Miss Alaska

So monday night David Letterman succumbed to pressure and issued a second, more crestfallen apology to the Governor of Alaska and her family. Letterman all but dipped to a knee and begged for forgiveness from the Palin family and anyone else who may have been offended. And it pisses me off royally. Before I go further let me state this--- I think the joke referring to Alex Rodriguez knocking up Bristol Palin during the seventh inning stretch was crass, tastless and a little bit funny in a way that makes you feel bad about yourself. I have no issue with the Governor and her husband Todd (Alaska's first tool), defending their daughter's honor. However, it is very clear that "Miss Alaska" stretched this issue out over a week to keep her sneering mug in front of the camera for as long as possible.

Think about this, a whole week! A week when Iran is teetering on a revolution, when health care reform is being seriously debated in the halls of congress, and our President has submitted sweeping reforms of our financial system and all "Miss Alaska" wanted to do was fight with a late night comedian!?!? Are you kidding me!? This is the Governor of Alaska, a woman who ran for the second highest office in the land just a few months ago and she thinks that this is the most pressing issue of the day? How can she possibly expect to be taken seriously? She's starting to reach the unholy level of that fascist party doll (thank you Richard Belzer) Ann Coulter.

Now do I think she should have ignored the joke entirely? Of course not. But why didn't she just make a classy "I'm fair game but he should leave my kid out of it" type statement. No, instead she implies that David Letterman was making a joke about her 14 year old daughter Willow, and all but calls him a pedophile. Of course the joke had to be about Bristol because it wouldn't make sense otherwise. I mean she was the one who got knocked up right? And besides, who in the hell even knew she had a daughter named Willow? And by the way as a candidate "Miss Alaska" wasted no opportunity to push her family in front of the camera every chance she had.

It should be mentioned that this isn't the first time a politician's child was made the butt of a joke. During the Clinton administration no less than John McCain made a joke about Chelsea Clinton's appearance and another conservative commentator referred to her as the "family dog." But I don't recall the Clintons going ape shit over it. I mean Bill and Hillary are hardly the classiest people ever (see last year's campaign) but they were willing to let it die.

But I have to say, the most galling aspect of this whole faux issue is the fact that this woman thinks she has a right to call someone else out on the issue of offensive speech. This woman who while running for vice president said that Barack Obama "pals around with terrorists" and called him a "socialist" ginning up the fervor in her crowds to the point that people started shouting out "kill him" at the mention of Obama's name. Did she try to tamp down the rhetoric or correct anyone who shouted these heinous words? Did she pay any mind to this country's terrible history of political assassinations or the fact that then Senator Obama had to request secret service detail before any other candidate due to death threats? No, she left it out there to linger. Dangerously.

Governor Palin is the political equivalent of "actress" Denise Richards. She knows nothing (see Katie Couric), she does nothing (ask the citizens of Alaska-post election), and she is constantly in search of a camera to stand in front of and spought nonsense. She has essentially created her own reality show and because of a boisterous minority on the right, she is treated by the news media as someone of importance. Shame on them.

So why did David Letterman apologize? Probably because he is far too decent a guy. Remember, Letterman grew up in the conservative midwest (Indiana Specifically), and was probably genuinely aggrieved that anyone would think he was referring to a 14 year old having sex with A-Rod. Of course, that was only one of the two borderline jokes that Letterman made about the Governor. The other compared her wardrobe to that of a "slutty stewardess." That far funnier joke made me realize how Dave should have responded to "Miss Alaska's" repeated slings and arrows. It reminded me of what Bill Maher said on his HBO program Real Time when he was criticized for referring to Governor Palin as being intellectually on par with a stewardess. He said "you're right that was an insult to stewardesses."

Sumo-Pop
June 18, 2009