Leno Told Similar Joke About Palin's Daughter

Alan Colmes (former co-host of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes) makes a great a catch regarding the current feud between David Letterman and Governor Sarah Palin. While Palin has been blasting Letterman all over the airwaves for joking about Yankees star Alex Rodriguez "knocking up" her daughter, Jay Leno told an extremely similar joke during the presidential campaign that resulted in no such uproar:

Gov. Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. And you thought John Edwards was in trouble before! Now he has really done it. -- "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," 9/2/08

Is there a double standard being applied to Letterman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

RELATED: NOW Joins Palin In Bashing Letterman

Comments

[Layman23]

The republicans are ganging up on letterman for two reasons

a) He never had a good opinion of Sarah Palin as VP. Neither did majority of the country.
b) The way letterman exposed McCains gaffe over his cancelled interview during election.

Now speaking of being "correct". I guess we should then jail palin under the patriot act for instigating violence during the election. What happened to all the "Kill Him" and "Palling around terrorists" ?

[jeanwny]

David Letterman made a joke using public knowledge and anyone who heard it got the message. can't have it both ways Sarah and Todd. You used her, during the campaign, shame on you and you now want that conveniently forgotten?

[Leatherhelmet]

Shame on you for a lame excuse.

[MakersMark]

What conservatives still control is the MEDIA and that is quite obvious in the licking that Letterman is taking!

[Garybot]

Yeah - tell that to Imus

[ladyoftheisland]

Imus, isn't that the guy who is on morning radio out of New York EVERY day? With the undisclosed settlement with the FAN? The guy who has more money than Letterman?

[jerry25]

The Leno joke was hilarious. These jokes made cruel fun of Edwards/Rodriguez, not Palin's 18 year old daughter, who is already public figure to her mother's wishes and benefit.

There really isn't a double standard. Letterman is more crude than Leno in his remarks and shows his bias. Leno is a true comedian. The reason Letterman got in trouble is that his writers didn't do their homework to see it was a 14 year old at the game and thus give Palin an opening to get media attention.

Leno is very pro-Obama, anti-Palin too, but shows it in more clever ways.

[Tulka2]

Governor Palin is Richard Nixon in drag. She, like Nixon before her, wants to appeal to the lowest common denominator. She has nothing but contempt for anyone who crosses her... just like Nixon.

[MmeFlutterbye]

".......wants to appeal to the lowest common denominator...." Isn't that just being a good ol' republican?

[JGatsby]

I think you owe Nixon's ghost an apology. True he did appeal to the lowest common denominator and used similar (although a bit more subtle) appeals to garner sympathy. But at least Nixon wasn't a complete idiot. Palin is all the venality of Nixon with none of the brains.

[amyac]

I think during the campaign, Palin had plenty of publicity coming her way so she didn't make a big deal of Leno's comment. Right now, she's stirring the pot to get her face on all of the news channels. Seriously, I can't handle seeing her one more night on a news channel talking about how inappropriate Letterman is. I mean, really? It's news that Letterman tells inappropriate jokes?

[PamperedHousecat]

Ya Think?

[army193]

Didn't the courts elect George Bush? Nothing is impossible with elections and fear.

[Halfwit]

NOW is still around?
Why?

[wrencher]

Whenever you think of NOW, just think of crazy Tammy Bruce.

[redsongia]

I'm shocked to learn that Palin is a giant hypocrite who is only outraged when it is self-serving or convienient.

[Garybot]

Would you have problem if someone said something like that in public about your....daughter, sister, friend, etc.?

I guess you feel she was just hanging out that day, hoping someone would attack her 14-year old daughter, so she could get some publicity?

I am shocked at the stupidness of your post.

[ibsteve2u]

I'm sad to say that I suspect NOW's motives; I fear that they have lost their way, and now have only the single goal of electing a woman to the Presidency, regardless of the danger that particular woman may pose to the rights of women who have yet to walk the path of life.

[Marc2008]

Of course that is a double standard. But don't forget who we are talking about here! Of course it is outrageously convenient for Palin that this happens in a time where it is hard for her to get ANY coverage. So what is better than using THIS to get another 5 min of fame...at the end she needs this opportunity to get on TV!!! Poor Republicans ;-)

[CrashDarby]

Letterman made jokes about McCain's age. I didn't see him cry like a baby.

[bebopman21]

The twist here, as others have noted, is that it's clear, I think, that Letterman was making a joke about Bristol, the 18-year-old who thrust herself into the public eye because of her unwed pregnancy, but it was the 14-year-old who was with mom and dad in N.Y., not Bristol. I think one of Dave's writers or someone on the staff screwed up, and the jokes were written on the assumption that it was Bristol in N.Y. It was that mistake that gave S. Palin the excuse for another round of outraged TV interviews. Whoops. ....
I seriously doubt Letterman is all for sexual abuse of 14-year-olds, or even 18-year-olds, but Bristol made herself a "public figure" (or at least mom did) and became a fair target of jokes.

[jmhill]

The same weekend, that all of this happened, I saw Sarah and Bristol in a parade, waving at people watching the parade. So, when I heard the joke, I thought nothing about it, because Bristol, was with her mother. Apparently, Willow was with her at the ball game. I think the jokes were not that bad, considering, Bristol did have a child out of wedlock. I think the jokes, are being misunderstood, on purpose. I find some of the statements made by both of Bristol's parents, outrageous. If they didn't want their children to be attacked, they would have not paraded in front of everyone. Including on how proud they were of their daughter, having a child out of wedlock. I was appalled by their behavior.

[Clavis]

Remember, when liberals complain about Republican insults or attacks, they're being "politically correct wimps" and the right attacks them even harder. But when Joe the Plumber or Sarah Palin are the target, suddenly political correctness is a GOOD thing and Republicans become whiny wimps who can't handle all the hurtfulness!

All you have to do is remember that during the '08 campaign, Obama was attacked for saying something and the big word on the screen and said by the female narrator was "How DISRESPECTFUL..." Really, Republicans? you guys call John Edwards "Breck Girl" and wore purple-heart band-aids, and being disrespecful in the course of a political campaign is BAD, all of a sudden?

You can get whiplash from right-wing hypocrisy...

[yoshi99]

Ding -- talk about hitting the nail on the head.

[jtmoney]

if she'd quit using her kids as politcal props, she wouldn't have to worry about people making fun of her family.

[Garybot]

do you have a problem with the president doing the same?

[SteelTrapMind]

What? He doesn't. You only see his kids when they travel as a family. He let them give one brief interview, and otherwise kept them out of the media focus. Palin made her daughter's situation a cornerstone of the family values platform. There's a vast difference.