Posted on 06/20/2009 4:42:55 AM PDT by Kaslin
That was some firestorm David Letterman found himself confronting, wasn't it? Do you think the comedian had any idea his jokes mocking Gov. Sarah Palin and her family would lead to such condemnation? I don't.
What Letterman and his writers failed to see is the growing anger in America over personal attacks leveled against public people. The issue is primarily about partisan insults. Many now consider Letterman a liberal guy, and so his remarks about Palin were viewed as more political than satirical. If Jay Leno (who is more nonpartisan than Letterman) had told the jokes, he would have been criticized, but not to the same extent.
According to a new Gallup Poll, 40 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservative, 35 percent say they are moderate and just 21 percent answer to the liberal description. Liberals are outnumbered by almost four to one. Thus, when a conservative icon such as Palin is demeaned by a high-profile entertainer who leans left, it becomes a big political story. Cable news and the blogs blow it up.
In the media world in which Letterman lives, many people are outspokenly liberal. New York City and Hollywood are unabashedly so. But the folks are not. And they do not want nasty stuff directed at a working mother like Palin, who holds traditional values. To hear the liberal pundits try to defend Letterman was something out of "The Twilight Zone." They put forth that because 18-year-old Bristol Palin appeared with her mother at political rallies, she was fair game. Pure idiocy.
The folks also zeroed in on the hypocrisy of the Letterman-Palin situation. If somebody had mocked President Obama's family that way, they would be destroyed. There's a difference between a president and a governor, but the analysis is valid.
What liberal entertainers do not understand is that Obama was elected because the economy collapsed under a Republican president. While some liberal zealots believe Obama's ascension certified a national ideological move to the left, they are exceedingly wrong. The folks are closely watching Obama. And if the economy does not improve significantly, he'll have a battle in 2012.
I believe Letterman when he says he's sorry about the Palin dust-up. I don't think he meant to hurt the Palin daughters; he's not that kind of guy. But he definitely has an edge when it comes to people who do not fit into his ideological comfort zone. I've been on the Letterman program five times. Last time around, he called me a goon and mocked Rush Limbaugh's weight. I asked him why he was doing that, but he did not have an answer.
And so it was the mean-spirited perception that dunked Letterman. Robust debate over issues has made the USA the great country it is. But increasingly, personal attacks are being used to marginalize opposing points of view. And when those attacks involve kids, even on the periphery, Americans will not stand for it.
And that is the whole truth in a nutshell that even the Left and the Liberal MSM knew could not be squashed.
Boy, I can't imagine why. Captain Obvious to the rescue.
No Riley, you don't get it. A joke about rape is purely disgusting and a joke about raping a minor is lower than disgusting. This has legs because our society is not completely degenerate. Yet.
Gee, Bill, not to challenge your ability to know it all, but are we allowed to perceive that his apology was not sincere and that that was evident and so he had to repeat it? And are we allowed to perceive that it was the so-called joke that was not only “mean-spirited” but exceedingly vicious? I believe that your perceptions are more indicative of your desire to defend your role as arbiter for “the folks” than they are accurate and that the center of gravity may be shifting slightly away from you after a long run?
You really need to let go of your B.OR.DS. What is wrong with what he said?
Right. That's O'Reilly's job.
A joke about raping a young girl is “mean spirited”?
BTW, I like him. I think he is great. However, he (and many others including Palin supporters) is not seeing the underlying reason this issue has taken hold. Hint: It is not about being mean. It is about disgust. There is a big difference.
It’s the double standard that I am sick of. One may say ANYTHING about a white, conservative, Christian, Republican and their family...but people like the Obamas are strickly off-limits.
There. I fixed it.
“If Jay Leno had told the joke...” Wrong analogy. I do not believe Leno would ever have told the joke. He is a comedian. Letterman is a guttersnipe.
If he had joked that way about Sachet and Malaria,they would not complain to his sponsers,they’d have burned the building down.
Why do you have to go after innocent children with those names? Maybe you are just an immature punk who finds it funny to use derogatory names, like the immature punk Letterman who likes to make sexual "jokes" about 14 year-olds. You also give fuel to the lefties who are monitoring this site. Please grow up.
I would consider the mockery contemptible no matter who was mocked. And I have nothing but contempt for Letterman and anyone amused by his mockery. I doubt that anything he might do would alter my opinion.
Liberal hate is out of the closet. They no longer just disagree with us. Their logic is so flawed and feeble the only way they can respond is with violence, and it’s becoming more and more mainstream. When the first two amendments of the Bill of Rights are gone, and we can no longer worship, speak out or defend ourselves, the ‘hope and change’ of the leftist agenda will be complete.
To add insult to injury, the audience thought Letterman was ‘funny.’ Were they drunk or drugged?
Another apology needs to be made public . . . the apology of everyone in that audience who laughed at the ‘rape joke.’
Rape is about POWER and Letterman has so little that he has to use rape in what he calls a joke.
Letterman . . . you’re a sucking COWARD.
(just joking)NOT
“What Letterman and his writers failed to see is the growing anger in America over personal attacks leveled against public people.”
Upstanding public officials.
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