Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Letterman’s “Dan Rather” Moment
June 10, 2009 | Self

Posted on 06/11/2009 4:31:16 AM PDT by Shemp Tesla

Every once in a while, someone who builds their career through a lifetime of decent, honest, hard work…blows it in a moment of seething hatred and bitterness.

In Dan Rather’s case, it was his blind acceptance as true of a document ostensibly proving President Bush missed a Texas Air National Guard physical examination due to his father’s influence. Instead of adhering to a main tenet of journalistic probity, that is; verify, verify, verify; Mr. Rather quickly and blindly accepted the document as genuine, and then taunted his critics to “prove it isn’t real!”

In that moment Dan Rather forever tainted his reputation, honor, and legacy. Whether or not you agreed with him politically, as the person who anchored a major-network news broadcast he was given a certain degree of respect and deference. But after his inexplicable insistence of the veracity of an easily discredited document, many people, including his supporters, shook their heads in disbelief and sorrow. For here stood a man who would seemingly throw away years of accumulated trust in order to attack, and, in his mind, “destroy” a perceived enemy.

David Letterman, the former radio talk show host, television weatherman, and one time brilliant comedic mind, had such a moment in recent days.

On Monday he joked about the rape of someone’s teenage daughter.

Oh, I could write more…about the mother being a sitting U.S. governor, or about how Mr. Letterman claimed he was making the joke about her 18 year old daughter – not her 14 year old daughter, but, I won’t.

Because when someone has such vitriol for a person whose only crime was running for office and losing, there need not be anything more said. You see, David Michael Letterman let us see into his heart, and what the world saw was a dark, bitter, anguished soul. For out of the mouth comes what’s in the heart, as it is written. And what came out of a once gifted writer’s mouth was vile, and cruel. To make such a venomous attack in the name of comedy, about a girl who never did him any wrong, and who has been the subject of vicious attack after vicious attack, only because her mom was the vice presidential running mate of a republican senator, is incomprehensible for a man who has been given so much in life.

It’s hard to imagine Jack Paar, or Steve Allen, or Johnny Carson making such a cruel joke about a teenaged girl. In fact, I can’t imagine it at all.

So, the night is yours Mr. Letterman. Have at it. Howl ‘til you heart’s content, if it ever can be content. For history will look upon you as a once gifted comic who became a colossally pompous, jaded ass.

To steal a line written by Raymond Chandler in Sunset Blvd.: “It was like that old woman from Great Expectations - - that Miss Haversham in her rotting wedding dress and torn veil, taking it out on the world because she’d been given the ‘go by.’” Well now it’s time for us to give him the ‘go by.’ Goodbye Dave, you used to be great, but now you’re just a red-assed baboon flicking your feces at the wall, hoping it sticks.


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: cbs4pedophilia; letterman4pedophilia; pedophilia
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

1 posted on 06/11/2009 4:31:16 AM PDT by Shemp Tesla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

He never was funny nor gifted IMO.


2 posted on 06/11/2009 4:32:51 AM PDT by SolidWood (Palin: "We do not want to become slaves of Washington.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Decent, honest

Not words that apply to Letterman or Rather


3 posted on 06/11/2009 4:33:20 AM PDT by Carley (OBAMA IS A MALEVOLENT FORCE IN THE WORLD)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Great post and AWESOME last paragraph!


4 posted on 06/11/2009 4:34:28 AM PDT by 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SolidWood

Exactly, I wouldn’t waste my time watching him.


5 posted on 06/11/2009 4:36:46 AM PDT by Loyal Buckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla
WelcomeTo FreeRepublic!
6 posted on 06/11/2009 4:39:29 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (Prepare. It's Coming.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla
Good job, well written and formatted.

Welcome to FR!

7 posted on 06/11/2009 4:40:21 AM PDT by NautiNurse (Obama: A day without TOTUS is like a day without sunshine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla
Be fair...it's like Sunset Boulevard. At one time, he was funny, cheerful, good-natured, entertaining and innovative. But he succumbed to the Dark Side, and let Liberal Bitterness taint his craft.

"You used to be in pictures. You used to be big."

"I'm still big. It's the pictures that got small."

Dave, I fear you are ready for your closeup...and it's not going to be pretty.

8 posted on 06/11/2009 4:41:37 AM PDT by 50sDad (The Left cannot understand life is not in a test tube. Raise taxes, & jobs go away.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Letterman has never been funny & Conan is dull.
I now get to sleep earlier.


9 posted on 06/11/2009 4:43:43 AM PDT by G Larry (ObamaCare = "DYING IN LINE!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla
He was funny when he was a weatherman in Indianapolis (Where I went to Marian College) but he is a bitter, past his prime TV personality. It is shameful and the left just keep sinking to new lows.
10 posted on 06/11/2009 4:44:20 AM PDT by mfish13
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SolidWood

>>He never was funny nor gifted IMO.<<

I thought he was. Back at the time of the Velcro suit, if you could see a “Best of Letterman” you would laugh your butt off.


11 posted on 06/11/2009 4:45:26 AM PDT by netmilsmom (Psalm 109:8 - Let his days be few; and let another take his office)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Great blog post... Thanks for posting!


12 posted on 06/11/2009 4:48:47 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds ("The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Loyal Buckeye

I fell asleep in my favorite chair last night and awoke to David Letterman discussing this on his show. It was so disgusting I turned it off. His audience was laughing and clapping as he was quoting from what he said. This was not an apology, it was a celebration of what he said.

I have a special place for people who fantasize publicly about rape or defame women as sluts, (unless they are sluts). Sarah Palin is a champion of women. She is self-made and has done many things that most men or women never achieve. That she is the mother of a handicapped child and is devoted to that child and the rest of her childen and her husband is ridiculed by people like letterman.

letterman would probably never make fun of queers or homos like Ellen Degeneres.

I guess its time to boycott the advertisers on the letterman show as well as the cable channel that shows this scumbag.


13 posted on 06/11/2009 4:59:58 AM PDT by 2ndClassCitizen (The Kenyan and the House and the Senate are in open violation of the constitution!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Great article.

And welcome to FreeRepublic!


14 posted on 06/11/2009 5:00:45 AM PDT by Sister_T (The Obama Administration = EPIC FAIL!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

For those who did not follow the details on the RatherGate thing, I found this week a piece that was new to me. It was about a Dallas Morning News writer that has recently been slanderously critical of the Tea Party movement and his previous connection with Dan Rather’s mess.

His name is Wayne Slater.

It follows:

http://www.mcculloughsite.net/stingray/2006/06/11/dallas-morning-news-wayne-slater-of-rathergate-fame-gets-it-right.php

For those who don’t know, Slater was the one who brought forth Bill Burkett — the man who provided the phony documents to Dan Rather’s editor, Mary Mapes — as a credible witness despite overwhelming evidence that Burkett was a serial liar and basic.

Since Slater works with Mary Mapes’ husband, Mark Wrolstrad, and since I had raised such a stink about Burkett to so many editors and reporters at the Morning News before Rather’s story broke, I have no idea how Slater kept his job.

He and I made peace one night during the time that Rather’s story was “falling faster than Bill Clinton’s pants at a sorority party,” and I sincerely believe that he was sorry for what he had done.

I worked in the same company with Bill Burkett many years ago. So I had a personal interest in the Rathergate thing.


15 posted on 06/11/2009 5:04:43 AM PDT by Texas Fossil (Once a Republic, Now a State, Still Texas)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla
THIS IS ONE PART OF MY CORRESPONDENCE W/CBS....... I doubt you will take notice of further correspondence from viewers in regards to this matter, therefore, starting this AM I intend to write sponsors of his show and express my concerns about their participation in what is not funny or entertaining, RAPE

PLEASE take a minute to send off a comment to CBS HERE:

http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.php

16 posted on 06/11/2009 5:07:51 AM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

Haven’t watched Letterman in years. I never thought he was all that funny, but his Top 10 lists were amusing at times.

I have sent my comments to SeeBS about Letterman’s despicable remarks but I’m not expecting them to do anything about it.

And, they wonder why they are scraping the bottom of the ratings barrel.

Renew Letterman for another 10 years, SeeBS, and see what ratings h#ll is REALLY like!!!


17 posted on 06/11/2009 5:08:14 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

You should have heard lettermans “apology”. He thought he was making jokes about the 18 year old. As if that is soooo much more appropriate.


18 posted on 06/11/2009 5:14:04 AM PDT by floridavoter2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Texas Fossil; fanfan; DieHard the Hunter
Slater was the one who brought forth Bill Burkett

"It's Bur-KAY!"

19 posted on 06/11/2009 5:20:07 AM PDT by The Flying Dutchman (Ask me about my Vow of Silence...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Shemp Tesla

My compliments on the finest first-post-vanity I have ever read on Free Republic!

Welcome, and may your stay be a long one!


20 posted on 06/11/2009 5:21:48 AM PDT by The Flying Dutchman (Ask me about my Vow of Silence...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson