 "Photo: University Chronicle")
With Conan O’Brien becoming the new host of the “Tonight Show” on June 1, fellow funny man and “Late Show” competitor David Letterman was getting left out of the limelight. All until Alaska governor and former Vice President candidate Sarah Palin made a visit to New York.
Now, two jokes later, Letterman is not only getting publicity, but now, he’s at the forefront of comedic integrity.
During Palin’s visit to New York, Letterman and his writers came up with jokes involving Palin’s daughter and former New York governor/prostitute enthusiast Eliot Spitzer. The next night, Letterman made another joke at Palin’s daughter, joking that she got “knocked up” by New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
The outrage wasn’t due to the jokes being unfunny. The jokes created an uproar because the writers made one crucial lapse of judgment: it wasn’t Palin’s 18-year-old daughter Bristol, who was thrust in the national spotlight for keeping her unwed baby. Instead, it was Palin’s 14-year-old daughter Willow.
After the show, Sarah and her husband Todd would log onto Facebook, displaying their outrage to the world, denouncing Letterman as a sleazy man and advocating rape on underage girls.
When Tina Fey makes fun of Palin, it’s all in good fun, but Letterman opens his mouth and he’s suddenly the scum of the universe.
Since then, Letterman has been on the public relations prowl, apologizing to the Palin family on several occasions. In the process, he’s forgotten what makes comedy so great.
Comedy needs two factors to be memorable. It has to be funny and has to be edgy.
First off, Letterman and his writers were not intending for the sexual jokes to be made towards a 14-year-old. The 62-year-old Letterman has been in show business for a long time- he has more sense then to joke about having sex with a minor.
Because of the presidential election, every voting American knows who Bristol Palin is. The majority of Americans didn’t know Willow Palin until this week.
And the Palins have no one to blame but themselves to that regard.
Palin and the Republicans made the decision to make Bristol’s pregnancy a focal point of the pro-life initiative, showing how much of a pro-life warrior the Alaskan governor was by encouraging her daughter to keep the baby. Instead of being a happy grandmother, she made it a career opportunity.
Because of that decision, whenever a Palin daughter is brought up, the audience will think Bristol. It’s like how when sports fans hear the name Adrian Peterson, they immediately think of the Minnesota Vikings superstar and not the Chicago Bears backup with the same name.
As for Letterman, while he went for the cheap laugh (something he joked he’s been doing for over 30 years), he needs to take a stand for his art form instead of adhering to political correctness.
Did George Carlin play it safe when he came up with “the seven words you can never say on television?” Hell no. He made a career out of pushing the envelope, and that’s why he’s a legend. The same ideology applies for comedians like Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle.
Letterman clearly panders to a different audience on late-night public TV, but the ideals should stay the same. He should stay edgy within the confines of his show. That’s what he went for.
A voted public official and a national figure like Sarah Palin will always be a target to everyone, not just comedians. Palin decided to use her family to accelerate her political career, and a comedian should consider that fair game.
Letterman didn’t go too far like the Palins claim; he did what every good comedian would, and should do.
Now, Letterman is back in the national spotlight. His only downfall is if Palin tries to run for president in 2012, she won’t be visiting New York to chat with the gap-toothed comedian.
We reap what we sow. And Mr. Chubs, if this vile of a man is the kind of subhuman you like to champion, it speaks volumes about your character and ideals.
(For Sarah Palin's real record on women's and children's issues, google " Palin is a Feminist in Name Only" where you will find ample evidence of Palin's lack of support for women and children. )I actually hope that all comedians will now consider Sarah Palin and the rest of her family off limits, as they were the only ones keeping her in the mainstream media. Even her various ethics problems tend to stay in Alaska and out of the national news. Without the comedians keeping her in the spotlight, she will fade out of the mainstream and into oblivion where she has belonged since the election.
in this shape criticize a beautiful person like Sarah Palin. Needs to get a life.
Nice for Palin that this brouhaha covered up several recent issues. She lifted lots of a former speech of Newt Gingrich, giving minimal credit. Yes, it was a speech she gave. If it were an academic paper and she was in college, she'd have been out on her a**. Jonathon Bailey, in his post
http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2009/06/10/the-palin-plagiarism-scandal/ writes "If this were an academic paper, it would be a very serious plagiarism. But one always has to remember the environment the work is written for and the requirements for attribution in that setting. An academic paper is different from a news article, which is different from a political speech."
She let go Beverly K. Wooley, Director, Division of Public Health, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, who allegedly had some views in opposition to Palins, although this lady did not have any bad reports about her work. Dr. Jay Butler, the state medical officer reportedly resigned and returned to the CDC, from which he came. http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,7402.msg71617/topicseen.html#new
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