Sarah Palin Wants Letterman to Apologize... Seriously?

This one has got me half laughing and half shaking my head in disbelief.

Sarah Palin said "It's no wonder girls have such low self-esteem in America when a comedian can make a remark like this." Really? She went on to say that this is the reason we have so many problems with young girls in society today.

I sat back in my chair after reading this and thought, "Isn't part of the problem 16 year olds getting pregnant?" Comedians joke around. They make fun. They find a hot button and push it. That is what they do and I personally love that they can take almost any topic, serious or not, and make me laugh about it.

Palin, on the other hand, is a comedian of a whole other kind. She doesn't even know that what she is saying about Letterman while she herself is the one needing to apologize to young girls for her and her daughter's example has many of us in stitches.

If anyone needs to look at what they have said that is a problem and has been a poor example to young girls, how about "I can see Russia from my house" or "My 16 year old daughter is pregnant". I am not perfect and have made some really stupid choices in my lifetime. But to sit back, film an interview while a turkey is being slaughtered behind you, throw a baby shower for your teen daughter, babble on television trying to pretend you know anything about foreign policy like a badly operated puppet and then point fingers at Letterman and say he is the problem and needs to apologize...wow.

That is ignorance and denial I can't help but laugh at while scratching my head wondering how the hell this women ever got on the McCain ticket in the first place.

We are still waiting for you to apologize, Ms. Palin. But we are not holding our breath.

Comments

[grooveygrover]

only girls with low self esteem would even take notice of someone making a comment/joke about them

[KayJay90]

And the "girl" in question is 45 years old!

She had the option of being dignified about the Letterman "joke", simply issuing a public rebuke -- like she's so fond of issuing against President Obama at every opportunity, regardless if it's about issues she's totally ignorant of -- and then just dropping the subject.

But instead, she got down in the same pig wallow Letterman was in, and demeaned herself AND her unwed-mother daughter AND the younger, innocent one who'd not even been referred to in the joke, by implying there was "statutory rape" involved (which, as everyone knows, is consensual sex, or sex agreed to between a minor and an adult).

Worse, she implied in another of her public utterances that David Letterman was a pedophile.

People who suffer the kind of verbal diarrhea Sarah Palin suffers from should be chastised themselves.

[thewomanwarrior82]

I am a Democrat, but honestly, I cannot believe the hate that some of you people feel toward Sarah Palin. First of all, what Letterman did was wrong. If he had said those things about Hillary Rodham Clinton's daughter or Nancy Pelosi's daughters or even Barack Obama's daughters the media and the public (at least the vocal public) would have been outraged. Letterman would have been deemed sexist and misogynist. But since it is a Republican politician that the words were directed toward, the feminist response toward the comments has been tepid. You can disagree with Palin politically, but she's still a human being, and her daughter did nothing to deserve any of this. I understand it was just a joke, but I do not understand how some of you guys can twist the situation around to blame Palin, and pretend like you wouldn't feel differently if it was a Democratic woman's children under attack.

[Chitownfool]

He has said things about Chelsy Clinton...I didn't even know that Pelosi had a daughter or even any kids because she dosen't parade them around

[warriorwoman73]

If you can't believe it, you haven't been listening.

Believe.

[imfedup]

John McCain said Chelsea Clinton was so ugly because Janet Reno was her father. Maybe you missed that.

[Rogan]

By the standards you apparently have, Letterman makes "sexist and misogynist" jokes, every night. Usually he then jokes about how the jokes were in poor taste, and not even funny. It's part of his M.O. and has been for more than twenty years. I guess you don't even watch the Letterman show, do you?

[KayJay90]

I'm getting sick and tired of you "apologists" of whatever stripe using the fabulous "What if...?" excuse for whatever rabid protests follow a stupid joke like that Letterman made on his show. BTW, your political affiliation has nothing to do with this discussion, but since you brought it up, I don't believe you ARE a Democrat.

WHY are you bringing into the discussion other people like Chelsea Clinton, the Obama daughters, or Pelosi's kin at all? They aren't involved.

They are being vilified by the right wing faction of the Republican Party on separate issues, and a lot of the vilification is based on lies and racism, as a matter of fact -- e.g., the "gorilla", the CIA lies (they ALWAYS lie!), and the awful "joke" Rush Limbaugh made about Chelsea Clinton years ago -- all just reprehensible, and MUCH worse than the Letterman joke.

I think the tendency of the right wingnuts to imply "tit for tat" is the proper way to deal with insults is pretty middle-sch­ool-playgr­ound juvenile.

Grow up.

[thewomanwarrior82]

KayJay90:

I don't know you, you don't know me, so what right do you have to judge my political affiliations? I was just stating my opinion about the joke, and how I felt about all the Palin bashing on this site. I do agree with you that Limbaugh's comments about Chelsea Clinton were in poor taste as well, just as Letterman's comments were inappropriate.

I'm sorry that you feel like I need to grow up for stating my opinion, but I'm not the one name calling. I will respect yours and leave it at that.

To all the rest:

I actually do watch Letterman's show, and I am aware of the nature of much of his humor. But he crossed the line even for a comedian. I don't appreciate all the hate, I'm not trying to attack anybody, I just feel like there is a double standard within both parties. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Period.

[Fromageball]

Great post. This is career gold for Letterman...it's not everyday they can get someone in this much of a tizzy over their jokes. Maybe Sarah just isn't cut out for life in America. She can't handle being made fun of when it's pretty much a given for someone in the spotlight. and I too am still waiting for her apology for trying to represent women and failing completely.

[Rogan]

Trying to represent women? It's more like, Palin perceived "feminists" as a crowd she could stand in front of, claiming then that the crowd has her back.

[cobraxus]

she turned her pregnant unwed 17 year old daughter into a political stage prop.that in and of itself is unconscionable but now she's got this poor girl out on the abstinence only sex-ed circuit like some prize winning cow being shown off before slaughter.the whole thing is sick.Letterman's joke may have been tasteless and more than a little mean but it clearly wasn't directed at her 14 year old.Palin is twisting this for her own ends and as a parent that's far worse.

[mlaiuppa]

She made rape victims pay for their own rape kits.

[grammy11]

This issue about girls with low self esteem is about as stupid as the Putin thing. I have 4 daughters and 6 granddaughters and none have or had low self esteem. Where does she live? Well, her state supposedly has the highest rate of rape, child pregnancy, and incest in the country so she must know what she is talking about. Right......

[smileatfear]

Your girls have high self-esteem because their mother would never use them to achieve her own political goals even at the cost of exposing them to intense public scrutiny. How is palin's 15 1/2 year old daughter supposed to have high self esteem when her mother is all over the airwaves claiming the girl is 14 and saying she was part of a "rape joke" that really wasn't? The poor kid is going to have as many problems as her two older siblings. And it will have nothing to do with David Letterman.

[KayJay90]

There's still some doubt as to just how old the "14 year old" really is.

Seems Sarah Palin has told numerous vetters and publications that her daughter was born in January 1994, and other publications she's put out that the birth year was 1995...but I would suppose the factual, REAL information is what was listed July 25, 1994 in the Anchorage Daily News, which would have gotten their information directly from the hospital in which Willow Palin was born:

"BIRTHS
Anchorage Daily News (AK)

July 7, 1994 - Todd & Sarah Palin, girl, Willow Bianca Faye, 7 lbs., 12 oz."

[indy girl]

She isn't fixing the problems in Alaska because she's hardly ever there. She's working on 2012 face time because she SERIOUSLY thinks she's gonna be the next American President, you betcha!

::: door slamming :::::

[MoonRiver9]

But you have to admit, Sarah Palin is cute :-) !!!

[smileatfear]

So is a pug. In that "so ugly it's cute" kind of way.

[aloha43]

Michelle.....

Thanks for the laugh, but seriously..... I can almost picture you, scratching your head in disbelief....LOL

The one that got me most was....

"Absolutely not necessarily." I laughed so hard I almost pee'd my pants. What in the heck did she mean by that, and did she really just say that?

"Absolutely not necessarily." (Sorry, I can't help myself. Kind of like "When Putin rears his head!")

LOL

[Fromageball]

haha, the "Putin rears his head" picture makes me laugh so hard every time I see it.

[mlaiuppa]

At least her speechwriter is using "evolve" instead of "progress".

BTW, can you tell the difference between a speech she's written and one that's been written for her by...someone that actually earned their bachelor's degree?

If it's grammatically correct and makes sense....S­tapletongu­e probably wrote it.

[mychagal]

Michelle,

Terrific article. I love the part about, "and her daughter's example has many of us in stitiches."

[mbaty]

Those jokes weren't even about her daughter, they were about A-Rod and that other guy. I think she's really mad because he called her look, "slutty flight attendant," which is pretty funny. So why get all up in arms? She keeps going on and on about it, apparently unaware of what David Letterman said on his show clarifying which daughter he was referring to--even though the joke was about A-Rod anyway. This woman can be so oblivious, or maybe she's just using this "feud," if you can call it that, to bring publicity to herself.

[mychagal]

mbaty,

I am struck by the level of emotional immaturity she has.

[aloha43]

Me too.

And the thought that there are that many people in the US that would want her to be in the highest office in the country, really makes me realize that there a lot of very unintelligent and uninformed voters out there.

It's beyond me.

[MichaelCanfield]

Especially audacious of her to demand in the same week she makes a speach praising Michael Reagan's son, for not bowing to political correctness on his radio show.

[mlaiuppa]

She plagiarized most of that speech from Newt Gingrich...and still manage to make word salad out of it.

[davedave]

i have much to thank ms. palin for....including ensuring obama's victory.

d

[Michelle Renee - Huffpost Blogger]

Ahhhh...must agree with you on that one :)

[BobLablah]

"I can see Russia from my house" - urban legend

"My 16 year old daughter is pregnant" - African American teens have the highest teen pregnency rate. Are you saying African Americans are worst examples for children than whites?

[myjs]

"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." --Sarah Palin,

AND

GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

So.... This is better?????

Your other comment is just st upid. We are talking about a candidate for VP's unwed, pregnant daughter who has put up on the Republican National Convention stage and then on People Magazine's cover.

[BobLablah]

Thank you for providing the quotes to prove that the "I can see Russia from my backyard" quote is 100% false. A lot of people here actually think Palin said it.

[mlaiuppa]

Who is now a spokesperson for abstinence for a company that uses sex to sell products to teenage girls; Candies.

You just can't make this stuff up.

[carolr51]

Boy, you sure know how to twist things...do you work for Fox News?

[Michelle Renee - Huffpost Blogger]

Are these teens, or their parents, pointing a finger at Letterman and saying he is the reason for their situation because he, a comic, made a joke? Nope....Just saying that if you are going to point fingers and shout that someone else is a problem to society and young girls self-esteem issues...check your own back yard first...you know, the back yard that bumps up against Russia.

[mychagal]

Sarah doesn't have the ability to look at herself with a sense of humor. Only people who are together emotionally have this ability. I would say it is clearly immaturity on her part. Sad, she's about 44 years old, isn't she? When will she decide to grow up?

[BobLablah]

Sorry, there's now way for you to justify throwing all unwed teen mothers (like Obama's mom) under the bus like you did in this post.

[BobLablah]

"she herself is the one needing to apologize to young girls for her and her daughter's example"

You could not have said it any more clearly: Teenagers who get pregnant (and their parents) need to apologize for setting a bad example.

[mychagal]

I am sure you are a far better example for your daughter than Sarah Palin could ever be to her own daughter.

[smileatfear]

palin has insisted that "abstinence only" education will prevent teen pregnancy. Her daughter is a primary example that that does not work. palin and her daughter both denounce teen pregnancy and then pose smiling unwed daughter and baby all over the place, including the cover of People magazine. palin is a flaming hypocrite. And a very good example of bad parenting. Not because her daughter got pregnant, but because she has used that daughter for political expediency. And now she is using the 15 year old daughter as well. Has nothing to do with race, even though it appears you would like to make it so.