Palin Accuses Letterman of Seeking PR: Then Hypocritically Skews What He Meant All Over the Media

Are you as amazed as I am Sarah Palin is still invited on mainstream talk shows? I'm not talking about Rush Limbaugh or the cable religious shows, but respected venues like CNN's Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room and to chat with NBC's Matt Lauer on The Today Show.

The woman was a flash in the pan, invented by John McCain's handlers to spark interest in his flagging campaign. With all the competent women he could have chosen, he picked a fly by night governor of one of our smallest states, who'd only served a year and a half and yet was expected to inspire confidence she might lead the free world.

Okay, enough said. That's the recap. The election's over. However, there are still conservative -- make that right wing -- diehards who'd love Palin to bring about resurgence to the Republican Party. In their dreams they believe she should be president. And while some might remind me similar jokes were made about Ronald Reagan's chances for the White House, at least he was a two-term governor of our largest state and before that had built a nationally prominent nice-guy reputation as a popular actor in movies and television.

Sarah Palin is a lightweight, desperate not to fade away, as happened to Dan Quayle, and he was actually an elected vice president. And with her audience generally limited to fringe groups, she recently seized upon some silly patter on a late night talk show, and with the Media's help has turned it into a cause celebre.

For those few of you not aware, David Letterman does a monologue at the beginning of his CBS show. He also announces a daily list that purports to enumerate the top ten fanciful and fabricated things about something happening in the news.

Some of the stuff is dead on and great; others are silly and often a bit lame. He skewers the high and the mighty and celebrities, Palin included, but ridicules himself more than anyone else on just about every show.

So, what's the beef? Earlier this week, Letterman had a dumb joke about Palin in his top ten list: "Bought makeup at Bloomingdale's to update her slutty flight attendant look." I wasn't offended. It just wasn't that incredibly funny. What was intriguing was Palin didn't take note of another joke, which had her involved with a kilo of crack.

It's doubtful the top ten list alone would have caused attention. However, in his monologue, referencing Palin's attendance at Yankee Stadium with her husband and unnamed daughter, Letterman said, "One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game: during the seventh inning her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

Palin sensed an opportunity and accused Letterman of promoting date rape of her fourteen-year-old daughter Willow. As it turned out, she was the daughter who attended the game with her parents, but there's not a doubt in my mind that most of the viewers watching the show reacted to the joke with the vivid image of Palin's older daughter Bristol, who had gotten "knocked up" by her high school sweetheart.

Letterman said so in a nine-minute chat with the audience on The Late Show the following night, reiterating that, whether the joke was dumb or even tasteless, it was Bristol he was talking about, and that she was eighteen and therefore a legal adult. He repeated, almost too much for me -- I didn't think he had to -- that he would never make fun of a fourteen-year-old girl in a sexual context. And I think most sensible people believed him.

In fact the worst that can be said is that his gag writers should do a little better research before committing their boss to a faux pas, but frankly no one ever talks about Palin's other daughters. Conversely, Bristol has been the butt of jokes for almost a year, has appeared on talk shows herself and was paraded by Palin and the Republican Party along with her then-fiancee, Levi Johnston, on the stage of the Republican Convention and throughout the campaign. No doubt to soften the "pro-family" shock among the party faithful, who would have gone after Bill Clinton with a vengeance if Chelsea were pregnant.

Sarah Palin is simply a Media hog, hypocritical and ruthless as it gets. Was it a coincidence that it was only after the campaign ended that Levi Johnston was summarily banished, no longer needed and later decried by Palin and her husband for cashing in on the family name. As if they hadn't used him as well?

Reprehensibly, the Media lapped all this up and went about it as if they were chasing an ambulance. Many replayed Palin's accusations or interviewed her, and she repeated what was now a lie -- because she knew better -- that Letterman had somehow violated her daughter. And worse, many of the Media journalists didn't follow up her comments with the fact that Letterman insisted he was talking about Bristol.

She further described David Letterman as a "so-called" comedian, a description that might better be associated with her political future. She also referred to him as a 62-year-old to somehow make the comment appear smarmier, as if he were an old lecher flashing young girls at the local middle school.

This, too, was disgusting on her part, because it was ageist and uncalled for. Would the joke have been less offensive if Letterman were 35 or 40? She then refused his offer to have her come on his show saying that she didn't want to help his ratings. This, from a woman who has been gallivanting around the broadcast Media with her false depiction of Letterman, an American treasure. A woman who appeared on Saturday Night Live last fall, a show in which Tina Fey frequently made Palin appear like an idiot, in a desperate attempt to appear cool and bolster the doomed campaign of her and her running mate.

Indeed, I was in Germany last October watching the SNL appearance on You Tube with my friend German TV Star Andreas Stenschke. He laughed along with me and said this could never happen in Germany. There were satirical shows, yes, but the actual political figures would never personally appear on such a program, as it would be considered undignified.

And that's the point of this piece. Sarah Palin is outraged about nothing, but is so intent not to be forgotten that she stoops to the lowest levels. It's time for the Media to act responsibly, as the electorate did last fall sending her back to Alaska and the frozen tundra, where she can hunt her beloved moose and fade away.

Michael Russnow's website is www.ramproductionsinternational.com

Comments

[ghenry]

I see that Speidi is going the Palin route with the older man attacking a defencless young girl story after Al Roker made Heidi look stupid.

[dralter]

The protesters have their site Fire David Letterman and now his supporters have their own site.

http://www.supportdavidletterman.com

[MindyC]

EXACTLY - thank you for writing this. I've been saying all along that the best thing anyone can do with Palin is ignore her. That this non-story was stirred into a story at all is as much the media's fault as Palin's, and I only wish Letterman has made those first comments the night after, then dropped it. What a silly bit of nonsense this all is! She has nothing better to offer than her feigned outrage, and it is simply embarrassing that any of us are paying any attention to it at all.

[dollyfedup]

The republicans are good at faking outrage and forcing democrats to apologize. I don't understand why democrats cave into republicans' phony outrage. The republicans say and do some cruel things, especially regarding our first African-American family and there is no outrage nor apologies from the republican party. However, the minute someone liberal says the slightest thing, the media goes crazy. I tell you the media (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) all of them are republican owned. They only want to focus on republicans, their thoughts, their outrages, and what Obama is doing wrong. I'm so tired of hearing that the media is in the tank for OBama. I do not agree with this assessment and I'm sure our President doesn't agree either.

[Bush-Rolled]

Palin is a media hog with lipstick.
PS: Mr. Russnow, why do you repeatedly capitalize "media"?

[wanda665]

to point out if the Media ignored this blight on women and our country, she would fade awaw. she has nothing of substace to say about anything.

[westeditor]

Why is it okay to attack a little girl? Kennedy's kids were not attacked. Carter's daughter was not attacked. Obama had his little girls on tv and magazines. They were not attacked. So why is it okay to attack Palin's daughters?

Also, Texas is the 2nd largest state. If you cut Alaska into two equal parts......Texas would become the 3rd largest state.

So what does it mean.... when Palin makes a mistake Letterman should take down another kid?

[emariejon]

You've conveniently forgotten about Chelsea Clinton, savaged by John McCain.

You're also missing the point: Sarah used her children as political props and shamelessly paraded a pregnant Bristol around the country. SHE made her family fair game. Can't have it both ways.

In contrast, Kennedy, Carter, and Obama made it abundantly clear that their children will stay out of the public eye as much as possible, and are off-limits to the press. In stark contrast is Sarah, who say and do just about anything for publicity, no matter the cost to her family.

[sjones66]

she's not a "little girl". C4P leader Andrea even said on the radio yesterday that Bristol was an "adult" and Palin couldn't control her interviews or decision to be Candies spokesmodel.

so which is it? is she an adult who is on the cover of People and making a national media tour to promote abstinence only, or is she a "girl"?

and stop pretending it was about the 15 and a half year old. Why are you people lying about
willow's age, anyway? and where is ONE picture of Willow at that game> She wasn't there. Or if she was, no one saw her there, so how could Letterman have known it was Willow and not Bristol?

This was all manufactured. Palin is a plagiarizing joke.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

All of us, who support David Letterman - and let's note that we are in the MAJORITY - should make this crystal clear to both his sponsors and to CBS. The right-wing sleazeballs have started a movement to get Letterman fired. And while they will fail, we MUST do our best to make it easier for CBS to support Dave. If you have a Facebook account, join the group "Support David Letterman." And again, write to CBS and Letterman's sponsors and let them know that they had better NOT dare listen to Palin and her sleazy peddlers of slime.

[WaterRat]

It's tiring getting this Palin-Letterman thing thrust into your face when you look at the Tube. It's over. He screwed up. Tasteless joke. She's back in the limelight again because of it. For as bad as Letterman's joke was, it's nothing compared to the rotten crap she hurled at Barack Obama during the last election.
I still don't get it that former VP Cheney is quoted so extensively, anymore than than the drivel spouted by Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity.
If they spout off at Obama every blessed station is quoting them. But no reporter ever asks Cheney for full disclosure on his support for torture. Reporters seldom refer to the fact, if ever, that Obama inherited a mess. Each day, the "news" stations offer us progress reports on the president, as if he was in grade school, as he struggles against unbelievable odds,
Pick apart media - that's all it is. And why?
To the media, Bush, Cheney,Rove, and Rumsfeld could do no wrong. The media accepted WMDs and refuses to address the real culprits in the 9/11 attacks. Each day, they develop their own interpretation of news, aided by a corps of talking heads. For weeks, Fox has been harping that Gitmo detainees would be flooding the country.
The electronic media can dance all they want about newspapers taking a slide, they have nothing to replace them.

[oregonbird]

Willow's birthdate: 1/21/94. Which makes the age-check of 14 -- by both Palin parents -- an absolute lie. Take out your fingers and count with me -- Willow is fifteen and a half years old. Why does this matter at all? Well, the joke was still tasteless, but that has been admitted, and we can toss it aside. Why it mattered to the Palins though -- age of consent in Alaska is 15. So they cut their daughter's age by a year and a half to keep their accusations of "statuatory rape" (which is CONSENSUAL sex with an underaged person) at least somewhere in the ballpark.

Did it work? Well, nobody in the media has called them on it yet!

[ladyrefined2000]

hey, any women on his writing staff.....­..........­..bet no........­..........­..

[Just Margaret]

Wow. Really? Your math adds up--I've no clue about her birthday, but I'm taking your word for it.

It seems to me that Sarah Palin is very quick to 'jump on' to a cause that might make her more appealling to so-called Main Street America...this is just such a cause.

But to realize, we're NOT talkin' 'bout a 14 year old girl, and that the shift in age keeps the young (though, older-than-14) Willow under the age of consent in Alaska just shows me again that in an effort to show what a great squeaky-clean image the Palins want to create, there is no compunction about fudgin' the truth to make a point.

Oh, and how do you think going-on-16-Willow likes being referred to as "Only 14"?

[tm68]

I would like to see proof of the 1/94 birthdate. 7/94 is also out there as a b-day- which is correct? She just finished 8th grade, so I am likely to believe the 7/94 b-day as it is more consistent with the grade level she just finished.

I'm no Palin fan, but bogus conspiracy theories just add fuel to her dying embers and I, for one, would like to see those flames extinguished, not fanned with this sort of stuff. We all know how she likes to slam "the haters" every chance she gets. That's hard to do when it's only TRUTH out there.

[brickintheroy]

Willow was born in 1995. The age of sexual consent in the state of Alaska is 16. Not that I support Palin in any sense of the word. But fact is fact.

[hooklefty2]

Source please- you are the only one I have read anywhere who has said 1995.

[sjones66]

NOT TRUE.

http://www.sarahpalinexposed.com/wp-content/uploads/Palin-2006-Vetting-Document/Palin-2006-Vetting-Document%2058.html

[sjones66]

1994. she is fifteen and a half.

http://www.sarahpalinexposed.com/wp-content/uploads/Palin-2006-Vetting-Document/Palin-2006-Vetting-Document%2058.html

[metivo]

Also, when Palin was confronted by Matt Lauer on the Today show regarding her statement that "Willow doesn't want to be around Letterman", she didn't admit that this line was just as offensive as what Letterman is accused of doing. She basically was portraying him as a pedophile. If she was really on her feet, she would have taken the opportunity to disavow that statement instead of shrugging it off.

The other aspect of the interview which I found hard to take was her championing the flight attendants who 'work so hard.' Puleez. We're talking about the slutty ones here.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

You are so right! I wish Palin's media enablers would stop giving her all this undeserved attention. As sensible people know, Letterman was not referring to the younger daughter. And anyway, he tried to be classy, and apologize and invite her to come onto his show. She - showing her considerable lack of class and intelligence - declined. She is an opportunist, playing the fake outrage card for as much as she can get. No wonder the majority of the country doesn't like her.

[springsm]

Palin is milking this for all its worth and have you ever heard a real honest line out of her sharp mouth. And the media loves it....and also milks this until it is a war and without sense. Palin was on every talking head show yesterday with her vacant head speech. I don't think she even knows what she says. The end of her long sentence rants, she has forgotten the subject. And SHE is the one who exploits her children...even 15 1/2 year old Willow. Letterman was classless but it wasn't worth all of this from this self promoting sociopathic woman.

[Bruiser4 1999]

You said that Palin has little experience well I think she has more than Obama. And if the comidians were to make jokes about Obamas wife looking like a slutty flight attendent there would would be an uprising like there was with Don Imus. Also Alaska is the largest state the last time I looked.

[metivo]

"Also Alaska is the largest state the last time I looked."

Hey, Clueless, I think he was rightfully referring to the population ratio - not simply the mass of the land.

[warriorwoman73]

What planet do you live on?

Oh, and FYI - Texas is the largest state, followed by California. Guess you need to look again at your map.

[demimckingwoodtx]

No land mass has Alaska being the largest state, population wise no only at 600,000 and some odd. Texas is the largest state in the lower 48.

[emariejon]

First of all, go take an English class, concentrating on spelling and punctuation. Second, Sarah frequently DOES look like a slutty flight attendant. Way too much blush, heavy lipliner, tight, too short skirts, platform high heels.....check out some of the Alaskan websites, plenty of photos of her "performing" her duties as governor but dressed completely inappropriately.

[naughtymonkey]

Numerous comedians and late-night TV hosts in the past have made similar jokes about Palin and her family--see Palin political humor on About.com
I think what mostly set Palin off was that SHE (herself, her appearance, e.g., the slutty flight attendant look) was the subject of comment. Aging narcissists are very sensitive about their looks.

[metivo]

I actually thought the 'slutty flight attendant' line was rather inspired. It conjured up an immediate image of tacky 'glamor' that Palin projects.

[tm68]

I haven't heard what the flight attendants think of this joke, but maybe if he used the term " stewardess" it would have gone over as less offensive. Since FAs don't like that word any more, it would be more acceptable. I don' condone censorship though, so don't think I'm advocating this- I'm just thinking outloud.

[JerryLevy]

It is just fine to tell sexist, and mean spirited jokes about women, as long as they are conservative women. Can you imagine had Letterman said Nancy Pelosi had a slutty stewardess look, or that the Obama's kid was knocked up at the baseball game? Letterman absolutely hates Sarah Palin, so does the MSM and most of hollywood. When the left hates someone, all rules are out the window.

[AnotherunhappyDemocrat]

And when the right hates someone, they wish death on him/her. Guess we win this one.

[oregonbird]

Pelosi, and a lot of other Democratic women, were the butt of a Stewart joke about them all wearing the same hairstyle. So, yeah, democratic women get the piss taken out of them, too, by our "own" comedians. Guess what? We laugh.

[grooveygrover]

and they have enough self esteem to take a joke

[mollymac]

Palin does not have the respect of feminists just cause she has ovaries. She does everything in her power to subvert women's rights but whines and screeches when she can use women's causes to her own benefit.

[HarryMonster]

Please don't make this about the difference between a conservative woman and a liberal one. I've heard plenty of sexist and mean spirited "jokes" coming from the right. And recently the First Lady was basically called a gorilla. Coultier, Hannity, Rush and what's his name Bill Bennet (?) cross the line everyday. Most of Hollywood hates SP - really? Why would that matter to anyone?

[warriorwoman73]

This isn't about feminism. And since you're a man, why are you so outraged anyway?

[emariejon]

Amen. It's about hypocracy. Sarah is loaded with it.

[KayJay90]

I'm STILL waiting for someone to come forward and present to the blogosphere their pictures of Willow Palin attending that Yankee game last Sunday with the four people ACKNOWLEDGED by neutral sources as being there.

I can't find any pictures on the Internet of Willow Palin actually AT that game, as her mother has claimed.

I SUSPECT that Willow Palin was really with her aunt Heather Bruce and with her cousin Karcher Bruce at some undisclosed location not Yankee Stadium.

I guess we'll find out for sure when Sarah Palin itemizes in her gubernatorial financial disclosure statement the value of those $2,600/seat tickets gifted her and Todd by Rudy Giuliani, eh?

[oregonbird]

Morning Joe had pictures of Palin at the game, but they were close-ups -- despite saying that Willow attended the game, they also did NOT have photos to prove it. And they weren't on Palin's side!