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Palin Can't Outsmart Letterman
CBS; AP Photo
The governor has spent much of her public life in high-pitched feuds—but taking on late night’s prince shows a complete lack of political sophistication.
Top 10 lists about Sarah Palin's attack on David Letterman are already being written but really there is only one reason Palin should relent—she’s not a good enough politician to play.
Palin has spent much of her public life in feuds with the state legislature, with her ex-brother-in-law, with John McCain’s staff, with Levi Johnston’s family. An early fight with the chairman of Alaska’s Oil & Gas Commission paved the way to the governor’s office. She mostly wins, especially when the target is as easy, say, as a high-school dropout whose mother is under federal indictment. The Johnstons make the Palins look like Rockefellers.
Isn’t making a federal case out of a tasteless joke exactly what the right-wing loves to ridicule feminists for doing?
But picking a fight with a trained comedian, refusing to accept his apology, and continuing to battle after the white flag is shown reveals a complete lack of political sophistication.
Letterman apologized at unprecedented length for a comment about Palin’s recent trip to New York. There was, he said, “One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankees, during the seventh-inning stretch, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.” To which the Palins shot back: “Laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is… disgusting.”
Who said anything about a 14-year-old girl? Not Letterman. That would be… the Palins. It turns out it was Willow, not Bristol, who went to the baseball game. But who knew that until the Palins brought this “disgusting” comment so painful to their younger daughter to the attention of the 300 million people not tuned into David Letterman?
Letterman's joke was indeed tasteless—he even owed A-Rod an apology. But I doubt there was another soul in the world who didn’t understand the joke to be about the older Palin daughter, who lapped Jamie Lynn Spears as the most famous pregnant teen in the world once she was trotted out at the Republican National Convention in August. Not that Bristol should have been left at home in the dark, but if you want a “zone of privacy” around your daughter, do you have her appear on stage with her then-fiancé hinting at prospects of a White House wedding waving to the crowd like Charles and Diana of the Klondike?
And exploiting Bristol as an unwed teen mother didn’t stop with the campaign. Back in Wasilla, where Bristol could have been sheltered and given space to rebuild her life, the Palins arranged to send her out like a vaudeville act, traveling the country to talk about teenage pregnancy under the sponsorship of Candie’s, a clothing company known for sexually provocative outfits for tweens.
The Bristol “do as I say tour” had a rocky start once she admitted that abstinence was not “realistic”—apparently she was against it before she was for it. Note to mom: When you become the ambivalent poster child for unwed motherhood, you attract off-color jokes.
Letterman’s eight-minute expression of regret on Wednesday night was almost as riveting as the one where Letterman talked about his heart surgery with the doctors and nurses who cared for him.
“I’m telling you, I recognize that these are ugly. These are borderline... [but] these are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl.” The audience tittered. He remained serious. “Yes, maybe these are questionable because the girl, excuse me, who was knocked up is 18 years old... Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was OK for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No.” He invited her on the show.
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Sixth paragraph from last. Messed up parallel structure. Editing?
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I actually don't mind
Grammar police-
And for all appearances
They have their work cut out for them.
But a comment like that
First up -on a hot topic like this-
I'd say common sense police is
The call to make.
I agree, i hate reading a text that is awkward like the paragraph mentioned.
I am amazed that so many women are responding in favor of Ms. Carlson.
They appear too eager to kick and spit at a woman like Sarah Palin who has acquired her position through hard work and the ability to stand up against nay sayers and bigoted men like Letterman who use THIER power of humor to belittle women. Sarah did not need to go on to the David Letterman show to defend herself. She had every right to respond to his slander. The media was more than happy to expose it. Does that make Ms Palin wrong? As a working mother of three young men, I would turn into a bear if anyone were to publicly criticize them. CBS used commercials all day long stating that Letterman was offering an apology to Ms. Pahlin, were these not to promote HIS ratings? come on now...
First comment @ 11:36am, Stevens:
is that the best you can do? Sometimes it is just best to say nothing!!
Wow.
Sarah Palin, please go home.
Please, pretty please. With sugar on top.
Go home and leave everyone alone.
You're a running gag.
Margaret Carlson has been whoring for the left so long she has memorized all the cracks in the brothel ceiling.
Clever banjo. You really nailed her to the wall on that one. Took a lot of thought I bet. All you can muster no doubt.
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wanting: WOW that was an impressive smack down.
Nice.
Silly boy, thats just the mirror up there
wanting -- Banjo had it coming.
if you let go of whats between your legs, she might even read your palm.
It fascinates me how we love to tear down those we disagree with, and I do disagree with Margaret Carlson. However, I think she is intelligent and sincere in her beliefs. Sarah Palin has been maligned and scoffed at since the first day she emerged on the scene. Why? Well, the media didn't have Hillary there to kick around anymore. Women better wake up. We may not be required to physically cover up, but we are just as invisible. Dave is a misogynist. The flight attendant crack proves this point. The other comment, regardless of which daughter, disgraceful. Why attack Palin, she didn't tell the joke. Letterman did. She has every right to respond. And to call what Dave offered an apology...well Ms. Carlson, I would rewind that tape and look again.
Banjo1 is a PIAD Blogger folks so he gets paid to say whatever his handlers tell him too. Ignore his posts or accept them as writtings by a paid whore.
wanting: "there is no bigger whore in the history of politics than Palin - and there never will be."
Then might I suggest you read about Cleopatra (VII); she slept with Gaius Julius Ceasar and later Mark Antony to remain the puppet ruler of Egypt. I'd say that despite everything else that makes her a bigger contender for that title than Palin.
That being said I agree that Palin seems to be shooting herself in the foot here.
Poor banjo.
Looks like wanting already schooled your ass so I'll just leave it at that.
MC is a strumpet, a bawd and bum-bessie of the left, and I don't mean MC Hammer. (Let's see if this gets by the censors).
to nobodymovd: I listen to right wing talkers all the time. The first adjective they use when describing Sarah Palin is "attractive". Get it?
nobodymovd: This reminds me of the article on this site a week or two ago that compared the attacks on Sotomayor to the medias handling of Palin. Then, as now with your post, I think it is ridiculous to suggest that there can not be intelligent, capable women, and utter fools. She is attacked because she was nominated as vice president as part of a crass political calculation that proved to be a disaster as soon as she was given the opportunity to speak. When all you have is red meat slogans that appeal to a minority, you are unlikely to sway the opinions of the majority. She's an empty suit that will attack anybody if she thinks it will boost her career.
Nobodymovd:
Right on target.
NO She needs to keep lying out of her leaking pie hole so the GOP can find someone good to run in 2012!!!!!!!! She is doing to herself what banjo1 dreams of doing to her! LOL
BEST Palin laugh of the YEAR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DIc8jdra0o&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/ story/2008/10/6/224619/989/159/622263
If the media would stop pandering to this twit and her crazy claims. She would just fade away!!!!! Oh and McCain's daughter stating that Letterman would not pick on a DEM. Please!! He is going to joke about anything that is ridiculous, and it would not matter what their politcal party was. Palin's family is a easy pick; her children should get used it. When you give your your children ridiculous names, and are in the public eye it is bound to happen. You are a easier target.
Oh, and Natasha Muhseen is a nice normal name?
I SO AGREE SHE THINKS SHE CAN SCORE POINTS WITH HER CHILDREN AS MUCH AS SHE TALKS ABOUT HER SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD SHE IS NEVER WITH HIM
Banjo you dirt bag how dare you insult Margaret Carlson.
Were you live in a room face to face and talking trash like that your mouth would have been recognized for the toilet it is and someone would have, on the spot, stuffed you face first into the nearest crapper.
Where you belong!
The "Outsmart" god has spoken.
Great article! This is one of the best analysis I have read so far about the whole saga!
I agree . . . two wrongs don't make a right. Dave's inappropriate joke does not make her unfavorable, emotional, and irrational reaction okay either.
I am glad to hear someone else defend poor Willow in this scenario since her mother would rather exploit her and the situation for personal gain.
Sign on to get Letterman off the air at
http://firedavidletterman.com/
THE BEST.
Margaret Carlson
Is very comprehensive.
She's somebody you'd call to
Get no nonsense straightforward
Advice from if you had her number.
Nicely written.
Wanting, once again I'm struck by the unconscious homo hatred displayed here on TDB. Wanting to say something really nasty, you impute to me an ugly sexual interest in other men. You're hurting the feelings of a lot of frequent posters when you do that. As to your comments about Palin -- not worth a reply.
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Why would you find being gay "offensive?"
Declare it from the rooftops! Dance in the streets! Rainbow pride! There's a beautiful queen inside you just waiting to come OUT, so let her FREE, banjo and finally, FINALLY, be happy!
Banjo1 is a PIAD Blogger folks so he gets paid to say whatever his handlers tell him too. Ignore his posts or accept them as writtings by a paid whore
Bulldog -- you repeated "PIAD" here too. Your phrenetic rush to publish a glaring truth has mired what is a most excellent clarity in a total, justifiable, careless abandon.
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People are paid by special interests to sit around posting comments that direct ongoing political conversations in certain directions. It's the right's new version of their infamous direct mail campaigns of the past.
Palin is too stupid to be taken seriously.
"Stupidity" has nothing to do with be called a "slut"
or knocking up one's daughter.
Where was NOW (National Organization
for Women . . . if you are a liberal woman)
to speak about the tasteless joke ?
Where was NOW when
Bill Clinton was womanizing forever ?
He was a Democrat so he got a pass,
and NOW looked the other way, at the
expense of the women Clinton exploited.
The phoniest B.S. organization in America.
Do a little research, Sophia. Clinton's affairs were consensual. NOW only gets worked up about things when the perpetrator is *forcing himself* on the women -- as in the Clarence Thomas and Robert Packwood scandals.
Bristol Palin has taken on the role of Candie's national spokeswoman on abstinence. Although her mom wrongly dragged her into the spotlight last summer, Bristol, now over 18, has now chosen for herself to become a public figure on issues of sexual morality. NOW is not going to interfere with that.
It's so so kind of you to volunteer to set NOW's agenda... you must be a member, right? Maybe even an officer? Yeah.... I thought not. Grow up.
Check NOWs website before you post things, please.
They are condemning him soundly - "Media Hall of Shame".
Ankhorite: "Clinton's affairs were consensual." The President's affair with a 19-year-old intern who worked for him cannot be considered wholly consensual. Sexual harrasment cases have been built on much less.
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NOW did speak out. Try a Google News search. From one blog:
After this week's flap between Sarah Palin and David Letterman, which started when Letterman cracked a joke about Palin's "slutty flight attendant look" and another about her daughter getting "knocked up" by New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, the National Organization for Women has condemned Letterman's jokes and is asking its supporters to write to CBS and voice criticism.
"The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days -- it is exploitative and has a negative effect on how all women and girls are perceived and how they view themselves," the group writes on its website, pointing to Letterman's jokes as an example.
Rush Limbo was first to attack a child when he attacked 12 year old Chelsey Clinton. Where was all the phony right wing outrage then?
There was one woman from Ark. who claimed Cliniton raped her. I guess you well informed people missed it?
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Gov. Palin's response to press questions regarding Mr. Letterman's tirade should have been the sole one that my wife uses in response to my nonsense, to whit: "Boys will be boys."
Clinton got a PASS?? Are you from different universe or something?
He almost got impeached, screwed up things for himself, for his party and for his wife!
I usually agree with Margaret Carlson, and I agree with most of what she has written here. While I cannot fathom Governor Palin's continuing this episode as the only event that will be remembered is the tasteless comments about her daughter at the Yankees game. As for Letterman, his only saving grace is to make a sincere apology (no laughter from the audience) to the daughter and drop any further reference to the matter.
Absolutely!
1 except i haven't been following margaret.
question: is it wise for the right to be CONSTANTLY showing us their underbelly and asking everyone to "PLEASE PLEASE STOP TOUCHING ME THERE NO RIGHT THERE YEAH THAT'S WHERE IT HURTS TO BE TOUCHED SO PLEASE RESPECT MY VERY TENDER SPOT OR YOU'RE GONNA GET MORE COMPLAINING AND MAYBE MAKE ME GET MY GUN"?
('scuse my caps lock.)
i think i'd rather hear from and about miss x-cal than sarah.
@Ankhorite
"Clinton's affairs were consensual. NOW only gets worked up about things when the perpetrator is *forcing himself* on the women -- as in the Clarence Thomas and Robert Packwood scandals."
Ankhorite, "consensual" as in Paula Jones, who filed a sexual
harassment lawsuit against Clinton ?
It seems awfully predictable mentioning
two conservatives, Thomas and Packwood.
Yah, Packwood was a dirtbag and so was Clinton.
One Republican, and one Democrat.
Was NOW anywhere to be found during the Paula Jones case ?
Or was slick Willy their man, too important to a political agenda ?
Isn't NOW simply a Democratic Liberal political organization ?
Do they ever speak on behalf of a Conservative woman,
a Republican woman ?
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@WANTING
Of course WANTING, it must have been a Republican conspiracy. L.O.L.
You seem like the typical UN-OBJECTIVE ideologue.
Can you possibly see through liberal colored glasses ?
See if you can answer the question.
Isn't NOW simply a Democratic Liberal political organization ?%u2028
Do they ever speak on behalf of a Conservative woman,%u2028a Republican woman ?
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Wanting: one small addition about Paula Jones. Not only did she get money, she got a new nose. Courtesy of Ted Olsen and the Arkansas Project, which only cost $70 million.
Packwood was a Republican, but not conservative. He had, in fact, been best known for being a women's rights advocate, which was not enough to save him when NOW found out what he was up to.
Paula Jones was 100% consensual. She BRAGGED about it to her family and friends, one reason her sexual harassment suit would never have made it past a jury. That's why she got no support from NOW or other feminist organizations: the story she told Republican operatives had no relationship to the story she told everyone else about how proud she was that the Governor of Arkansas was hot for her.
By supporting women's equality and equal justice under the law, NOW speaks on behalf of all women, every day.
But NOW doesn't risk its own reputation supporting scam artists who tell one story to everyone they know, and then change the story to get political and cash support - including, for pete's sake, plastic surgery.
I can only say if you want to stand on the other side of this arguement with Gov. Palin, you stand alone. Sarah hit this interview out of the ballpark. America understands fair play. Jokes about "knocking up young girls" are not funny, and are not ecceptable behavior.
Insinuating that someone is a pedophile is hardly "ecceptable" behavior either. Palin needs to drop it before she looks any more foolish than she already does...if such a thing is possible.
When an old man is publicly making salacious comments about a little girl, what else could it be called?
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@ PortiaE in response to Atlanta-Cyclist:
Bristol Palin, eighteen and a mother, is not a "little girl." Furthermore, although initially she was forced into the public eye while still a minor by her horridly opportunistic mother, Bristol Palin has now CHOSEN to become an adult public figure in her own right, as the spokesperson for the Candie's Foundation Abstinence Campaign.
If he wants to make jokes about sexual hypocrisy, Letterman should pick on Sarah Palin herself about Sarah's own pre-marital pregnancy. He should have left Bristol in peace, because Bristol is not the one running for office. THAT is what Letterman should be criticized for, not these fake charges about "little girls."
The article paints a larger portrait
Of someone intent on maintaining
Their fury even at the expense of
Her real goals.
Palin does not look good
No matter what started it.
Yeah. I really can't fathom why Palin is involving herself in this matter.
Great comment. I agree with your sentiments 100%.
true or not, sarah is showing no sense of proportion.
Right you are. You would think that if Palin were truly concerned about her daughters she would accept Letterman's apology and put an end to it. Letterman should be ashamed of himself-- and actually seems to be. Palin has no shame or sense of discretion. If she wasn't so in love with the spotlight and was actually concerned about Bristol and Willow she would have let this die.
And don't you think she would have advised Bristol against the Candie's campaign? Somehow an uwed 18 year old girl, cradling a new-born child whose father is no longer in the picture doesn't lend much crediblity to abstinance as teen birth control (which Palin championed long before grandmotherhood was visited upon her). It simply makes Bristol look pathetic. The tour puts this kid back into the spotlight and on the cover of People magazine when she should be taking the time away from prying eyes to raise her child and figure out where her own life should take her.
Why is Palin always playing the role of the injured party? She of "palin' around with terrorists," whose closest counsel seemed to come from Joe the Plumber. This woman is an abomination.
I can only hope that other women--bright, sophisticated, well-informed women like Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, K. Baily Hutchinson, etc.,--will take the political stage back from this overbearing and disgustingly ambitious hick. When McCain picked her as a running mate, even he couldn't know what he was about to unleash.
I'm all for women in politics, but this woman makes the Beverly Hillbillies look cosmopolitan and urbane. She never knows when to sit down and shut up...and the media--yes, I'm talking to you Wolf Blitzer and Matt Lauer--just ;lap it up.
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She began a speech, complaining about Lehman Bros and Bear Stearns (Translation Jews) ruining the world economy with "Never again. . . . " which is a reference to the Holocaust. She is an anti-Semite! Her, "Never again" was her buzz word rap for her Joe 6-pack support group of anti-Semite types (vote for me I'm like you I hate the Jews, too) - that is what she was saying. That is one of the reasons why McCain don't like her.
She is slutty, her high heels like any street corner Ho's.
I wish you would learn how to properly use a comma and spell correctly. The word is 'acceptable'.
nothing's "ecceptable" I'm pretty sure that word doesn't exist.
No, jokes about "knocking up young girls" are not funny...unless the girl is an 18-year-old abstinence-only advocating single mother from a deeply conservative family. THEN the jokes practically write themselves. Nothing a comedian loves more then hypocrisy.
dreamer4ever...well-said.
"Knocked up" is a folksy way of saying impregnated out of wedlock. Bristol Palin was not married when she was impregnated. Why does the folksy Sarah insist on using quotation marks every time she says the words "knocked up"?
Margaret Carlson,
You are in the same category as Mr. Letterman, an old hack whose schtick is so last decade. The idea that you defend as a "joke" the tiresome frat boy denigration of women by left wing white men is on its face preposterous. Of course, you so want to be loved by all of the middle aged white male misogynists on MSNBC that you have become an inferior shadow of your pre-Clinton years self. It's really so sad to see you be remembered in your declining years this way.
You are way off base. This is not Margaret's issue, it's SP's issue. She could have taken the classy way out and accepted Letterman's apology. Instead, she continues to rant and rave and put her dtrs on the defensive. She is a horror and not a person to emulate in anyway.
If it's ok for Letterman to make jokes like this, is it ok for me to include your wife, daughters, sons,sisters,mothers in jokes online because my only intent is to make people laugh?
Sure. Have at it...
Nobody said that. He apoligized. But Palin has put her children out there. In part, it is also her fault. But that is also no excuse what Letterman said.
no, it's not okay - neither me nor my family are in the public spotlight, do not cray it, do not want it. we do not seek local or higher office and we do not parade ourselves, to include an unmarried pregnant teenage daughter, before the american public asking them to vote for us. when you put you and your family out in the public arena - including your teenage daughter - you are fair game for late night comedians.
So we can expect similar jokes about the Obama girls who have been out there publicly since 2007? I don't think so.
dahniuru - you miss the point entirely. It was not a joke about Bristol Palin, it was a joke about opportunism. They dragged their family into the spotlight as political props, whoring them out to sell their conservative agenda and to gain POWER, parents who actually care about their children do not do this. Did Letterman parade out his family to show what a good guy he is? No, he didn't. I wouldn't either.
Maybe, just maybe, she isn't running for President. And now it's her fault that Letterman made the tasteless joke about her daughter (age is not relevant). And she should have accepted an invitation from Letterman to appear on his show after his half-assed apology? And this would have changed the minds and hearts of Palin haters? I think not!!
Can't wait for son, Tucker, to weigh in............
Half-assed? He just about got on his knees... what more could he have done?
I don't know. He should have confessed more. Looked more sincere. Maybe we should torture him for a while, at least until Sarah feels better.
Since you ask....he could have said "I apologize for bad taste" or "I'm sorry this bad taste joke was included on the air."He didn't.
Al-nafs very funny
Great piece.
Hey bassinapple: 'Jokes about 'knocking up young girls' are not funny', but dragging your 14 year old daughter into it this 'fray' is? Will Governor Palin give up the Candi's sponsorship for Bristol?
Once again, it's the typical GOP play - Do as I say, not as I do.
Funny, we used to call them hypocrites.
I've been a big fan of Letterman during his entire career, dating back to his daytime show on NBC. His political humor was often sharp and funny. But for the past several years, it has turned mean-spirited, and I'm very disappointed by this. I think his "slutty flight attendant" remark was cruel, and not funny at all. His comment about Palin's daughter getting "knocked up" was tasteless, no matter to which daughter Letterman was referring. We should all recognize that those in political life, and family members in the edges of the spotlight, will continue to be lampooned, and that's okay. What isn't okay is when the basis of the humor is hatred or disdain. Even worse are articles like this one, where you've got liberal apologists falling over themselves deflecting the blame. Sarah Palin is a principled and protective mother. As a parent myself, I will not blame her for that, and since she commands the media's attention (a media whose disdain for her is obvious), she is taking a stand and taking Letterman to task. Letterman's comments the issue the other night were not a sincere apology by any stretch of the imagination, no matter what Margaret Carlson claims. I hope Letterman is honest enough to own up to this truth, and makes a sincere and heartfelt apology. I will still watch Dave, but it's not with the same level of enjoyment that I used to have for his political humor.
and he made spitzer the ultimate butt of one particular joke, but he's not conservative, so it's okay.
what do you think about assaulting trans children "jokes" or "i hate muslims" tirades by conservative radio personalities? who cares, right?
dm10003 -- make the case that the circumstances with Spitzer and Palin's daughter are the same thing, and I'll concede IF it makes sense.
murphy -- If you know Letterman, you must know he lured Gov. Palin into his trap. Watch the fun he's having.
No one gets this.
Palin is being duped into
Flashing the world with her true colors
And she's too dumb to put her
Outrage down for anything that looks
Like a strategy.
She's not very good at checkers
Never mind chess.
Ritarita -- My guess is a lot of people get it and are in awe of the fireworks. Sometimes the deafening silence is the worst thing to happen to one of the feuding parties. This is a win win for Dave.
Now, about the GOP wingnuts, where's the rage, where's the righteous indignation. Wait, they would have to protest one of Dave's...uhm, Top Ten?
She is weak in the chess
What an absurd article. It's not for the media to decide how one stands up for their children. And to suggest Palin has picked fights with others is simply false.
The truth is, liberal women like Carlson, who had a failed marriage and a political philosophy that really never makes sense, dislikes Palin because she is everything they are not: successful mother and grandmother, pro-life, a business owner, an elected official and a woman comfortable in her own skin.
The DAILY BEAST proved today what cowards those on the left really are...like Letterman and like Carlson and others. DB didn't even have the courage to run the complete 11 minute video of Palin's interview with Matt Lauer.
And finally, as far as 'politicians' doing late-night...that's simply part of the problem. But then, Palin is not a politician...she is a citizen who had a successful life outside of politics (unlike our President for example) and decided to clean up the corruption she saw. Citizen leaders DO NOT need late night appearances with elitist snobs like Letterman to prove their points. They live them instead.
And Margaret, some years ago on tv, I heard you give a wonderful interview where you mentioned your love for your own daughter. I feel fairly certain you'd be beside yourself if anyone had attacked her or you for being a bad mother. So, lay off Palin and quit licking the boots of insignificant and over-paid egotists like Letterman.
"The truth is, liberal women like Carlson, who had a failed marriage and a political philosophy that really never makes sense, dislikes Palin..."
Good thing you're not getting personal about this. Palin IS everything Margaret is not, ignorant, racist, out of touch and a poor excuse for a mother. Personal enough for you?
"Palin is not a politician"
your whole argument is tissue.
Palin's feuds with just about
Everybody are pretty well documented.
This is 2009- everything is documented.
You'd have to be in pretty willful denial
To say they never happened.
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WANTING:
Your responses here say all that needs to be said about your state of mind...and I'm sorry you parrot the hate-mongering practiced by media outlets such as MSNBC.
I think Governor Palin offers a fresh outlook and you do not. That's fair. It's okay to disagree. However, you might want to disagree with some class. Governor Palin is a fact of life for our nation's future just as others have to deal with the thought of President Obama being a part of our nation's future too. But, I'd rather have someone in Washington with 'real life experience' not our President who had existed on the basis of government grants, a corrupt political machine in Chicago and a media that does not challenge anything he says.
I applaud Governor Palin's courage just as I applaud Mr. Obama's willingness to serve...but we simply disagree on who is better able by life experience to lead.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
jpelhamtn:
You did it again! You tell it like it is.
"But then, Palin is not a politician."..HUH!!!!!??????
Are you retarded??? Seriously.....Are you??
"she is a citizen who had a successful life outside of politics (unlike our President for example)" HUH????? Retard...I mean Jpelhmantn....check your facts moron before you express your lunacy on these pages...you just look foolish and really really dumb. Obama didn't have a successful life outside of politics? That's news to me and patently false.
Palin is an idiot who couldn't carry Letterman's jock strap....He is superior to her in every way imaginable.She is a beauty queen idiot at best. She has nothing to offer this society. Nothing! At least Letterman is intelligent and entertaining. The Palins need to get on their snow-machines and drive off into the Alaska sunset. They are a joke...and so are all these Palin supporters here. Really the dregs of society. Stick to the Fox news and other right-wing websites where your poor grammar,misspellings, and lunatic points of view are applauded.
I am sorry to say, she is a major disappointment even to Alaskans. Read the comments about her on www.adn.com to find out how locals are starting to feel about her. Not very pretty.
jpelhamtn:
You are absolutely right!
jpelhamtn -- well said!
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Do you live in Alaska? I lived there for 20 years and Palin is and was and will forever be, an idiot.
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Charleston-
What do you think
The voters
Would have done if Obama had
A pregnant teen-aged daughter during
The election?
Or if one of his 'family' had been
Busted for drug dealing?
Or if he had a son who did a court
Mandated military stint because
Of vandalism charges?
Or if he held what amounted to Black power rallies
Where his supporters yelled 'Kill him kill him'
In reference to John McCain?
I could go on and on and on
But you get the idea.
Ritarita:
As the CharlestonDover said, There simply is no excuse.
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Obama's mother was a pregnant teen back in '61 who "had" to get married. Will you paint BO's family with the same prejudiced brush you use for the Palins?
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yes, you are right. All the above did happen.
Tempest in a teapot is what it is. I would not have apologized. Palin can blow me.
Letter was over the line. But so is Palin -- as she has been since taking her daughter public for political ends. If Palin would have said back in September: "My daughter made a mistake. Her life will be kept private. I ask you to respect our desire for her privacy," and then kept her out of the spotlight, then I would agree. The Palins chose to use their children ad political props. Now, sadly, the children will pay the price.
No one would even have been talking about this had Palin not responded. Good article.
They are talking about this because the media made this a story. They refused to cover Palin's purpose of traveling east...which helped raise over $400,000 for children with autism...and for her other trip in the spring which raised similar sums for those with Down's Syndrome. If the annoying elitist media would simply treat her with the respect she deserves, fading comedians like Letterman would not have dared to make such a statement.
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So? It is Palin's prerogative to respond to offense. The author assumes this episode is a game and she is the scorekeeper. Wrong! I think people such as Carlson should stay out of it.
The offense was against Gov. Palin's 14 yr. old daughter, intended or not. The Palin family KNEW and the 14 yr. old KNEW. Is this how grown men treat women?
Is this how how grown men treat teen girls? What he said was stupid, sick, and cruel. Yes, Cruel. And there is no excuse.
If he wanted to apologize, sincerely, he should have swallowed his pride and offered a private as well as public apology; not make a mockery of the whole thing on his SHOW.
I agree with the author. None of us who hadn't seen the show would know anything about this but for the Palins using it for their own sick purposes. Letterman said what he was going to say about it and Palin won't let it go -- because she gets to play indignant victim mother.
Good article. I thought Letterman's comments about the Palin's (mother and daughter) were tasteless. He admitted it. I understood Palin's anger, but when I saw her on the Today Show this morning, my sympathy for her ended. She is so not ready for prime time. She has no idea when to shut up. Terrible performance. Letterman has shown much more grace and taste in his apology than she has in her continued ranting. She had a right to be angry, but she's not helping herself.
I couldn't agree more.
Agreed. While Palin was justified in being angry, the second outburst was totally without grace. And it's sad, because those sorts of jokes should NOT be ok, but her over-the-top performance just makes Letterman look classier and, in turn, gives those jokes a further life that they shouldn't have.
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Charles, the 40-year-old virgin in his mom's bedroom speaks.
With skin this thin she will never survive a presidential primary campaign. No wonder the McCain staff built a bubble around her. Sarah is going to end up as a bigger joke and national embarassment than Dan Quayle. The only question is will she take the GOP down with her?
Yes
If you call her thin-skinned, then by extrapolation you are calling Obama thin-skinned as well. We all remember how, during the primaries, Obam told people to lay off criticism of his wife even though Michelle had been out on the campaign trail every day. And he also said families were off limits. Why the double standard???
This is not about Obama. He acts with dignity even though idiots like Hannity, Rush etc. blather like psycho's on a daily basis and condemn him with regularity. There is a reason that the republicans are in exile; they are so mean spirited and nasty as to have driven the population away.
What double standard? I'm sure Obama would agree that Letterman should not have used the Palin's daughter in a joke.
But you never see him running around and whining about something after he says his piece.
One can only hope!
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finally, somewhere to say something about this liberal, left wing hack pretending to be a journalist or something like that... Carlson...
Dave is a jerk and his ratings will fall off over the next year and he will melt away from our memories just like OJ did...
as for Carlson, if she really believes what she wrote here then you have realize that she is brain dead and just another one of those liberal talking heads who will somehow defend even the worst cases of disgusting and despicable left wing behaviour no matter what.... why anyone would even give her credit for any semblance of real thought I don't know... why give her this forum anyway? is this Huffington Post 2?
Are you advocating DENYING Carlson her Freedom of Speech .... ?
The IRONY ...
I thought you were Conservative ....
I think they all sound like idiots.
I would guess Letterman got all kinds of free advertising for his stupid show, which I never watch cause I can't stand his slow stupid humour, which is slow and stupid in my opinion, a lot of people like that kind of stuff. His show has been on for a long time, so someone must be watching it.
I feel sorry for Levi, he looks like a nice kid, and so does Bristol. They probably needed some fun considering both families may be difficult to live with, and they obviously should have been more careful when taking risks which lead to consequences they might not be prepared for. I find it more disturbing that they parade that poor little baby around, who appears to be a victim of consequences from day one.
So I think the joke was stupid, and it was stupid that he appeared to get the daughters mixed up too, I think the good news is, i would think, he is going to retire soon.
I hate to say this but Palin could be good TV. I know she doesn't mean to be funny but she is, I think because she is out of sync with so much and I think people who live in rural or slow paced areas sometimes want to be out of sync.
I think if Sarah had showed up for the show his ratings could have gone through the roof, and he possibly could have made her look out of sync, because I think she knows at times she is out of sync but she does fit the Alaska situation quiet well or she wouldn't have her seat as Governor, which does deserve respect.
Palin can't do the show because she needs to be handled. Can you imagine how much more stupid she would sound if she didn't have her consultants telling her what to say. Again, Republican lack of self-awareness. They get behind this meme that Obama needs a teleprompter at all times, while at the same time getting behind a potential candidate who considers Katy Couric to be a tough interview and "what newspapers do you read" to be a gotcha question.
"Palin can't do the show because she needs to be handled" ... yeah but that is why she would be good in reality TV shows and talk shows! It is more entertaining when the "stars"/guests of the shows are stupid, incoherent and inarticulate. She just can't be on any news program that's all. Oops...I was trying to be good and not say anything negative but I can't help myself. :-)
He's only 62! He just got the top ratings over all other late night talk shows. You are rather deluded in your suppositions.
All children should be "off limits" for comedians and pundits. Period! Having said that, Sarah, it's time to let it go. You have made your feelings known to the point you risk no longer looking like a protective mother, but instead a politician with an "agenda".
Isn't it interesting that George and Laura Bush managed to make their kids off limits during their campaigns and in the White House as did Jack and Caroline Kennedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy and Roselyn Carter and most other folks who aspired to that office.
Not so, Palin. She isn't a protective parent, she's a hypocrite.
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I agree completely.
Why is it that no one was up in arms when comedians made fun of the Bush twins? Politicians - and their families - have to understand that they are public figures. If they don't want to be public figures, don't go into public service. Better yet, if you do go into public service but don't want to be the brunt of jokes, make certain that you and your family are above reproach. Don't parade your unwed pregnant daughter around as a political prop. Sarah Palin should have put her daughter's feelings above her own desire to run for VP. And so, Sarah Palin has no one to blame but herself when people make jokes about her family. People - including Sarah Palin - are saying that Sasha and Malia Obama are "off-limits" and that it's a double standard. No, it really isn't. They aren't easy targets like Palin's kids because their parents don't parade them around and use them as political props.
Sarah Palin sets the women's rights movement back decades and then has the nerve to ask us to believe that this whole issue is about women's rights? This is really about two issues... the first is that Sarah's limelight is fading fast and she needs to keep herself out in front of the cameras so she's using this absurdity for her own gain despite what it is doing to her daughters... the second issue is that David Letterman has made so very many jokes at her expense and she is milking this thing for all she can get out of it in an attempt to get back at him. But she's just no match for him.
I feel sorry for anyone who thinks she's a good mother, a good role model or a good politician. And I thank God that there are enough of us out there who disagree and that our political candidate was elected into office.
And speaking of double standards, Dave acknowledged that what he said was in poor taste... he acknowledged that he even regretted saying the jokes. But even after he explained himself and acknowledged that regret, she implied that he is a pedophile by stating that Willow should not go near Dave. And when Matt Lauer asked her if her implication was also in poor taste, she told Matt to interpret her statement anyway he wanted. Did Letterman come out on Wednesday night and say that when he referred to Palin's daughter in his joke, the public could interpret his meaning any way that we wanted? No! He explained himself and with the utmost sincerity said that he would never joke about rape or sex of any description with a 14-year old girl. On top of all of what I've written above, when Palin said "it would be wise to keep Willow away from" him - and Lauer pushed her on what she was implying, she then said "maybe [Willow] would want to react in a way that would take [Dave] off guard." Well... then what she really meant to say was that Dave should stay away from Willow, not the other way around.
I am soooooo very sick of Sarah Palin and of all the other Palins. It boggles my mind to think that she actually has supporters.
Sorry Margaret, but I think you have been hanging out with Olbermann a little too long! How does one justify inferring that an 18-year-old single mother is a whore . . . . as just GOOFING?! I wonder how Letterman's girlfriend, whom he married long AFTER she had his baby would feel if treated the same way?
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So Letterman deemed Palin as FAIR GAME because he just can not tolerate a teenager talking publicly to other teenagers about the consequences of having sex? Hmmmmm?
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You must be one of those people who think it makes more sense to get sexual instruction from priests.
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ikidyounot, You seem to conveniently forget the fact that this 18 year old was 17 when she got pregnant by the son of a drug dealer, right under the nose of her power-hungry parents. Rather than show humility and grace, she paraded around the nation splashing magazine covers and daytime television as the poster child for--wait for it--ABSTINENCE.
If you do not see A) Hypocrisy )B pandering C) incredulity and D) free range to point out all of the above, you are truly naive and maybe I envy you that.
And the worst part is that the performance made Levi look ...by contrast ...good?
I would think that could be a reason why he made the joke, to get Palin all wound up, and then he could invite her to his show to make up and his ratings would go through the roof.
I would think he got the girls mixed up by mistake if that is what happened.
What I don't like, is the the double messages related to sex, and I find some of the evangelistic type Christians tend to be very sexually provocative and anti sex at the same time, which I think is not a good thing when dealing with horny teenagers who have to be taught and reminded how to make important decisions especially when some decisions lead to feelings that usually are quite pleasurable for a few minutes, and the effects if not careful could lead to huge consequences.
And that poor little Tripp. First he has a funny name so he will always be recognized as that baby that was unplanned, it wasn't his fault, and he is adorable.
Excellent.
palin's response is interesting, given that she ran with a man who makes jokes about chelsea clinton's "lesbian" parentage, women raped by gorilllas and so on.
Good point, jazzgrrrl25! He joked, "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?" His answer? "Because her father is Janet Reno." So why did Palin agree to run with McCain if she is so offended and feels that children of politicians are off-limits?
Additionally, in her interview with Matt Lauer, Palin incorrectly quotes Obama saying that his children are off-limits. He didn't refer to his own children, he was actually referring to *her* kids... he didn't want anyone taking political potshots at Bristol as an unwed mom. His own mother got pregnant with him at 18. He felt it was unnecessary to bring up Palin's condition in this election.
Thank you for remembering what McCain is really like.
exploora -- Letterman gets paid millions to sound like an idiot.
Palin is good TV.
You think Dave is the only one that's mixed up about the daughters?
See this: http://tinyurl.com/m5lewk
The family isn't mixed up about the daughters. But that doesn't matter, somehow. Them kind don't deserve respect from us lower 48 folk. We are better than them hicks from Alaska. That's what they get for having so many daughters. How do they expect us civilized people to keep track? And those classless girls, one of them knocked up, not married - who do they think THEY ARE?
Wow: The censors are really laying waste today.
Please don't get like HuffPo, folks. Please?
Yes but they leave the comments
Up there for days and then after
Everyone has read them
They take them down.
Kind of nonsensical.
I don't think she "took on" David Letterman as much as reacting to an extremely tasteless joke about a NY Yankee having sex with her teenage daughter. Politician or not, any mother would be incensed to have there daughter degraded on nationwide TV.
Degraded to the point that she makes sure the WHOLE WORLD gets a hint of that degradation ... ??
She sure has her priorities in check .... NOT !
She responded to an extrememly tasteless and crude sexual joke about her teenage daughter. That would be a high priority for me if this has- been made a joke about my teenage daughter being knocked up by a NY Yankee. Yes, Governor, he is pathetic. So are all his liberal defenders who don't see this as offensive because it's a Republican's daughter.
Thank you.
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