Non-apology not accepted, Dave.
posted at 11:42 pm on June 15, 2009 by Laura Curtis
[ Entertainment ]
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
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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 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
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