Forget The Lipstick, The Pitbull Is Here
June 12th, 2009 at 1:28 pm by CrankyLetterman could not have expected the firestorm that he ignited by taking on the Palins on the occasion of their trip to New York.
In case you haven’t seen this yet. Here he is doing his usual schtick which became unfunny sometime after I graduated college. Whether the loss of amusement was due to him losing his edge or me no longer smoking pot, we may never know.
Well, the pitbull removed her lipstick and took a bite out of Letterman. It culminated this morning with Palin’s appearance on the Today show.
In my opinion, if he wasn’t so self-admittedly in the bag for Obama, this joke probably wouldn’t have sparked the outrage it did. It is the comedian’s role to make fun of public figures, but since he took Obama off the table, the attack on the Palins seem more partisan and gratuitous.
The attributed source of the outrage was the Alex Rodriguez/Willow Palin joke which was certainly in bad taste and did cross the line. But I’m not sure that the joke alone would have led to the same level of outrage.
By taking sides, Letterman appears to delve into mean spirited partisan politics.
That’s my opinion. Yours?
June 12th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Greetings:
Mean-spirited is as mean-spirited does. I erased Mr. Letterman from my boob tubes several years ago in order to protect the equipment. I was driven to this electronic banishment by Mr. Letterman’s “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches” bits wherein he ridiculed President Bush (43). My only solace is what his new trophy wife looks like.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Really, where is the benefit of alienating 45% of your audience? The Bush bashing was the last straw on the camel that was already dying of osteoporosis .
I went from being a rabid fan to just completely tuning him out. I like to root for the underdog and thought he was more creative than Leno.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
On the one hand I think comedians have a right to push the envelope, just like talk show hosts etc., on the other I get so outraged at how women’s looks are always the joke, especially women with status, political power or who hold controversial opinions. Women often perpetrate this upon one another, like in the Miss America debacle. I really don’t want to hear about Ann Coulter’s adams apple, Hillary Clinton’s cankles, or whether Michelle Obama resembles a farm animal. If she’s pretty and you disagree she’s a filthy c**t or a whore, if she’s ugly and you disagree, she’s some kind of object of disgust. Underneath it all reads “shut up Sugar tits.”
As far as Letterman goes, he’s the first media personality to clue me in on left-wing bias. Back in college when I voted for Clinton, I was quite aware that Letterman was on my side, and happy not to be the butt of a joke. As I moved right it became clear how unfair the general media was to conservatives.
Also, did Alex Rodriguez have anything to say about the way he had been portrayed in that joke? I think that’s a real scandal.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
“Whether the loss of amusement was due to him losing his edge or me no longer smoking pot”
A combination of both.
The Alex/Willow outrage became worse when it was noted that the daughter attending the game was the 14 year-old, not the 18 year-old and Letterman’s explanation that he would never make a rape joke about a 14 year-old (but raping an 18 year-old is OK, I guess). Letterman, in fact, made the situation MUCH worse with his “apology.”
June 12th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Treacher the jokes that were off limits but I just want to know why Letterman isn’t getting the Imus treatment.
For me the only other thing that’s been the most annoying aspect of this mini-brouhaha has been watching the “versatility” of bloggers I used to respect being apologists for Letterman under the old “he’s a comedian” ruse.
June 13th, 2009 at 2:43 am
I know that Letterdude invited Sarah Palin on her show. And I know that was a cheap ratings trick…yet I would LOVE to see Sarah Palin sitting across from a table from David Letterman…away from his writers, away from his scripts, away from his supportive audience.
Just Sarah and Dave…in front of C-Span cameras. Dave pissing his panties and Sarah Barracuda tearing him a new a-hole.
June 14th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I’d like to see A-Rod rape Letterboy, now that would be funny.
OsamaHusseinIslamObama 2012′
(the terrorist/pirate/media choice)
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