Caribou Barbie and Letterman Go to War .... Over Very Little.
Yeah, this would have been a lot more pertinent had I written it yesterday, but it was pretty busy last night - lots of fires to put out. So, Sarah Palin and David Letterman are at each other's throats this week. Sort of... In case you've been under a rock the past 72 hours, here's the poop: Letterman made a joke about Palin's trip to New York this week. Palin went to a Yankee game, and Letterman joked that everything went great, except that 'her daughter got knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.'
It was an obvious jab at Palin's daughter, Bristol, who recently had a child out of wedlock. The problem was, Bristol Palin wasn't at the game - Willow Palin, her 14 year old daughter was..... OOPS!! All of a sudden, it sounded like Letterman was talking about raping a minor - at least to Palin and he husband , Todd, it did. That's when Letterman began to backtrack, and what sounded like a great joke turned into a lot of bad press...
Letterman did apologize, and then he offered to have Palin on the show to discuss it. Palin declined, not allowing Letterman to get ratings at her expense. Maybe she IS smarter than Oprah.... Maybe, but I don't think Palin is a total innocent in this matter. She's allowed this to blow more out of proportion than it had to be. A simple "it was in poor taste" would have sufficed, but Palin DOES like the spotlight, and this incident sure helped stretch out her airtime...
And what about Letterman? Yeah, a 62 year old guy that jokes about a 14 or 18 year old girl being assualted is a bit creepy. But, I doubt that he even wrote the joke. Perhaps you didn't know, but comedy shows have teams of writers who work on the show. Letterman probably was just reading someone else's joke, but when the show is in your name, you better cover your bases (and something else) when you tell it. He forgot to....
So, what is today's summary on the incident? Well, things aren't always as they seem. People sometimes like to play the victim, and others just plain don't think.......
http://www.hulu.com/watch/39808/saturday-night-live-update-palin-rap
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24 comments:
"Letterman did apologize" Mike, from what I've seen, what masqueraded as an apology dripped so much mock scinecerity that bore the marks of David having written it in the snow in urine. It may be as much of an apology as he was going to give, but NOW has jumped his case.
Poor Dave, maybe Johnny's selection of Jay Leno was right on the mark. I'd book Palin on Conan's show as quickly as I could, were I a NBC producer.
OTOH, my fourth choice for the 2008did diss her on Letterman, without showing native Arizonan gentility or evidence of the Goldwater or Reagan mantles...
You gotta love that Palin Spunk...
With or without NOW...Momma bears take no prisoners...it's going to be a long interesting ride into 2012..Remember girls play for keeps.
Mike it wasn't said to be funny. It was a political digg. Not everything he says is funny nor meant to be. He and others like him at so into beating her up because they're afraid of her and her capabilities.
he's in a ratings battle with O'brian and he's going to milk this as much as he can. Anyway you slice it you don't attack a candidates family. Especially 14 year old little girls. I have a 16 year old daughter. Had he said that about mine David would not make it to 63. I know how he has writers but he decides whether or not to use a joke. He used it. He owns it. He bought and paid for it. He's responsible for the content of HIS show.
It's a big deal Mike because you don't go around making jokes about 14 teen having sex with adults.
I know you don't have kids so your point of reference is a bit different. BUT for those of us that do we don't care for it.
Ron McGill A Proud Parent of Kids that go to school somewhere.
It was in poor taste and it shouldn't have been said. IMO, though, I think it was more of a digg at ARoid, but maybe that's b/c I think he's the type of guy who would sleep with a 14 year old.
But Palin is full of it as well. Her credibility on being offended about it would ring a little truer if she had not trotted that same daughter and her boyfriend/fiance out during the campaign, then promptly had the attorneys draw the knives on the boy once the campaign and the relationship were over.
However tasteless the joke was, Bristol Palin (I know it wasn't Bristol at the game, but I thought Letterman admitted that was the targetted butt of the joke) has given interviews and what not about her relationship and her thoughts on teen sex. If Todd and Sarah don't want people hacking on their daughter, they could help matter by keeping her from giving those folks ammo.
Ron...you are right!!!!
Pluvlaw...you are a democrat..be afraid..be very afraid of Palin!!
Plulaw-I think you missed the point; if the children of Obama and other dems are off limits then so arre Megan McCain,Bristol Palin and the rest.
I can promise you that if I were on the national stage and any comedian decided to use my kids and especially my grand kids as comedy fodder,the led story on the Today show,Good Morning America and others would be me doing my imatation of Ric Flair,the Rock and Steve Austin to Letterman,Conan or whomever.
Look,when a politican enters national politics he/she and their significant other can expect media scrutiny, but not other family members. But most expecially not children under 18,in these times there are a few too many nutjobs who might do something incredibley stupid for the publicity. That is what Gov.Palin is angry about and she is right.
S.Palin may not be my favorite Republican but right now she has my full support on this, take him hunting Sarah and take Dick Cheney with you for back up...teg
Yeah, I don't have kids, so my tolerance is probably a bit schewed than some of you. However, we've talked a few times about being above the fray, and falling into the trap that TV talk shows, and even bloggers set for you.
If Palin plans to run in 2012, she needs to not worry about errant jokes about her kid, and act Presidential. Pun aside, she still steps into the Bear Trap too much..
P-Luv, that was a cheap shot at A-Roid, uh, A-Rod. Why do you think he wears Number 13 ??
I think kids are off limits as long as they are kept off the public stage. For instance, there is no way Megan McCain can be considered off limits. Not now that she is going around doing interviews and making speeches and not during the campaign when she was stumping for her dad. Bristol Palin has gone out (or possibly been pushed) into the public eye. Once again, I know the it was not her that at the game, but the other daughter. Of course, it was bad and Letterman should know the rules. Afterall, it was on his show that Limbaugh broke them when he made the Chelsea Clinton dog joke back in the day.
But not all kids are off limits. If they go out and start speaking publicly, they are just as open to ridicule and criticism as anyone else. I'm not talking about little cush family interviews where they ask the kids about their parents or generic questions. I'm talking about when the kids start speaking out on issues. If the Obama girls start doing that publicly, they are fair game.
And believe me as far as a Palin candidacy in 2012...would that it were, Anon. Would that it were.
Bristol Palin was pushed into the public eye when democrats wanted to make a huge issue of her out of wedlock pregnancy. She was a child. A pregnant child......
Some of us conservatives believe sex outside of marriage is the sin.....not the pregnancy that results from it... and that an abortion would be an additional sin. A democrat candidate would have ordered the abortion and pretended to be sinless. What huge hypocrites you democrats are.
Of course, a minor child is off limits. Kept off the public stage? How would you do that.....Obama did not keep his children off the public stage...rather he used them to the max..but they were very definitely off limits... as all the children should be.
....Democrats are all afraid of her.....because of the things she represents... everyone knows it.
BTW---I never said she would be the 2012 GOP candidate...it is a long way to 2012.....and I hope we will choose well from a wide field of candidates
I never talked about this before, but I did have something a bit similar when I was first running for Congress. I think Palin handled the whole pregnancy thing well last year. She defended her daughter, supported her despite her mistake, and still kept her stance on the issue intact.
This is different. This is just someone makign cracks. Water off a duck's back...
Sorry pluvlaw, This is not one you can win. 14 year olds are not to be touched. Ever. This is not a democrat issue. It's not a Republican issue. It's a human issue.
It's also not an issue of poor taste because you're not suppose to have a taste for 14 year olds. Not when you're a 62 year old millionaire.
I will not allow you nor anyone else to confuse the situation. Lettermen did it for ratings. He did it for the free publicity and he did it for political reasons.
To equate adult children with minor children is a ruse to attempt to confuse. It's not going to work here. This little girl has done nothing wrong. Zero. She was born to parents who just so happen to be in the public eye. BUT shes' still just 14. You cannot, under ANY circumstances say she got raped and impregnated by a adult baseball player just to make a joke so you look good or to make her parent look bad. What's so hard to understand about that? I know you know that. Please don't let your politics blind you to what's right and what's wrong.
P.S. I didn't like it when it was done to Amy Carter. I didn't like it when it was done to Chelsea Clinton and I don't like it now.
Ron McGill
Ron, not that P-Luv needs me to defend him, but I don't think he's stated that this was okay. Kids in the public eye are a bit dicey. You use them in politics to promote yourself, but you also try to keep them out of the public eye and protect them. Not an easy task...Obama and Palin both have played the game, and this game goes back all the way back throughout American history. Late night comedians are there to say the wrong things, and personally, I can't remember the last time I was up late enough to watch any of them. He'll pay a price for saying it.
Not for nothing, but I believe I said it was bad and that Letterman should know the rules.
I also drew a distinction about what I referred to as being on the "public stage" when it came to making someone fair game. Since it was missed the first time, I'll repeat it:
I said Bristol was fair game, because she's taken to the public stage to voice her views (remember her comments on abstinence education?? It was a televised interview on CNN), just like Megan McCain is fair game (she's duking it out with Ann Coulter, for pete's sake).
And I may be wrong, but I'm pretty damn sure Democrats had absolutely nothing to do with all the Britol-Levi meet McCain photos we got to see when they flew the kid in and the rest of that PR her mom allowed to take place in an attempt to get out in front of the story. I'm sure the reasoning was to try to show that she wasn't some floozy sleeping with everyone, but that these kids were in love and were going to try to do the right thing. I'm sorry it appears they are not going to make it and in fact, that it may be turning kind of ugly. It's a damn shame and in all honesty, not surprising. That situation is incredible pressure on any teenage couple, let alone one with the pressure of the public eye on it. Here's to hoping if they are done, they can put all the BS aside for the sake of the kid.
But the fact of the matter is that Todd and Sarah made the decision to put the girl and her baby's daddy out there in that way and when they did that, it became NEWS. How do I know it did, b/c every damn news program covered it (just like McCain-Palin wanted). And when its news, it's going to get covered. Hell how could it not get attention when the campaign was actually pushing it?
Amy Carter was before my time. But I don't recall Chelsea having been in a similar situation. In fact, other than puff piece interviews, I don't think I ever heard her speak until Hillary's Presidential run. (And I'll say this, she was by far the most effective Clinton during that campaign).
Chelsea got some flak for not being the prettiest puppy in the litter, but I think she ended up okay. I had a post during the campaign that the Clinton camp was limiting her speeches, like her viice was squeaky or something, but they eventually let her out.
Amy Carter had a lot of light initially becuase she was the first school age kid since the Kennedys....
pluvlaw we're not talking about the same issue. You keep changing the topic to Bristol. Which is fine. You're allowed to do that. When you can't win an argument with the facts then you must change the arguments to fit your facts. They teach that in law school.
Here's some more facts. If we stay on my topic you lose. I know that and you do as well. Defending a 62 year old man against a 14 year old girl and he started it all.
You're going to be looking for a plea bargain or settlement.
Please don't bother to bring up Bristol. I don't care. She was never the issue. I never included her. If that's the basis of your arguments then there is none. We are in accord. BUT since this blog was not about Bristol yours is not the correct argument.
There is not a parent anywhere, who cares about their children, who will agree with you on this. Now there are many that will agree purely for political reasons. There are also many people that will sell their soul for political purposes.That's a different story.
Ron McGill
She was also placed in public school in the district. That was a huge fiasco. The Republicans saw it as pandering and the parents saw it as a danger to their kids safety. she was removed in a few weeks if I remember correctly.
I remember a photograph of her at her school desk surrounded by the SS.
That is correct, Sir ! I was going to mention it, but I was worried that I would catch hell for calling sending Amy Carter to a 90% black school (and the wolves) a bad idea....
I will say this both Chelsea and Amy has got to be the two ugliest young women who ever spent the night in the White House.
Do you remember Carter discussing Nuclear proliferation with Amy? He actually brought that up in a press conference or a debate with Reagan. I don't remember which.
How old was she at the time ? 8 or 9?
One of the worst Presidents if not the worst ever. But it was not her fault.
Uglier than Hillary, Anon? I was very young, but I heard that the Johnson sisters were pretty homely...
Ron, I vaguely remember the Amy consultations. It seems to me that Amy has spent the past 30 years just hiding in embarrassment of her dad....
Do you know that she didn't let her dad give her away stating "I belong to no man." So you maybe correct.
That could be our cautionary tale for today for politicians: Think of your kids before you let your ambition ruin their lives...
no doubt Republicans have more beautiful kids that Democrats
Ron, I said the joke was bad, I said it was in bad taste (it's friggin comedy, not a love letter he sent to her afterall) and I said it was against the rules. Sorry if that's not enough, but I thought we were finished with that issue.
The rest of remarks were in response to Teg's comments that kids were, per se, off limits. I don't think that is always the case, if their exposure goes beyond the normal puff pieces.
If you disagree, so be it. It's not like there's a right or wrong answer, there's just our opinions and that's mine. However, since I don't have a latenight talk show, I'm pretty sure you can sleep easy at night, assured that I won't be disparaging anyone on network tv.
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