Letterman is wrong and needs to admit it
The controversy over remarks David Letterman made on his show about Sarah Palins daughter continues and intensifies daily. In comments about Palin’s trip to New York and attendance at a Yankee game with her 14 year old daughter Willow, Letterman stated that during the seventh inning stretch, Palin’s daughter got knocked up by Alex Rodreguez. Even though he was referring to Palin’s other daughter Bristol, the attempt at humor was not only not funny, but was way out of line. Whether Letterman wants to believe it or not, kids are off limits when it comes to these insulting remarks.
Bristol is 18 now, and in Letterman’s mind that makes her fair game, but he is wrong. During the recent presidential campaign she was a 17 year old high school kid, pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby. They planned to get married and she had the baby out of wedlock. Then the boyfriend got cold feet and backed off, leaving her with a baby and no husband. Is this a reason to portray her as someone who would go down into the lockerroom between innings and have sex with a ball player? No, it isn’t. She’s just a kid; a kid who made a mistake, like a lot of kids do, and found out the hard way that sex is a little more complicated than just scratching an itch.
I’m a big David Letterman fan, but in this case he is wrong. He is a nice guy with a zany sense of humor, but his humor can be edgy and sometimes it can go over the edge. This is one of those times. The thing is, those probably aren’t even his own words. He has a team of writers who write his material and wrote those comments for him. That doesn’t excuse him from blame. He is the final editor and censor, and he should have seen that this was over the line and removed it before it ever got on the air.
A lot of people think that this is being used by the adults to promote themselves. Letterman is in a ratings battle with Conan O’Brien and may feel that this media attention will draw viewers to his show. Palin is thought to be interested in her party’s nomination for president in 2012, and might feel that this can help her image. That would be a shame because this is not about them; it is about two young girls who should have been left alone. Letterman and Palin need to bring this to a close, and it has to be them because the media will continue to keep this going as long as they can. Sarah Palin needs to shut up and David Letterman needs to stand up.
Letterman needs to be a man and admit that what he said was out of line and apologize to the Palin girls and to their family. He will look better for it and this incident will fade away. He might even get Sarah to come on his show and make amends in person. Of course, asking Sarah Palin to come on the show to bury the hatchet might not work out as planned.