything sexual about them.

Bristol Palin’s abstinence effort seems pretty silly to me too, but there’s no reason to view that as opening her up to all sorts of vicious mockery. She found herself in an awfully uncomfortable spot. It’s embarrassing enough for a teenager to become pregnant by accident, but to endure this in the crossfire of a political campaign had to be excruciating. But she put up with it somehow, didn’t take the out of abortion, kept smiling, and tried to turn herself into a good lesson for others. How is this sowing something that she deserves to reap?

Or — oh — it’s Palin who reaps what she sows. Is the girl not a person worthy of any regard? What did the girl do? “Family’s off limits. You don’t talk about my family.” Obama said that. It was intended to bind his harshest opponents to a standard of behavior. Sullivan offers absolutely no reason why the same principle does not protect Palin’s family.

Michael Denton
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 10:15am

Donna V.

I’m surprised you can bear to set foot there.

He lives in Toronto right now, so perhaps he can’t. 😉

cminor
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 10:53am

Uhhhh…TomSVDP?

I was replying to Donald regarding the essay he linked at Protein Wisdom. That would be the one proposing that Sarah Palin’s flyover-country normality is what has her detractors in such a lather, and makes her such a hit with those of us in flyover country.

For the record, I like and respect my redneck neighbors (husband, relatives,)very much, and would rather deal with them than with any large random sampling of inside-the-Beltway government or media types. I’m also favorably impressed with Palin.

In any case, I would never take a permissive view of attempts at humor that demean women or the handicapped. By anyone.

The chivalry is appreciated, Donald.

cminor
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 11:23am

By the way, dekerivers,
Do you really think that it’s funny to imply that a young woman is a slut because she imprudently succumbed to an all-too-human weakness during a time in her life not normally associated with rational judgement or long-term thinking?

What is it about Bristol Palin’s having reached the magic age of 18 or having made a few public statements (most of which seem to have been on the theme, “Single parenting is tough, girls; don’t make the same mistake I did,”) that makes it okay to label her a scarlet woman for the purpose of humor, or any other purpose?

You suggest that Sarah Palin “used her family” to score popularity points–did you fail to notice the Obamas trotting out their cute daughters during the campaign, or the enthusiasm of a certain McCain child for the limelight? They aren’t being ridiculed on national television.

By your logic, no parent should run for public office, or at least no parent who holds opinions that run counter to the sacred cows of the entertainment industry.

Matt McDonald
Matt McDonald
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 2:34pm

Speaking of the degenerate left. Could someone PLEASE call Obama or Biden and tell them that there is a struggling democratic movement developing in Iran, and if they would only lend it moral support it may be successful. If he won’t do it for moral reasons, perhaps pragmatism. Our problems with that totalitarian regime may some day come to an end, or at least be greatly diminished if this movement were to succeed….

so far… nothing but twiddling of thumbs from the “One”.

TomSVDP
TomSVDP
Monday, June 15, AD 2009 5:01pm

Oh know, this link below may elongate the page, I don’t like it when that happens.

I’m forgiving but Imus got such harsh treatment and I don’t know all of the ins and outs of that.

One advertiser is dropping Letterman’s show and a “fire Letterman” move is underway. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/06/15/2009-06-15_fire_david_letterman_campaign_takes_root_protest_planned_over_comment_on_sarah_p.html

trackback
Tuesday, June 16, AD 2009 9:40am

[…] David Letterman’s sincere apology which he gave last night on his CBS show regarding his crude jokeat the expense of Governor Palin’s 14 year-old […]

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