The thing that sticks out in my mind is, why have so many people turned it into a political issue? I read through several blogs and comments about it, and was amazed at how many people - both liberal and conservative - have referred to one or the other as "typical" of their "side" of the political road. Dave Letterman has been called perverted, and a vile, narcissistic fool "like most leftists." Sarah Palin has been called opportunistic and hypocritical, "like most rightists." But wait, didn't she already lose the election?
For anybody that hasn't followed the brouhaha (Brouhaha? Ha ha ha!) let me recap. It all started with three admittedly (by Letterman) tasteless jokes. Here is TV Guide's summary:
On Monday's Palin-themed Top Ten list, Letterman joked that the governor went to Bloomingdales' to buy makeup to "update her 'slutty flight attendant' look." Then, on Tuesday, he joked about the Palins keeping their daughter away from Eliot Spitzer. And then there was this, about the family's visit to a Yankees game: "There was one awkward moment during the seventh-inning stretch when her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez," he said.The biggest reason for the uproar was that it was actually Sarah Palin's 14-year-old daughter, Willow, who had attended the game, not 18-year-old Bristol. However, many people who heard the jokes understood them to be references to Bristol, who was in the news during the campaign precisely because she was an unwed pregnant teenager. But if you look at it, the jokes were more about Spitzer's and Rodriguez's reputations than they were about Bristol (or Willow) Palin.
Sarah and Todd Palin both issued statements:
From Todd 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."Letterman read these statements on the air, and responded that the jokes were not intended to refer to 14-year-old daughter Willow, as the above statements seemed to indicate, but rather to 18-year-old Bristol, who, as Letterman pointed out, "was knocked up." Apparently his source had not made it clear which Palin daughter had attended the game with her mother. Still, Letterman admitted that the jokes themselves could not be defended.
From Gov. Sarah 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, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'"
"Were the jokes in question in questionable taste? Of course they were," Letterman said. "Would I do anything to advocate or contribute to underage sexual abuse or misconduct? Absolutely not, not in a thousand years."Of course there are those who claim that the age difference doesn't matter, the jokes were still in poor taste. Letterman admitted they were. There are also those who have said, "He never would have made such remarks about the Obamas' daughters." That's quite true. Because the Obamas' daughters were not presented onstage with the announcement of their unwed pregnancy.
I'm not passing judgment on Bristol for that, but at the time the Palins defended her by saying that everybody makes mistakes. Has Sarah similarly allowed Dave to "make mistakes" in judgment about his material? Not at first. After his on-air clarification, Dave invited her to come on his show and talk it out. She issued the following statement through her spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton:
"The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."Afterward, Sarah herself was interviewed by Matt Lauer on The Today Show, who gave her the chance to clarify the statement.
Lauer: I'd like you to explain what that meant. Are you suggesting that David Letterman can't be trusted around a 14-year old girl?Of course, Letterman has since offered a complete and unmitigated apology, which Palin has accepted. But has she offered an apology for her not-so-veiled implication that he was a pedophile?
Palin: Hey, take it however you want to take it.
But the stupidest part of the matter is the sheep on both sides of the political fence who have turned the issue into a political arena. Rightists act like Letterman is a political figure who speaks for The Left and represents All That is Wrong With Our Country Today, while leftists use it as another excuse to portray anyone who says they have values as a hypocrite. Granted the timing of this mess does seem like a rather convenient opportunity for Sarah Palin to get back in the spotlight, especially since many more similar jokes (and worse) were made about Bristol during the campaign, without comment or response. Why make such a fuss now? Then again, it may turn out to be good for Letterman's ratings too, so it's kind of a win-win situation.
Nevertheless, there are leftists questioning whether Sarah Palin is qualified for public office, and rightists clamoring for David Letterman to be fired, if not burned in effigy. (This is another reason why I am staunchly apolitical.) If it were a matter of national policy or anything relating to political issues, I could perhaps understand the outrage. After all, politics and talk shows make strange bedfellows. But for goodness sake, it was a few lousy jokes out of thousands of lousy jokes (in his own estimation) that he has told over the years. Let it go, people. Have you nothing better to argue about? I'm sure you could come up with something if you tried!
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