....ahh Dave? Are you sure you want to complain about the governor's looks?
Posted on 06/15/2009 5:21:19 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Letterman to Make Full Apology Tonight for Joke About Palin's Daughter By Brent Baker Created 2009-06-15 20:10
“David Letterman is making a full-throated apology for his controversial joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter,” TV Week reported a short while ago [1]. “During a taping of tonight's [Monday 6/15] edition of his CBS Late Show, Letterman went much further than his last explanation of the joke, in which he quipped that a baseball player had 'knocked up' Palin's daughter,” Josef Adalian wrote.
Though Palin and conservatives were outraged and demanded an apology [2] and retraction for a “joke” seemed aimed at the 14-year-old daughter though Letterman said he was referring to the 18-year-old daughter, it took the liberal columnist Mark Shields on PBS to convince Letterman he had a problem. Letterman will explain:
I was watching the Jim Lehrer Newshour -- this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, 'Oh, boy, now I'm beginning to understand what the problem is here. It's the perception rather than the intent.' It doesn't make any difference what my intent was, it's the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it's not a very good joke.
On Monday's show last week, Letterman's monologue included [2]: “One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game, during the seventh inning her daughter was knocked-up by Alex Rodriguez.” That Late Show also featured the “Top Ten Highlights of Sarah Palin's Trip to New York” with this entry: “Bought makeup from Bloomingdale's to update her 'slutty flight attendant' look.”
TV Week provided “a transcript of Letterman's comments, as supplied by CBS publicity.” The full text which should match what he'll say on tonight's Late Show [3]:
"All right, here - I've been thinking about this situation with Governor Palin and her family now for about a week - it was a week ago tonight, and maybe you know about it, maybe you don't know about it. But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There's no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18. Yeah. But the joke really, in and of itself, can't be defended.
The next day, people are outraged. They're angry at me because they said, 'How could you make a lousy joke like that about the 14-year-old girl who was at the ball game?' And I had, honestly, no idea that the 14-year-old girl, I had no idea that anybody was at the ball game except the Governor and I was told at the time she was there with Rudy Giuliani...And I really should have made the joke about Rudy..." (audience applauds) "But I didn't, and now people are getting angry and they're saying, 'Well, how can you say something like that about a 14-year-old girl, and does that make you feel good to make those horrible jokes about a kid who's completely innocent, minding her own business,' and, turns out, she was at the ball game. I had no idea she was there. So she's now at the ball game and people think that I made the joke about her. And, but still, I'm wondering, 'Well, what can I do to help people understand that I would never make a joke like this?' I've never made jokes like this as long as we've been on the air, 30 long years, and you can't really be doing jokes like that. And I understand, of course, why people are upset. I would be upset myself.
"And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer 'Newshour' - this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, 'Oh, boy, now I'm beginning to understand what the problem is here. It's the perception rather than the intent.' It doesn't make any difference what my intent was, it's the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it's not a very good joke. And I'm certainly - " (audience applause) "- thank you. Well, my responsibility - I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault. That it was misunderstood." (audience applauds) "Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much." (audience applause)
nowhere in this did I read a full throated apology......he was whistling through the gap in his teeth.....
I am not buying.
It's no wonder that Letterman wants to keep her hidden away.
I am a FORMER fan of the LATE Show and will no longer be watching it or supporting ANY of the shows sponsors, as long as David Letterman is hosting the “show” (yes I have a list of sponsors and have let them know I will no longer be purchasing any of their products as long as they continue to advertise on the LATE Show).
David Letterman’s ongoing sordid “jokes” regarding Governor Palin, her “slutty” clothing and the RAPE of her under aged daughter were the last straw. Now Mr. Letterman “apologizes” by saying “I was MISUNDERSTOOD, I was not talking about the RAPE of the younger daughter, I meant the RAPE of Governor Palin’s older daughter.”
Isn’t that special, he was misunderstood. Sorry, it does not wash or stand up to scrutiny.
As someone else posted: “Hey Dave.. the “joke” was not MISUNDERSTOOD at all. Someone wrote it. Someone approved it. And YOU thought it was funny and spoke it on the air. And we UNDERSTOOD it exactly as you meant it, you creep.
Apology NOT accepted.”
Baloney. He must have read those ‘jokes’ before he spoke them, yet he went ahead with them anyway. An apology is useless. I hope this follows him where ever he goes.
this guy thinks a joke about an 18 year old young woman is “OK” ....if he made the joke about my 25 year old daughter it would NOT be OK with me.....he just doesn’t get it.
I sent a complaint to the FCC and urged my friends to do the same. Maybe it did some good. Ya never know.
It would be wise for Sarah as a christian to accept his apology.
Just like 0bama is only reading from the telepromter and really had no idea what he is saying!
She really looked a lot better, though back in the eighties. Don’t you think? But then again, we all did.
The Liberals on Twitter are having a full on hissy fit!
....ahh Dave? Are you sure you want to complain about the governor's looks?
And apparently enough people complained that he has to make another non-apology apology--
Hey, Letterman, beat it, scram, go back under your rock and get off the air.
A person may disagree with Governor Palin’s politics, but she is by no stretch of the imagination “slutty” looking. In fact, she looks like the ideal all-American girl. Smart dresser, always appropriate (unlike Mrs. Obama, I might add), and she wears great shoes.
She is not responsible for the dirty minds of others.
I agree that Sarah Palin does not dress slutty! Michelle Obama is black and therefore beautiful because of affirmative beauty action she can do no wrong.
good enough
When you click on the Facebook sign-in link, it’s in some foreign language.
affirmative action promoted her to beauty queen? LOL.....I have a pain in my side from laughing.....good one.
It’s in poor taste no matter which daughter it is. I say again Letterwoman is a DOUCHEBAG.
Say good night Dave...for the very last time.
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