Letterman Appologizes To Palin - Sort Of

David Letterman offered something resembling an apology for jokes he made earlier this week about Sarah Palin and one of her teenage daughters. The "Late Show" host made his statements on his show, letting the controversy add to his current ratings boost. Letterman joked on Monday's show that Palin's daughter "was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." The joke appeared to be referring to Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol. In his apology, Letterman said he was referring to Bristol, not her 14-year-old sister Willow, who had been at the Yankees game. Indeed, Bristol Palin has been the subject of countless jokes by comedians who have referred to her status as a single mother who has paradoxically come out in the media as a spokesperson for safe sex. So, while Letterman denied that he would ever make a joke about sex with a 14-year-old girl, he seemed to be saying that jokes about an 18-year-old are OK. Letterman acknowledged he was guilty of poor taste, but interspersed jokes along with his apology. Responding to Sarah Palin's comments that charged Letterman with "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity," Letterman deadpanned "I am not a celebrity. I'm 62 years old, but I'm not a celebrity." In addition to his near-apology, Letterman invited Palin to be a guest on his show. "Governor Palin, if you're watching, I would like you to consider coming to New York City - you and Todd as my guests - or leave Todd at home," he said, tossing in a little humor with his apology. Sarah Palin's spokesperson Meghan Stapleton said: "The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman." Now that's a pretty funny response right there, keeping up with the comedy theme. On his MSNBC show yesterday, Keith Olbermann, who also happens to be a David Letterman fan and has appeared as a guest on his show, weighed in. "In political humor, does anything go?" he asked. "Are John McCain age jokes OK, but "Barack the Magic Negro" songs not?" He referred to sexual jokes going back to when Clinton was president. "Is the outside of the envelope the nightly, endlessly sexual jokes?" Wanda Sykes got flack for her jokes at the White House Correspondent's Dinner in May. About Rush Limbaugh, she joked: "You want Obama to fail? I hope your kidneys fail." She went on to skewer both Republicans and Democrats alike, but the Republicans were the ones complaining, and Sykes was the lucky recipient of their scorn. She has signed with Fox to host her own talk show. It's fair to say that comedians have a little more latitude in being able to bring up controversial subjects by nature of their job description. But this is an age where gender specific remarks and racial slurs are dangerous territory, even for comedians. We are protected by the First Amendment, but David Letterman works for a major corporation, CBS, and he has to follow their rules. You'd think they would intervene. For example, Radio Host Don Imus was fired a few years ago for using a racial slur on the air. Evidently, with Letterman's ratings on the rise, CBS is happy with the controversy. And Craig Crawford, an MSNBC analyst, said on Keith Olbermann's show that he doubted that Sarah Palin was really offended by Letterman's remarks. "I mean, I think she was probably secretly thrilled to be in the 'Top 10' of Letterman," Crawford said. "She has definitely sought political advantage here." If you ask me, it's a win-win situation for Palin and Letterman. Letterman's ratings are up, and Sarah Palin is back in the news, which is where she wants to be.

Letterman Stirs Up Controversy, Ratings Skyrocket

David Letterman consistently came in second to "The Tonight Show" when Jay Leno was the host. Conan O'Brien, who started out with high ratings, has seen the "The Tonight Show" lose ground nightly since his debut a few weeks ago. Last night Letterman passed up O'Brien in the ratings, and he can thank Sarah Palin. Letterman and his "Late Show" writers have had a field day with the Alaskan governor ever since she burst onto the national scene last August as John McCain's running mate. On the show Monday night, Letterman referred to Palin's trip to New York last week when he joked in his monologue that during the seventh inning of a Yankees game "her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." Then, in his "Top 10" segment, he joked that she "bought makeup at Bloomingdale's to update her slutty flight attendant look." On a radio interview Tuesday, she said Letterman's comments were "pretty pathetic." But Letterman wasn't done. He joked in his opening monologue Tuesday night about Palin's visit to Yankee Stadium, when she sat next to Rudy Guiliani: "They had a wonderful time. The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter." The reference to the disgraced New York governor who was caught with a prostitute didn't go over well with the Palin family and many conservative pundits and radio and TV personalities. Palin released a statement: "I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter." Letterman didn't say which daughter he was referring to, but since her 14-year-old daughter Willow was travelling with her, Palin's husband Todd referred to Willow, calling the jokes about his daughter "perverted" and "disgusting". As to the joke about Palin being "slutty," conservatives are saying it's demeaning to women in general and Sarah Palin in particular. Letterman has also gotten the attention of flight attendants, who are infuriated over the less-than-glamorous name. Letterman continues to let the media spin out of control without making any public comments about the subject, other than continuing his nightly monologues where evidently no joke is off limits. To be fair, Letterman will make offensive jokes about just about anyone, if given the chance. And Sarah Palin has given him a lot of material since her meteoric rise to celebrity status. This time though, Letterman may have crossed the line. But his ratings are way up, and that's the most important thing for Letterman and CBS, the network that carries his show. Look for more controversy from Letterman. After all, he's got the #1 show. Conan O'Brien's writers are now working overtime to counter Letterman's resurgence.