Should Letterman Be Fired for a Joke?

Here we go again! Now, the big story is "Should David Letterman be fired for a joke?"

Once again the comic is made out to be the enemy. Lenny Bruce was fired for jokes about religion, Tommy Smothers was fired for his political material, and Bill Maher lost his show for a single comment about suicide bombers.

I left Laugh In when NBC was told by the Nixon administration that we could do no more political humor. After that Nixon called his pal writer Paul Keyes every Monday night to review the political content of the show. That was after John Mitchell threatened the networks with the loss of licenses over the political balance of what they broadcast.

The political comics are feared and hated by the establishment who feel they must control what the comics say. No secret about the influence presidents had over Bob Hope material. Who paid for those overseas junkets? Bob Hope did jokes but always "President positive."

Today's comics don't just do jokes, they often have bigger ideas and make more valuable observations on both sides of issues than our political leaders like Sarah Palin who would rather have endless fights with late night talk show hosts.

But Dennis Miller, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael "WEENWER" Savage, Laura Ingraham, Anne Coulter and of course Bull Dog Sean Hannity all say outrageous and untrue things about the President. They say Obama is a liar, a socialist and communist, a Muslim and not even an American. And he took his wife out to dinner "on a date."

Right on, no problem. Yuk yuk yuk.

Once again the "Politicals" try to make the comic the enemy and to make morality the issue.

Borat's bare bottom dominated the news for a week. And CBS is still being threatened with a half a million dollar fine for a 1.5 second wardrobe failure that threatened the morality of our youth by seeing Janet Jackson's little boob. For 1.5 seconds. And the "news?" programs ran that over and over as they attempted to "protect our young people."

Sarah Palin did not just use her unwed teenage daughters' promiscuity and resulting pregnancy as political assets. She used her entire family as props to further a political agenda that I guess that they don't even believe in. Enough said about selling abstinence as her suggested method of birth control. Right. Sarah got knocked up at 42. Now Sarah is using her daughter's media visibility again for political purposes. This woman might have been our vice president and all she has talked about for a week is David Letterman's silly joke.

Whether you agree or not, the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt used to fight for big ideas and causes they deemed important -- now if they're not fighting with each other and they're fighting with talk show hosts.

Let's NOT fire DAVID LETTERMAN. Let's VOTE for him.

Comments

[paleocon57]

As the father of a 14 year old daughter (also a 29 year old daughter and two grand-daughters 5&6) I may not be the most objective person to comment on Letterman's "joke" but here goes: The level of disrespect that currently taints the airwaves these days is quite disturbing. I realize that you can only make so many jokes about Gov. Palin's looks, her hunting habits and the state she governs but turning on the children is surely not the way to go. I tuned Limbaugh out when he commented on Pres. Clinton's daughter and now I must do the same for Letterman. I tend to rate these comments by celebrities by imagining how I would react if I had heard them in person. Limbaugh's dog remark about Chelsea would have earned him a verbal repremand and boycott of the show but I would have put Letterman on his ass. Remember, folks, you have to give respect to get respect and once respect is lost it's nearly impossible to get back. Be nice.

[babina]

If you don't like what is being said, change the channel. Its that simple.

[atoonce]

Palin is becoming more like Jesse Ventura every day. Maybe they should run together as the Outrageous Party in 2012. The question is which one would be the running mate? Did anyone watch the movie "Idiocracy"? Ventura/Palin would be the beginning of the end for our society.

[ejr1953]

Let me see, fire David Letterman for telling a tasteless joke? I'd say he was "doing his job". But don't fire all those executives from Wall Street and the financial firms who are much to blame for the mess in the financial markets..."no" we can't do that, they have a contract!

[mlaiuppa]

Short answer is no, David Letterman should not be fired over a joke.

But the Governor of Alaska is a joke and should be fired.

[puffing]

We should be consistent

When Imus went after the woman at Rutgers - the following article appeared on this site

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reese-schonfeld/forget-imus-remember-rutg_b_45621.html

Read it -- the author is very sympathetic to the decent people who were hurt by the vicious humor -- even though Imus is a comedian.

George - I'm old enough to remember Laugh in - You would never have stooped this low then

What made you change now? Why didn't you defend Imus then?

[Lemastre]

Your argument may be weakened by your assertion that Don Imus is a comedian. I've listened to him now and again and never heard him say anything worthy of more than a brief smile. Usually, he's just petulant and insulting. He has little room for stepping over the line. Letterman, on the other hand, is generally amusing and upbeat, so we are likely to tolerate an instance of bad taste.

[redsongia]

It seems to me that GOVERNOR Palin failed to read the First Amendment and failed to realize that as a GOVERNMENT official, it is not her place to squelch public speech that she deems offensive just because it is directed at her or her family by seeking to cause economic harm to Letterman and his Network, because that is, in effect, the GOVERNMENT abridging free speech. Or has Palin forgotten that she is the GOVERNOR of Alaska, and therefore, part of the GOVERNMENT, that she so often warns will "get in there" and control our lives? Making decisions about what it's ok to joke about and not ok to joke about? It's the public's job to decide what is offensive and not offensive. Palin goes over the line when she uses the power of her office to influence that debate, especially by attempting to cause economic to Letterman and CBS.

[kdlaiusa]

Letterman will stay at his job. His ratings will go through the roof and Conan won't be able to catch up for another 5 years. Palin has awarded Letterman this golden opportunity. She is the sole loser at this episode.

[k4freedom]

“And then I was watching the Jim Lehrer ‘Newshour’ – this commentator, the columnist Mark Shields, was talking about how I had made this indefensible joke about the 14-year-old girl, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy, now I’m beginning to understand what the problem is here. It’s the perception rather than the intent.’ It doesn’t make any difference what my intent was, it’s the perception. And, as they say about jokes, if you have to explain the joke, it’s not a very good joke.

David Letterman during the taping of the Monday show...thanks for the apology, next time be more 'perceptive'

[k4freedom]

“Thank you. So I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I’m sorry about it and I’ll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.”

David Letterman.­...apologi­zes...sort of

[mlaiuppa]

David Letterman apologizes­...really.

Still waiting on Palin's.

[ggirl]

I can never understand this double standard because I kid you not the late Johnny Carson said on his late night show that Amy Carter looked like a character from "Mad Magazine" and if I am correct no one said a word. That was a joke about an 8 or l0 year old girl. I thought it was in poor taste but we all laughed. This is a crazy world.

[Solph]

There is a difference between joking about a 14-year-old being knocked up (no matter whether she had sex or not, as she was not a public figure) and a little girl's looks, even though the latter was still awful as she wasn't a public figure.

[mollybeejay]

You persist in carrying out the lie that Dave was talking about the 14 year old. he was talking about Bristol. yeah, you know the one, the knocked up 17 year old who is now a representative of candies. The one who is doing an abstinence tour. The Chosen one.

BTW, I don't hear anyone here on this post screaming for Sarah Palin to apologize for referring to the president of the United states as the chosen One. So much for double standards.

[mlaiuppa]

So, you think it's OK to joke about how pretty an 8 year old is and ignore the impact on her feelings or self esteem....but it's wrong to joke about an unwed mother who's trotted out on stage to win votes and make her the spokesperson for abstinence only for a company that uses sex to sell products?

Man, you can't make this stuff up.

[Zanti]

You seem to want it two ways--on one hand, the input of comics is terribly important and meaningful, but, on the other, Palin has better things to do with her time than worry about something as silly as Letterman's joke.

Important, silly--which?

I found Letterman's joke out of line, and not because I'm any fan of Palin, but because I know I'd be furious if the sides were reversed. If we want to play the game of giving ourselves a magic pass for our own behavior, then we're sacrificing our moral authority, aren't we?

And what do comics like Bruce or Cohen ever accomplish beyond generating controversy? If not for those hysterical responses, such third-rate talents might have to switch to a field in which they boast ability.

[Tallulah Morehead - Huffpost Blogger]

I DO vote for Letterman every day, by watching his show.

But George, (And I love you George. I do.), how many votes did LAUGH-IN's allowing Nixon on get him? You allowed Keyes to use LAUGH-IN to help humanize Nixon's image, and it undoubtedly won him a few votes (just as Humprhies's refusing to go on your show cost him a few votes) in what was a VERY close election. You played a tiny role in creating that monster back then. I thought so then; I think so now. Small wonder it came back to haunt you. Albeit, it was no where near the size of Jay Leno's role in foisting Governor Ahnohd on California. At least Keyes believed in Nixon. Leno was helping Ahnohd's coup for ratings and prestige, another reason why I've been a Letterman viewer for years.

So George, those BEST OF LAUGH-IN DVDs are nice, but when will be able to buy whole seasons? I spent most of season 2 on your set (NBC stage 4), observing (thanks to a friend in the cast. I was 18.) and learned a lot. I'd love to relive those days on my DVD player.

[single person claps]

[abmabardy]

Oh please. It was a joke.

Palin should send him a big fat check in appreciation of his keeping her name in the news, where she clearly craves being. She uses her family and anyone/anything else to feed her need for the public spotlight. How is her special needs baby doing these days.

Palin is annoying, offensive, laughable uninformed, and pitifully egocentric. She needs to go somewhere and find a way to deal with her rapidly approaching irrelevance.

.

[enoughalready13]

brilliantly said! thank goodness someone has some common sense ...

i mean, the woman brings it all on herself, but when someone cracks a joke about it, we all need to create an uproar? umm, no. if you can't stand the heat, lady palin, get out of the kitchen.

[dsws]

I don't want Letterman fired over a stupid offensive joke. But I'm not planning to vote for him either.

[nowdammit]

You betcha!

[mollybeejay]

wink, wink

[speaker145]

He made a good point about the conservative talk shows. The people on Fox News and conservative radio have lied, falsified/distored the facts, edited film and tape and made every kind of vile, hateful, disgusting comments that anyone can come up with about Barack Obama AND and his family both before the election and afterwards (including one today by a GOP official in South Carolina who called an escaped Gorilla one of Michelle Obama's ancestors). Yet, Sarah Palin is trying to make a federal case out of one joke about her daughter by a late-night comedian that 98 percent of the people in the country never saw and 98 percent of the ones who saw it have forgotten. This is political grandstanding at its worst. Palin used her family and her daughter's boyfriend (I doubt they were ever planning to get married and only became "engaged" after Palin was selected as a VP candidate) to further her political ambitions as a VP candidate and now she is using them to try to keep her name in the headlines. Disgusting!!! Disgusting!!! Disgusting!!!

[enoughalready13]

EXCELLENTLY SAID! And I agree ,,, disgusting! offensive! hypocritical!