David Letterman Apologizes to Sarah Palin for A-Rod Joke

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her morals such that she allowed the guy that got her daughter preh=gnant live with her and took him on tour with her. she put them front row center for the whole world to see. she should have left them home. imho she lacks sound judgement. i would not vote for her for dog catcher. we need morals in the white house. and no i am not a democrat. i am just someone that is tired of the crap. we have important things going on her. she is not it.

geronam of CA 5:43PM October 01, 2009

David Letterman does more philanthropic deeds than anyone knows-- and just what has Palin ever done?--- she even quit her governors job .. Like the saying goes-- "If you cannot stand the Heat get out of the Kitchen' so how in the world could she ever be in the political scene .. I hope she goes back to the woods and watches Russia from he backyard. I want to thank David Letterman for being a caring man and helping silently -- so many people not only with his humor - but his money.

betsyb of IN 2:35PM October 01, 2009

He offered an apology and Palin accepted it, move on! David Letterman has a show where he makes fun of people EVERY night, if you don't like it then don't watch it! I never heard of people making a huge deal when he or others would make fun of the Bush daughters, Clinton's daughter or any other person in the Government. Obviously people are still ticked that Palin didn't win...

Tay of CA 2:04PM October 01, 2009

I don't watch Letterman, so I didn't hear the joke. Okay so it was in bad taste, he apologized, done deal. But while everybody is up in arms about it why aren't all these same folks decrying the alarming rising rate of teenage pregnancies period? Sarah Palin's daughter as far as I'm concerned is just another stat. Underage and got pregnant. Had she not have been Sarah Palin's daughter, the issued of her pregnancy wouldn't have even appeared on the radar! Folks, please this fall under the category of can't see the forest for the trees!

T. Harris of AR 5:10PM June 18, 2009

Look, I'm a bit out of the loop when it comes to popular news celebrities and such, so I didn't even hear about this joke until I read this article. (Yeah, I live under a rock, yadda yadda.) But what I don't understand is just -why- it took so long for me to hear about it -- that is, why aren't people completely OUTRAGED by this Letterman guy?!

First of all, the "joke" itself is blatantly inflammatory and insulting, and he had no right to badmouth Palin's daughter. Period. Second of all, what makes him think it's okay to utter such a CRUDE remark about ANY teenage girl, whether fourteen or eighteen?? If this guy had "joked" about an Obama girl, he'd be fired on the spot and bludgeoned to death by the American public. Why is it suddenly different if it's a Palin girl?!

Sarah Palin was gracious to accept his apology, regardless of whether or not she "meant" it. If anyone EVER so shamelessly attacked my kid, they wouldn't breathe long enough to grovel in apology.

Seriously. This guy and all his script-writers are trash.

Karen of NJ 5:01PM June 18, 2009

Get a grip. Most of you would never of known about this without the self-righteous indignation from the right. Those of you who are so outraged listen to the socalled Fox News during Prime time and see what outrageous statements and misreprestations there are. Do you complain about these ? Letterman didn't write this joke he just read it off a prompter. He has apologized. The more you complain the more he benefits thru higher viewership. Again, get over it.

Falmouth of VA 8:51AM June 18, 2009

...but I still won't watch his show.

B. Foster of VA 6:19PM June 16, 2009

Letterman knocked up his girlfriend when he was well north of 50 years. How long was Letterman an un-wed daddy? His own personal screwups should have made him sensitive to telling that kind of joke. His leftist leanings get in his way with some of his jokes. Time he cleane4d them up or get off the air.

Ken of WI 5:49PM June 16, 2009

I had been raised to believe that folks with good morals had a moral code that they adhered to. At this juncture, I do not see that in some areas of Ms. Palin’s life. She indeed has been blessed with great bone structure, nice hair, and the glasses do a wonderful job for both her and Tina Fey. These, however, do not imbue one with morality.

My own personal moral measurement standard includes the Ten Commandments. One of these ten states: "Thou Shalt not bear false witness against thou neighbor." I do not believe this would apply solely to the Russians she can see on a clear day or to those living next door to her.

During the campaign for President of my country, I heard a shrill person voicing gross distortions of her opponents... actually outright lies in many cases. She is obviously quite talented in this regard, but as a potential leader of The Free World, quite sadly lacking in what we now need, I believe both morally and intellectually. Our current economic situation would apparently be far above her grasp, even if she continues to read "...all of them" magazines and newspapers.

Refusing to recognize the situation we are left to confront after years of incompetence, looting, hate-mongering, profiteering, etc., is not only ignorant and short-sighted, it is exceedingly dangerous. It is time to move away from those of extreme views whose chief talent is calling names and envisioning extremes where there are none. "He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him (her?)"

Look around... If you haven't lost a chunk of your 401(k), or had a big bite taken out of your home's equity, then you're probably a politician or a retired CEO, or someone else who doesn't actually have to WORK for a living. Face it: You're NOT going to win the lottery or become the next Kobe Bryant. Consider voting with that knowledge as a given fact. (But if you do win, go ahead and vote that way… We’ll miss you while it evaporates…)

What has happened to reason and moderation? Is where we are now the legacy of one who was, “A unite-er…not a divider”?

Where are we going… and WHY are we in this hand-basket…?

Are you part of the problem, or the solution?

Think, dammit!!

EDMAC of SC 5:22PM June 16, 2009

To those people who think Sarah Palin should "get over it", I suggest that they are the ones who don't get it. These children, regardless of their age, have not asked to be thrown into the limelight. All politicians, bring their young people into the mix when they are campaigning . . . Barack Obama did, Bill Clinton did, John McCain did, Mitt Romney did, etc. However, these young people don't ask for this attention and should be left out of the verbal fodder.

That being said, I can't help but wonder what the result would be if David Letterman had made an inappropriate joke about one of the Obama children. I'm convinced that EVERYONE would be outraged, not just the liberals . . . this is part of the double standard that needs to stop. We should all be concerned that David Letterman, in essence, called a young unmarried woman with a small child a whore. Does David Letterman believe that all unmarried young woman who make a mistake and get pregnant are whores . . . or just the conservative ones?

All those pundits who keep pointing out that unkind things were said about Chelsea Clinton, the Bush twins, Amy Carter, etc. should take the stand that political affiliations don't matter . . . the children are off limits . . . PERIOD.

D. Holland of OR 4:37PM June 16, 2009

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Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger

Robert Schlesinger is managing editor for opinion at U.S. News and World Report, overseeing all opinion editorial content. He is the author of White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters. E-mail him at rschlesinger@usnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @rschles.

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