Non-apology not accepted, Dave.
posted at 11:42 pm on June 15, 2009 by Laura
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I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with Allahpundit that his Letterman quote includes an apology. It does not. It includes a post-modern faux apology: “sorry that you rubes misunderstood the joke, which I at least now admit wasn’t funny. To you. Obviously a good portion of my audience enjoyed it immensely and clearly understood it, especially when I non-apologized a couple of days ago. I’ll be more humble this time and see if it flies, so I don’t lose any more sponsors. As a responsible adult I want you to know I did take the time to check and see if that Palin kid was over 18 before I called her a tramp. Because that’s the kind of guy I am, and, again, it’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood. The important thing is that unlike Imus, I’m a liberal who means well, so I deserve a pass for anything I say that is offensive.”
A real apology would not have included all that, “you completely misunderstood me” nonsense. It only takes a few seconds to say, “I was out of line, and I’m sorry for saying that.” Except, in spite of the fact that Letterman admits “it can’t be defended,” he does try to defend it by saying that the real problem is with our perception. Since he laughingly suggested Bristol, not Willow, Palin might have sex with a stranger in a public place, all should be forgiven? Nor do I believe he was talking about Bristol. He checked her age, but somehow wasn’t aware that it was her sister at the game, not her? News reports just referenced a Palin girl but did not name her? Sorry, not buying. I certainly don’t believe he’s sorry or he’d have omitted the excuses which negated the apology.
Non-apology still not accepted, Dave. I hope sometime soon he’ll really comprehend how wrong he is, and if he ever does, his first request for forgiveness won’t be to the Palins or to his audience.
But in the meantime I’ll drop the issue, because I want him to stay on the air. Every time I channel surf past his show on my way to Qubo to watch a far more entertaining Jane and the Dragon rerun, I will pity that bitter, bitter man, seething with hate that he now has to contain in order to keep his job. Because we have that power over him; we can require him to behave decently, and he knows it. That’s punishment enough.
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Very deep.
Thank you for that.
I shall take your post, Laura, and study it.
It is full of truth.
All hail Sarah. All hail!!
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 12:38 AM
the final cut leaves his mark on every tree in the palin-post forest.
aren’t we lucky?
homesickamerican on June 16, 2009 at 12:54 AM
Shame on you, homesickamerican, for your cynicism! I, for one, am proud of The Final Cut for finally wising up. I’m glad he’s decided to study this post, though I do think meditating on Proverbs 18:6 might be a more profitable use of his time. Still, it doesn’t matter. Now he’s joined Team Sarah (and I’m sure he’ll want to donate to her defense against insane lefty anklebiters) we should welcome him with open arms.
Laura on June 16, 2009 at 1:04 AM
Works for me.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 2:03 AM
Letterman is a deceiver, a dissembler
His fallen trousers are alight
From what pole or gallows
Shall they dangle in the night?
What infernal serpent
Has lent him his perverted tongue?
From what pit of foul deceit
Have all his slanders sprung?
What red devil of mendacity
Grips his sick soul with such tenacity?
Will not one he cruelly showers with lies
Put a pistol ball between his pedophile eyes?
PercyB on June 16, 2009 at 2:38 AM
Dave is a multi-millionaire and has an axe to grind against Sarah Palin.
Liberals are never happy.
SCOOPTHIScarlos on June 16, 2009 at 2:58 AM
Jim, if he had left it at that, it would have worked for me. My problem is that it immediately followed his insistence that he hadn’t really don’t anything wrong: his bad, tasteless joke had been misunderstood. He would “never make a joke like this” – notwithstanding the words that actually came out of his mouth. Even if I believed he meant Bristol, and I don’t, he didn’t take responsibility for attacking a young woman who never did a thing to him, and who, if she’d been the daughter of a Dem candidate, would have been left severely alone. Remember all those slut jokes when John Kerry’s daughter had that fashion accident that left her more or less topless on the red carpet at Cannes? Yeah, me either.
Obama-like, he “takes full responsibility” for what WE did wrong: “It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood.” That pretty well canceled out what could have been a very nice apology.
Laura on June 16, 2009 at 6:43 AM
Agreeing with Jim on this one.
Letterman’s attitude towards women not withstanding (that will be an ongoing fight I imagine), he’s apologizing for the most egregious offense, the joke about Willow and ARod at Yankee stadium. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that at the time of saying the joke, he didn’t know it was Willow vs. Bristol. Now having said that, by the second night the ‘joke’ should have been apologized for and he should have back peddled. Most likely its a ‘too good to check’ type of joke for the Letterman writers, someone came up with it and no one bothered to do a fact check.
There is no question that Letterman and his crew are seeking to demean the Palin family at every turn and will do so whenever they can, they just didn’t count on the blowback. But, given that we can’t expect to ‘fix’ Letterman, an apology of this nature is sufficient. This event has two effects; first it notified the liberal media/entertainment industry that there is a boundary and if crossed will result in punishment, and secondly it exposed Letterman and liberals in general as crass and hypocritical (misogynists, bigots, uncouth, etc.).
Palin accepting this time shows graciousness and gives her the moral high ground. She didn’t accept the first apology, and most reasonable people could see it wasn’t an apology (Letterman never uttered ‘Sorry’ in that first rant of crap). She stood up for her daughters moved on when it was perceived that that the second apology was actually an apology this time. If Palin didn’t take the apology this time, it would likely be perceived in a negative light by the public.
Geministorm on June 16, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Letterman has stained himself, and it won’t wash out with that weak soap of an apology.
It’s clear he did not mean to back down at all, until he started to lose some sponsors, and took more heat than he expected. He thinks of Sarah Palin as an easy target to be piled on. When he got hit back effectively, he’s reconsidered his public stance. His contempt goes on, how ever thinly veiled.
Sarah did the classy thing by letting him off the hook, albeit with another good slap.
Good for her.
Now I will be satisfied with seeing his ratings continue to decline in the future, not just because of this, but because Dave is lame in general.
Late Nite celebrity a$$kissers have run out of ideas.
Conan is no better.
The whole format is stale and worn out.
I would rather watch paint dry than what these idiots consider “entertainment”.
Brian1972 on June 16, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Laura,you are great, by the way.
Contribute more so I have more chances to agree with you.
Brian1972 on June 16, 2009 at 10:16 AM
I’m still praying for you THE WALL.
portlandon on June 16, 2009 at 10:47 AM
I agree with you – if all he had said was “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.” it would have closed the issue.
However he qualified it as if it wasn’t his fault but the listeners fault that they got offended. I feel like we’ve been thrown “under the bus” for not being hip.
katiejane on June 16, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Um, Palin accepted it….so who is anyone else not to?
changer1701 on June 16, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Well in a way you have to drop it as the only alternative is to turn it into an ongoing obsession after it has ceased to be a news story.
aengus on June 16, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Anyone think Dave would have had the arrogance to make such a joke if Todd Palin were in the Green Room? I’m gonna guess no.
scottm on June 16, 2009 at 10:59 AM
No dice. He’s a pig. It’s the “sorry you pathetic rednecks can’t take a joke. God, you’re stupid.”
Screw David Letterman. I’d stop watching him, if only I were watching him in the first place….
mjk on June 16, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Yup. Who was not sad to see Carson go? Who will be sad to see Letterman go?
nk on June 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Roger Waters(The Wall) is the guy who lines his daughters up at night after bathtime and checks for evidence of virginity loss. If he suspects a problem, he ships them off to grandmother’s house for re-education. He claims his daughters are always under a watchful eye and an unwanted pregnancy just won’t happen.
a capella on June 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Letterman totally negated his backhanded apology by blaming Palin
for being too stupid to actually understand what he plainly said. It’s a B.S. apology, start to finish, done at the behest of CBS admin to cover his ass.
But Palin handled it as well as possible, I think.
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
I agree with Laura. It was a typical liberal non-apology apology. They get away with this stuff because too many people ‘just want to get along’ instead of demanding what is right! Dave ‘the PERV’ makes fun of conservatives for a living and gets away with a whole lot of line crossing. It is time to stand up, push back and say enough to this kind of indecency. Please recognize a real apology when it is offered and not the faux apologies we are generally fed.
Sporty1946 on June 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Oops, sorry…
Letterman totally negated his backhanded apology by blaming Palin et al for being too stupid to actually understand what he plainly said. It’s a B.S. apology, start to finish, done at the behest of CBS admin to cover his ass.
But Palin handled it as well as possible, I think.
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:02 AM
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:03 AM
And yes, time to let it go. You’ll get no more from Dave or CBS.
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Look, Treacher says we should accept the apology. Our Lord Queen Sarah has also accepted the apology.
We Palintologists should now move on to other causes in the quest for our Queen. I suggest we organize a “Million Airhead March” to FORCE BILL OREILLY TO MEET HIS PWOMISE TO PIMP OUR DEFENSE FUND FOR QUEEN SARAH PALIN.
Who is with me????
After all:
“We cannot spare this woman…she fights. The liberals FEAR her…you can smell the fear.”
The Final Cut
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Use of the above quote without the express written consent of The Final Cut is strictly prohibited.
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 12:01 PM
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Look, Treacher says we should accept the apology. Our Lord Queen Sarah has also accepted the apology.
We Palintologists should now move on to other causes in the quest for our Queen. I suggest we organize a “Million Airhead March” to FORCE BILL OREILLY TO MEET HIS PWOMISE TO PIMP OUR DEFENSE FUND FOR QUEEN SARAH PALIN.
Who is with me????
After all:
“We cannot spare this woman…she fights. The liberals FEAR her…you can smell the fear.”
The Final Cut
All Rights Reserved
Use of the above quote without the express written consent of The Final Cut is prohibited.
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Kinda like Monica’s blue dress, eh?
glennbo on June 16, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Oooops.
Sorry about the double post, guys. I got caught up in the moment, you see.
“We cannot spare this woman…she fights. The liberals FEAR her…you can smell the fear.”
The Final Cut
All Rights Reserved
Use of the above quote without the express written consent of The Final Cut is strictly prohibited.
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 11:07 AM
I don’t think it matters as much that we, collectively, accept Letterman’s “apology” or not…the woman who’s family was the direct target of that stupid “joke” and the direct subject to which the apology was directed has accepted it.
JetBoy on June 16, 2009 at 11:10 AM
http://loscuatroojos.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/formal-apology.jpg
Stomper on June 16, 2009 at 11:11 AM
True. It’s just nice to point out that (a) Letterman insults those who are angry by saying they misunderstood him when they didn’t, and (b) he thinks they’re stupid enough to accept his apology as sincere when it clearly isn’t. I doubt the Palin family truly accepts it as sincere, too, but she’s doing the smart thing and letting it drop.
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:14 AM
He told a joke, it was offensive, he apologized and Palin accepted it. Should be end of the story right there. The more conservatives complain about this the more we sound like the liberals trying to get Imus fired.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Me too, Jim.
Rod on June 16, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Cartoon world is so much more fun and interesting than the real world isn’t it? Send me a postcard some time and say “hi” to Roger Rabbit for me.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 11:17 AM
I see things as clearly as you Laura, but than again, I always called someone being “disingenuous,” a liar. It must be something in our water. lol
abinitioadinfinitum on June 16, 2009 at 11:18 AM
I couldn’t agree more. It appears as an act of desperation to continue to squeeze all the juice out of this lemon. It is time to move on to the next issue, then the next, never overreaching. Death by a thousand wounds inflicted on themselves (liberal/democrats) is what will get the conservatives back in business.
glennbo on June 16, 2009 at 11:18 AM
The Final Cut is truly P A T H E T I C. Talk about airheads – speaks from experience and full knowledge of the subject.
Sporty1946 on June 16, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Dave regrets getting caught without a defense, and he’ll try harder next time to not get caught without a better defense. Dave may as well target his wife for all his public misogyny; at least she’s old enough and close enough to him to make him deal with his problems in private and stop insulting the public.
Palin did not ask Dave to apologize to herself or her daughters, but to all young women. Dave and his audience owe public regrets for abusing young women. How much more pressure has David Letterman put on girls deciding to abort rather than endure the public ridicule from Letterman and fans? It won’t do for Letterman to claim that the laughs he got were canned; too late to excuse his audience playing the ‘just how far can we go‘ game at the expense of American civility.
Agree to respect pregnancy as a private issue, not fodder for ill humor. And leave minors out of sexually nuanced or perverted jokes. The government recognizes adults at the age of 21 years, David Letterman.
maverick muse on June 16, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Fire David Letterman. Click here to help Fire David Letterman
pabarge on June 16, 2009 at 11:23 AM
Nah. That makes him the victim for real. Loss in ad revenue and the like would hit CBS much harder. I’m for doing neither, since I haven’t watched the man in over 10 years. But y’all do as you feel you must.
splink on June 16, 2009 at 11:26 AM
Way to go, Laura – you nailed it. The issue is less that Letterman reflects liberalism than it is that modern “liberals” spent (are spending?) their childhood watching Letterman.
Post-modern, edgy, hip, all mean the same thing: self-entitled, spoiled and with the intellectual depth of a ten-year-old. It’s impossible to imagine people finding this stuff funny who didn’t have the life-defining experience of lampooning the middle class while mom was driving them to the mall.
Nobody, imo, should care whether DL gets censured or loses the gig over this. The last person with any insight about television was Newton Minow (”a vast wasteland…”) in 1961. Nonetheless it’s important to keep noticing the continual dumbing-down of the culture, and oppose it. Rave on, lady – 4 stars.
warbaby on June 16, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Doesn’t work for me. Refer back to Laura’s expose of liberal apologies.
Remember, Don Imus’s apology was real.
How did that work out?
Right.
Didn’t think so.
The only way that we on the right (and in the right) are going to get equality is by demanding equality, and in this case it is getting Letterman fired.
But of course if you are in the political middle-of-the-road, you’re always going to be a butt-kissing nicey-nice dimwit, hoping against hope that by being nice, the libs will be fair, which of course explains why you’re a dimwit blogger that writes to himself.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Dave, When you have to explain an appology it isn’t an appology.
How about this… The jokes was sexist and crude and I was wrong.
vulcannomad on June 16, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Which explains why you’re afraid of Tasers.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Laura!!
That was nice to read your post! I am in favor of your method of redemption. although- I was in favor of him loosing his job. Let’s see if he will behave himself now that he is in the outhouse.
God Bless
hawkman on June 16, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Nice talking to you too.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 11:38 AM
But then again, Dave could just be incapable of apologizing, which is another reason he should get fired.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I feel your pain sir. I TRULY feel the pain also as Glorious Sarah was insulted by the infidels.
I just believe that continuing on in this manner may backfire on us and end up hurting the Woman that we hold so dear.
Thus, I believe that is in the best interest of all things Palin to accept the apology of this disgusting infidel, David Letterman, and move on to other tactics in the war against the evil Xenu.
Lets move on and organize a Million Airhead March!!!
“We cannot spare this woman…she fights. The liberals FEAR her…you can smell the fear.”
The Final Cut
Copyright 2009
All Rights Reserved
Use of the above quote without the express written consent of The Final Cut is strictly prohibited.
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Well said, Laura.
Nice to see someone on this site recognize that Mr. Letterman’s “CBS is pressuring me because we are starting to lose sponsors so I have to try and explain my joke so my liberal friends don’t think I’m a complete sellout” statement last night was not an apology.
diditagain on June 16, 2009 at 11:43 AM
As I said in another post, he’s been told to grovel a little, the looney left can’t stand the fact that she is getting sympathetic press and people are starting to rally behind her..
reshas1 on June 16, 2009 at 11:43 AM
I owe Letterman nothing. He has a long track record attacking Conservative Women and minors. Whenever anyone brings up his name, I’ll reference the cad that he is. His supporters are no friends of mine. I’ll leave them alone so long as they keep their polite distance from me and from mine. I’ll take his regrets for what they are, certainly nothing more. Letterman has a long way to go so far as “I’ll try to do better” goes. Trying is not a commitment. Letterman is wimping out with a juvenile’s response to getting caught. Those who are satisfied with his expression(s) likely do not have daughters, and are still single males.
If people feel so strongly still that they are going to persist in a show of public outrage, the smart thing would be to focus strictly on the Letterman Show’s sponsors. Deluge THEM with letters. But by all means, don’t produce fodder for more jokes unless you as adults can take being the new butt Letterman kicks. Because he can, he most certainly will. He’s in need of new material. Don’t set yourself up to be his fresh meat.
maverick muse on June 16, 2009 at 11:45 AM
The good news about this dude’s return is that, once he gets banned again (and he will), when he shows up again in the next comment registration period, assuming he follows his current pattern, his next screen name will be “A Momentary Lapse of Reason.”
Mr. D on June 16, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Did you see the about face Joy Behar made??? And she looked ill when she said it.. Wonder what is going on with that and who she got her orders from.
I think the Geo Soros types have told them to STOP.. They don’t want Sarah getting postitive attention.
reshas1 on June 16, 2009 at 11:47 AM
I say not to let this go, they have been treating conservatives badly for years, it is time to push back, remember janene(sp) Garfalo saying we’re all racist?? What Obama said about middle American, etc, etc, etc. It’s been going on for TO long.. Time to fight back to hit back.
reshas1 on June 16, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Sir, you are incorrect.
A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is NOT a Pink Floyd album…it is a Pink Fraud album. It was a charade put together by the Ringos of the band..Gilmour and Mason who hired 100 session musicians to sound like Roger Waters…and failed miserably.
Thus, when I am banned again, I shall come back as the next TRUE Floyd album….Amused To Death.
“We cannot spare this woman…she fights. The liberals FEAR her…you can smell the fear.”
The Final Cut
Copyright 2009
All Rights Reserved
Use of the above quote without the express written consent of The Final Cut is strictly prohibited.
The Final Cut on June 16, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Other differences between Letterman & Imus: (1) Imus’ remark (while outrageously wrong) were “off the cuff.” Letterman’s were written, planned, approved, rehearsed & pre-taped. (2) Imus’ apology seemed more sincere to me & he lost his job (and I agree with that). Letterman should lose his job too. (3) The final difference? Contrary to what I thought at the time, Imus lost his job solely because he called those young women “nappy-headed” not because he called them “hos.”
Dark Star on June 16, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Trying to get Dave fired because we were offended by his jokes makes us seem like the neo conservatives people paint us as. Should you disagree with him? Yes. Should you watch another program instead of his? Of Course. Speak out agaisnt what he says? Surely. But, being offended does not give you the right to shut down his freedom of speech. The left was wrong for getting Imus fired and we would be wrong to try to get Letterman fired. Revenge is what we want but this is not the way to go about it.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
At this point, whenever referencing Gov. Palin, keep it professionally on point as to her ongoing accomplishments; national defense monitor, independent energy expertise, conservative limited spending and plentiful jobs for our nation’s economic recovery and prosperity.
Whenever referencing gutter trash Letterman, he regrets being caught molesting girls, and his friends are molesting apologists.
maverick muse on June 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Letterman pegged.
baldilocks on June 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Jim & Geministorm
I think you might be missing one main point about this issue…It doesn’t matter if he was referring to Willow or Bristol or some other woman/child, it is time to stop sexually exploiting women. Think about it. Letterman said he had checked her age himself to make sure it was okay to tell the joke. Why does age matter when you are making cracks about any form of sexual exploitation?
And, what is infuriating is the double standard. Things like this would never be said about a male politician’s or their child.
I believe Palin has taken the right position and we need to follow suit. That does not mean we should stop expressing our opinions by not watching him or choosing to not support his sponsors.
truetexan on June 16, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Thanks Laura, good post.
That one liberal troll, final cut is interesting.
He is the type who sits on a rock, waiting for someone to make a mistake and pounces on the “mistake”.
Sarah’s daughter makes a mistake, he is there to pick apart the bones.
These hyenas never contribute anything of worth, they only devour and take…weak little beasts, slinky and never really coming out to debate any issue, they just come in to take a “bite”, or a nip at the wounded.
When they are physically confronted, they have their tale between their legs, they expose their belly, they are weaklings on their own…their only strength is from the stealth of the internet.
Sorrowful little beasts, but they at least get to be the center of attention that they so much desire and long for…knowing on their own, they are ignored and live in a life of ridicule.
right2bright on June 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM
You have cottonballs for testicles (or cajones).
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Hey! I agreed with Jim. Don’t I deserve some of your condescending, hate-filled tripe too? Please? You’re so good at expressing your bile-filled, self-righteous indignation that I feel left out and ignored.
Rod on June 16, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Those of us who have daughters are free to decide whether he really understands why his “jokes” were out of line.
Even if our daughters have gotten pregnant out of wedlock, that’s no excuse to call them whores. Not any more than Letterman’s wife or Barack Obama’s mama.
The Monster on June 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Perfect.
warbaby on June 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
changer1701 on June 16, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Um, a joke about raping one woman is a joke about raping all women — me & Laura included that’s “who we are” to not accept it. That’s how it works. Call Willow or Bristol a slutty little whore, tomorrow it will be me or my daughter being called a slutty little whore.
Dark Star on June 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
You’re a wimp.
Is that good enough?
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Sarah Palin’s position is that Letterman needs to make restitution to all young women, period.
Kids are not adults until the age of 21.
Pregnancy is not a topic for ridicule.
maverick muse on June 16, 2009 at 12:01 PM
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
The government isn’t trying to shut David “down” so his 1st Amendment rights have nothing to do it. Why can’t people get that straight? Is our education system that bad?
ITHO, the public wanting him fired & getting him fired is a perfect example of the market at work.
Dark Star on June 16, 2009 at 12:02 PM
If it’s OK for Rush Limbaugh to call Chelsea Clinton the White House Dog then I fail to see what’s so offensive about what Letterman said.
LODGE4 on June 16, 2009 at 12:06 PM
That’s some good stuff there, Baldi.
All you wimpy beta males, may excuse yourself now (please leave quietly).
We will take it from here.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
The point I was making was that it is too extreme to have him fired over a joke, no matter how offensive the joke may have been.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
I will remind everyone that when it was reported a certain daughter of a certain candidate was reported to have been snorting drugs; many on the Right refused to name the daughter’s name, and disavowed attacks on the girl. We have standards, and our actions should be magnified so as to give the voters ideas as to how we roll. We are fair and decent.
I agree with Laura on all counts, but one. IMHO he needs to be fired. It is high time the Left got it through their thick skulls this type of behavior must end when it comes to Conservative women, and for that matter, women everywhere of all political affiliation.
This action by Dave came after two long weeks of Conservative women being assaulted by Guy Cimbalo, and Carrie Prejean being attacked by Keith Lewis and the MS USA loons in CA. I think Dave thought he could join in on the assaulting fun because no one for sure has held Cimbalo accountable for that vile he spewed! Now there is a case for mega lawsuits! Now we have Maher replicating the acts of all these people by continuing PDS.
To me, these people are just like two year olds you have to keep swatting because they keep biting their siblings or you! We keep issuing demands for apologies, and they keep getting get out of jail free cards, or issue weak ass apologies like this clap trap from Dave. He should be fired.
freeus on June 16, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Accepting an apology that wasn’t accepted by the offended party is presumptuous. Refusing to accept and apology that the offended party has accepted is a bad way to wallow in grudges. Either way – the apology was not Laura’s to accept or refuse in any forum. It should be a right reserved to the Palin family and Sarah in particular. I believe the Palin family has already commented on the apology.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Riiiiiight….
Just what I figured. No joke too offensive to be fired.
You are a tired little drip of frog spittle that fell from a dying castrated frog’s lips and is still trying to croak, but can’t because you’re too wimpy-assed to recognize a turd blossom from a donkey.
Do you like me better now?
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Even Dave acknowledged that he offended people other than the Palins so why shouldn’t those people have the right to accept or reject his beggarly apology?
“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.
katiejane on June 16, 2009 at 12:23 PM
It was gracious for Gov. Palin to accept the “apology”, but it doesn’t mean everyone else must. Letterman cancelled any de-skanking effect by rationalizing his behavior — again.
Go back to your unfunny show with your lefty guest list, and I’ll keep not-watching you, Dave. If you’re still on the air, that is.
What are you talking about? Many people were offended by those “jokes” and that’s what the protests are about. There is no group-think here and demands for it have no power. Name-call away.
Feedie on June 16, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Coming from you this is a real honor. Thank you. It was perfect.
Rod on June 16, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Awww, you’re cute when you think you can do satire.
How about a spit take or some prat falls? That seems about your speed.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 12:48 PM
just like the typical liberal
Sorry.
Sorry he got caught.
wildweasel on June 16, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Mcguyver I don’t mind you one bit. I actually think it’s hilarious that you demean people who don’t think Letterman should be fired by calling them beta males. I forgot to be a big bad alpha male you must be so offended by a joke that you wished that person would be taken off the air. If bitching and moaning about other posts on a website because they disagree with you is being an alpha male… then count me out.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Hot Air is festered with beta males. No surprises, DTMB.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 12:55 PM
I don’t think there was any doubt as to the target of the jokes – Sarah Palin. Other offended parties were more or less bystanders that happened to be offended — collateral damage as it were.
Custom and tradition stipulates that it is the target of such attacks that gets to accept or refuse apologies. This custom did not arise from a vacuum. The custom prevents both grievance mongers or the irrationally belligerent from steering the ship when we adhere to it. I don’t believe the form should be abandoned here.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 1:33 PM
That’s sort of a point I made in Treacher’s thread.
Dave’s broadband “Sorry to whoever I offended” apologies is so meaningless that it diminishes the value of apologies. It’s a stupid practice. We shouldn’t enable it by honoring the thing with a debate over whether or not we should accept it. Instead, ignore it completely.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 1:36 PM
I do somewhat agree with you. I do believe that over-broad apologies of this sort do diminish the value of apologies. I also believe that people in his position feel a weird social obligation to apologize to everybody who has even heard about the incident as well as to the targeted party. It’s wildly tricky to apologize to every being on earth without also appearing to be an abject fool. In the process of trying to walk that tight rope the apology is usually compromised and watered down to uselessness.
I disagree with you a bit in how I think people should respond. I think people should respond to these sorts of over-broad apologies by saying that nobody owes them an apology and encouraging the fellow to apologize more contritely and specifically to the target. This “But I was offended too!” trend just reminds me of Jesse Jackson’s flash mobs.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 1:44 PM
You are so weak it makes me sick.
Your rational then, is to just ignore the joke altogether.
Just ignore those who do evil (Letterman’s joke was an evil snide). Yea, see how that works out for you.
I can tell that you didn’t fall from the Defend America bloodline tree.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 1:45 PM
He specifically apologized to the Palins and the two girls in particular. He did also address it more widely to anyone else who was offended, but the important thing is that he directed it at those he actually wronged.
And now, in anticipation of Mcguyver’s fury, I will drop and give him 20… hugs!
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM
*grin* And rushing to the front of the class to demonstrate my point about who we let steer the ship ….
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Funny, nobody was calling me a beta male when I said that until he apologized, I’d just assume he thinks raping little girls is funny.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 1:51 PM
Laura has a point–only the most troubled and basically insecure men resort to gender jokes about women–and the sickest of these go on to jokes about children.
jeanie on June 16, 2009 at 1:52 PM
I think a flat apology to Palin and no one else was in order and that any apology lost impact when it was suddenly shared with anybody who didn’t happen to like what he said.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 1:54 PM
“I apologize to the Palins, and the rest of you can go take a hike.” Yeah, that’d work.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 1:58 PM
“I want to extend my apologies to the entire Palin family. I clearly cross a line that I should not have crossed. I regret that decision and will not do it again.”>
He doesn’t have to explicitly exclude others – it is enough that he names the Palin family and is contrite in his apology. That would work to.
Anybody that thinks they are personally owed an apology (even though they were not the target) can then make their own arrangements with Mr. Letterman.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Whatever works, I guess.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 2:10 PM
When did conservatives become the party of victimhood and political-correctnessdom?
Equating David Letterman making a joke about Palins to some random stranger saying something offensive about your family is a poor comparison.
Letterman is a comedian (capable of bad jokes) and Palin is a public figure. He shouldn’t have joked about the daughters (either one)…and was rightfully bashed for it.
But to continue to be angry about it past his apology is taking things too far….it’s basically making a mountain out of a molehill.
I remember the days when conservatives would laugh at liberals for being so over-sensitive and outraged at any perceived offense…and now they’re falling into the same victim behavior that they used to deride.
Palin Steele on June 16, 2009 at 2:19 PM
Boy you beta male sure sound like a “nappy headed h……..”
I will only apologize to you….
But still, the full complete phrase would get me banned from here, wouldn’t it? And why?
Because that is the way it is with offenses that everybody else heard was directed to a certain party.
In other words, if I didn’t hear the offense (or it wasn’t made public), I cannot take offense to it.
However, If I heard the offense directed at someone else, then, yes, I am offended too, because that body party is a part of me, ie: my sisters, daughters, friends, etc.
So even if one particular body that was offended, accepted the apology, the remaining body does not have to accept the apology.
And, Sarah Palin, true to her nature would stay out of it – if others got Letterman fired – but she wouldn’t stop them, because she understands that they have a right to be offended more and placated only if he is fired.
It worked for Don Imus.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I can guarantee you, that getting Letterman fired (and there is no doubt that we can do it) will go a LONG way toward gaining equality in the media/liberal politics arena.
The question is, do we want equality bad enough, that we are going to fight for it now, or are we going to put it off until later??
Because this battle will come back, oh yes it will, and when it does, it will be even worse. And then, just like now, we will have the beta species of our society tremble and scamper underneath and around the bushes.
And then when it gets even worse, the betas will shrink even more. It’s always been that way. When it get’s tough, the tough get going and the weaklings scamper.
I just wish the betas would leave quietly and/or bring the fighters some fresh water.
*cracks whip*
That’s because that was far worse than a beta male. We just didn’t want to embarrass you.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 2:25 PM
What could possibly be worse than a beta male? Besides somebody who wants people to think he’s an alpha.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Right on Jim
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 2:37 PM
My bone of contention here is that you may have been offended but you were not targeted.
I’ve provided specific reasons for letting the targets of insults or snide jokes to accept of refuse apologies rather than other parties and you haven’t actually responded to that. You have floated further evidence that you were offended as well but I never contested that. I did state that people other than targets of insults shouldn’t expect apologies provided specific reasons for that. I also stated specific reasons why people other than targets shouldn’t get a vote in whether apologies are accepted or refused.
I fell the passion of your response but I don’t feel that you have actually addressed the points put out there.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 2:41 PM
The real question is: since when did we allow inequality to stand in the liberal social-political arena?
Because that is the day we lost.
We’ve got a younger generation to influence here and the media is making the liberals and democrats out to be the cool ones, thereby influencing the up and coming generation in all the ways of their twisted mindset, of what is correct, decent, honest, fair and good.
If that is what you all collectively want, or allow to happen, then you collectively deserve the government and social environment that you get here.
Before I say something that gets me banned here, let me just say that if it happens, it’s because I have given up hope for this country, that essentially, the majority here do not have the will to defend the decency that is at the foundation and underpinnings of this country.
I am getting real sick and tired of this back and forth, and, if I get banned for something that I say, then it is just as well, because then I can go poke my head in the sand and pretend everything is alright with this world.
Not that you care or anything.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 2:42 PM
I’ve been here long enough to not recognize some of the names above that are calling for Letterman’s blood (not including Laura in this) and questioning the testicles of others.
If I’m wrong I’m wrong, but could some of them be lib trolls just trying to rattle the cages of the more torch-and-pitchfork inclined among Hotair’s regulars? To what end I can’t fathom…to cherry pick bad quotes (”SEE? See the kind of simian retards posting at HA?”) or just for laughs, maybe. But something ain’t right here.
No one take offense at this, but I’m starting to wonder. Am I alone?
splink on June 16, 2009 at 2:42 PM
fell? feel? Bah. An & And as well. I speak of propriety and then lazily trust spell checks and wavy lines on a screen.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 2:42 PM
Your counter-condescending description and quip.
Screw you.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Please don’t think I’m being snide here – If you have truly given up hope why would you bother to comment? Even on a blog? If all hope is gone wouldn’t you just be wasting your energy and effort on something you feel to be useless?
Chose your fights carefully and avoid exhaustion. You seem like you’ve put a lot of yourself out there. That strikes me as something likely to exhaust somebody rather than the actions of a man who has decided that everything is hopeless.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Senior commenter here, since June 2007 (Hotair website started in 2006). Pure unadulterated conservative, who never beats around the bushes. Never have, never will.
I would rather stick my head in the sand, than beat around the bushes.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 2:47 PM
dieudonne, the operative word is “if”.
Check your grammar.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 2:49 PM
SIR YES SIR!!!
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 2:51 PM
“if” is the key word but the rest of that same response seems to unwind into somebody that believes they are about to be banned and that the situation is hopeless. *shrug* I won’t express concern in the future.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 2:52 PM
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 12:16 PM
What part of “too all those who may have been offended” do you not understand? That is what Dave said: he apologized to Sarah Palin, to Willow & Bristol & to “all those who may have been offended.” Those “all those” people are Laura & me — she & I have every right to not accept his apology.
It’s like people can’t even understand plain English anymore.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Your point may very well be that you think Letterman shouldn’t lose his job over that, and that is fair enough. But don’t drag the 1st Amendment in to it like that means anything when it is members of the public, not the government, who want him gone.
Dark Star on June 16, 2009 at 2:53 PM
What about dead horses?
splink on June 16, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Are you sure you are understanding me?
I’ve already acknowledged that Letterman apologized to Palin and I said that was proper. Why you bring that up again is not clear given how explicitly I have acknpowledged that.
I have also stated that you and Laura may be offended but I don’t feel that such offense is either useful or legitimate. I provided specific reasons to explain why I felt that this sort of grievance mongering is neither useful nor legitimate. Thus far nobody has responded to those reasons except to say that “they have every right to be offended” or “I’m offended anyway”.If that’s all you have to offer in response you haven’t actually responded to an argument – you’ve just re-iterated that your sensibilities have been offended.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Dark Star your point is well taken. I was wrong to bring that up in my argument. Thanks.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Oh dear. That should have been DontTaseMeBro not Dark Star. Many apologies. I’m still getting used to using HTML in comments and the interrupting things still throws me. I didn’t mean to chop out that much. Sorry.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Dieudonne I’m confused now, ha. What were you trying to say to me?
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 3:08 PM
I don’t believe in forced apologies. It’s obvious that Mr. Letterman only regrets the ignorance of the audience. Sarah Palin was right to accept this “apology”. and move on since Letterman is incapable of heartfelt,honest apology.He is an angry,bitter misogynist who is no longer funny.
CBS don’t fire him, let him be cancelled due to low ratings.
conservativegrandma on June 16, 2009 at 3:10 PM
*grin* I was attempting to respond to the passage quoted by DarkStar. I clipped out too much and it looked as if Dark Star was being credited with what you said. I also missed that it was supposed to be a block quote. I thought you were repeating what you had said earlier word for word as if I had said nothing.
Yes – I’m new to online forums. Yes – I know that is unusual these days. Yes – I know I’m making mistakes that other people stopped making 10 years ago. Yes – I’m apologizing to you and Dark Star alone and not anybody else that may have seen it and been offended. *grin*
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 3:12 PM
I guess you conveniently missed this:
That’s your answer.
If we are not concerned any further than the inconvenience of our own little time frame and context, then the Republic for which much blood has been shed, prior to us, be damned, ie: Freedom of expression/assembly, the right to retribution, etc.
Not that you care or anything.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 3:20 PM
See, I know that cuz I read your post.
I just think the other side of it (the omni-apology) is worthless and should be ignored. We’re being as phony by debating it as he was for offering it.
Silly. And entirely unnecessary. As was already noted, just apologize to the Palins and have done with it without the disingenuous CYA.
In the aftermath, I’m not going to give Dave any particular kudos for offering me a meaningless apology and what goes between him and the Palins isn’t my concern. I still think less of him for what he said. Not much less, because it’s not like he had far down to go.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 3:22 PM
I didn’t conveniently forget to address anything – your statement doesn’t actually address my points as to why I feel that people beyond Palin expecting or desiring apologies doesn’t pass a smell test. Here:
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 3:28 PM
You just answered the question of why your proposed course of action is not only useless but counterproductive.
This has long this been a battle for the perceptions of the public; where socialists are involved, that’s what it has always come down to. It is an ongoing battle in which lying statists have long had the upper hand because they know what conservatives will and won’t do. They know that conservatives, at their core, give others the benefit of the doubt, try to believe the best, try to keep the peace, live and let live, and above all do not emulate the slimy tactics of the enemy, even when they know they work. The statists know this, so they’ll know exactly how to respond should conservatives try to use their own playbook against them.
Result: Conservatives are made out to be hypocrites and whatever integrity the public thinks they have is diminished. Playing by the rules of the statists is a lose/lose for our side. I suspect that’s why conservative leaders – who MUST be tempted to do so – don’t.
But go ahead. Start or join a nationwide movement to get DL canned and you’ll just make him a martyr in the mind of the masses. That – and ONLY that – is how it will be spun and presented to them. The manufactured outrage is all they’ll hear. CBS will then have “good” reason to stand up for DL against your “rethuglican thought police” (so you will be labeled, and so you will be viewed).
You’ll have accomplished nothing…moreover, people will be led to believe that Palin is the evil behind it (which is why I wondered if you might really be one of the anti-Palin trolls herebouts lately…sorry if I was mistaken on that).
splink on June 16, 2009 at 3:30 PM
I find you completely bewildering, but not enough to try to figure out what you’re getting at. Sounds like we’re not that far apart on the issue, at least. Well, take care.
Jim Treacher on June 16, 2009 at 3:31 PM
No worries. You made some great points today. Don’t let the haters get you down.
DontTaseMeBro on June 16, 2009 at 3:38 PM
*grin* Thank you. They don’t get me down. Usually I’m more worried about the other person blowing a gasket. I’ve not learned the knack of taking the internet that seriously yet.
dieudonne on June 16, 2009 at 3:48 PM
You are a duplicitous doofus that got away with doing naughty things in a liberal socialist school system, to wit:
Your double-cross-talking…. but confirming what I said, is proof that the brain damage has already been done, in far too many of you.
You ARE making my point, about defending the underpinning decency of this country, THANK YOU.
That’s why we are losing the battle.
The LEFTY STATISTs have long since removed all doubt as to their intentions and we are a bunch of wussified, shriveled and washed up pu$$ies, who don’t think it is worth our time to defend our country’s values, when the going gets tough and we get maligned for standing for them.
No they don’t. In fact, it’s so rare, that if we were to do it, they would back down in embarrassment, that is, if we truly take a stand.
Witness the Obama campaign being set back on their heels the day after the Republican convention, after Sarah’s biting speech!!.
Evil only progresses because good people allow it, and being called hypocrites, by hypocrites, is evil!!
We make our own rules and then actually fight.
Ronald Reagan was exhibit “A” of this in fighting back, both on his own terms and the opponents terms, but he was so good and smooth at it, that people largly missed (or forgot) the strategy.
Don Imus will have company.
This is not manufactured outrage, you Doofus!! God!!
What kind of country do you want?!
Refer back to the decent underpinnings of this country.
Our comeback will be that Imus was a target of “dethuglocrat thought police” and we demand equal treatment.
Dave will be fired and the lefties will learn a lesson that they haven’t learned in years.
This is not about her, this is about the decent underpinnings of this country.
Palin will stay out of it, because she accepted the apology.
::::
In closing, remember the words of the Gipper himself, President Ronald Reagan who said, “If you take away the dream, you take away the power of the spirit.
If you take away the belief in a greater future, you cannot explain America.”–
Exit question: Can you explain America?
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Woodshed.
davidk on June 16, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Join the club. Regardless, we’re not that far apart.
I just think the whole debate between you and Laura is sort of wrongheaded. He made, essentially, two apologies.
One to Palin et. al, which is her deal to accept or reject. None of our business except to comment on what she might do and what this says about Dave.
Another to everyone he offended, which is really what we’re all talking about when we discuss accepting or rejecting an apology. The one he made Palin doesn’t effect us. My point is, there’s not really a lot to talk about since this is about as genuine as most people’s “outrage” on the issue … which is to say, not very. We weren’t really wronged, and it takes us into grievance kabuki territory by debating it because debating it assumes it’s a worthwhile thing to talk about in the first place.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Well then shut up.
Mcguyver on June 16, 2009 at 5:40 PM
You first captain testosterone.
TheUnrepentantGeek on June 16, 2009 at 6:15 PM
Unrepentant, you have a good point regarding those of us with no real skin in the game are as mock outraged as the mock apology was sincere…but, ‘ol Dave quit being funny years ago. To get his groove back he joined the anti-conservative pro-liberal sludge pile that controls our media. They have skewered us for years and we see that. That he is squirming is just fine with most of us because hopefully it projects to the rest of them. If they actually look inward for the right reason then this is a good thing and perhaps the coarseness of the debate can be smoothed a bit.
DanMan on June 18, 2009 at 3:18 PM