Letterman’s Apology to Palins: Pronoun “I” Used an Average of Once Every 11 Seconds; Egotism, Not Remorse

June 2009
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Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on June 17, 2009

David Letterman, positively giddy about interviewing Barack Obama

Groan.

David Letterman, the oozing, pimply rash that just keeps on giving suppurating misery… I’m hoping this will be the last time for a long while that I’ll be writing about this nasty, oafish, perverted man and the sexist drama he’s created for the Palin family this past week.

As a mother, I would never have permitted such a narcissistic “it’s all about me” apology to be given by either of my own children to someone they had wronged. I would have scolded them and marched them right back, making them do it over.

To Bill Carter at the New York Times: Sloppy, sloppy reporting in your June 15 piece, “Letterman Apologizes — Again — to Governor Palin and Her Family.” You stated it had been two weeks since Letterman had marginalized 14-year-old Willow Palin and this apology would be the second apology from Letterman. Nope and nope.

The word “again” bracketed by m-dashes in your title is meant to convey and emphasize to readers either your frustration and/or hostility to Sarah and Todd Palin for their “unreasonableness,” not at Letterman for his “perverted joke”… clever use of those “angry” punctuation marks, Bill.

However, you exaggerated or flat-out fibbed. It had been barely ONE week since the statutory rape joke about Willow (vile “knocked up” joke told on June 8th show, your piece was posted on June 15), so your use of hostile punctuation marks were phony-baloney media bias. Letterman’s initial address, his “faux apology,” was issued on June 10, and was a stunning no-brainer, 8-minute spoiled millionaire’s rambling non-apology, so the word “again” in your title was manipulative garbage. The words “I’m sorry,” “I regret,” “I apologize,” or other words suggesting remorse for pain inflicted on others are necessary for a sincere apology.

Nothing like that passed his lips during the entire 8 minutes.

Instead, mugging, eye rolling, defending himself, blaming people for thinking he’d be perverted enough to joke about Willow when he meant Bristol, because after all, Willow was at the NY baseball game and Bristol was in Alaska… school boy laughing, and again, during the show, cracking a vile, mean-spirited joke about Bristol being a prostitute. Well, Bill Carter, that’s no apology in my book. You suck, Letterman. And you kinda do, too, Bill, for altering the facts in your NYT piece to smear and discredit Sarah Palin rather than report the facts about that perv Letterman. Media bias, exposed. Might explain the financial turmoil your newspaper is experiencing from declining readership.

UPDATE, June 19, 2009: Olive Garden chickens out… why the sudden flakiness?
Politico: Olive Garden backtracks on David Letterman ads

Olive Garden restaurant chain is denying that it canceled all of its scheduled ads on CBS late night comic David Letterman’s “Late Show”… strange turn of events now at Olive Garden; click to read updated story

Hope they enjoyed my email yesterday that thanked them and they would be our family’s first restaurant choice for dining out, especially this weekend, Father’s Day… gotta make time to email them back and say, “Ignore that previous email. TGI Friday’s is what I meant to type.”

UPDATE, June 18, 2009: Olive Garden restaurants has just announced that the chain is pulling all of its Letterman Show ads for the rest of the year as a result of Letterman’s “knocked up” joke. Send them a thank-you email: click here.

Portions of the 8-minute NON-apology apology (please point out the apology, Mr. Carter):

“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter [Bristol]… and now they’re upset with me…” Letterman says on tonight’s show. “These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl…. Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No.” Saying he hopes he’s “cleared part of this up,” Letterman extended an invitation to Palin to come on the show as a guest.

But Sarah Palin has accepted Letterman’s latest attempt at an apology (this time, only 3-1/2 minutes), so I begrudgingly will, too. For now. No matter how lame his apology is and how it is cheapened by it coinciding precisely with Embassy Suites yanking all its ads with CBS in response to the complaints he had received.

I was struck by and agree with the following short piece written by Marybeth Hicks, The Washington Times: Letterman’s faux apology.

…In fact, according to reports, even Mr. Letterman’s mother, Dorothy Mengering, thought his rude joke stepped over the line this time.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Mengering’s son doesn’t seem to have learned how to deliver an apology. At least, the 3-1/2 minutes he offered up on Monday wouldn’t have passed muster in my house.

Why? For starters, an apology ought to be about the person you offended, not just about yourself.

Mr. Letterman’s apology, which the governor graciously accepted on behalf of her family and women everywhere, included 31 uses of the personal pronoun “I” – an average of one every 11 seconds, but never once mentioned the ramifications of his actions for the governor or her family.

In his mea culpa, he said his intent (to insult Mrs. Palin’s 18-year-old daughter, rather than her 14-year old) was unimportant, only the perception created by his bad joke, for which he took responsibility. Essentially, he said he was sorry that his joke was misunderstood.

“As they say about jokes, if you have to explain a joke, it’s not a very good joke,” Mr. Letterman said. Except in this case, even if his intent had been clear, the joke would have bombed.

We parents hear these sorts of apologies all the time. One child says something unkind to another one, and what follows is something like, “I’m sorry you’re so hormonal and testy,” or “I’m sorry you’re a humorless nerd.” Or my favorite, “I’m sorry you’re such a jerk.”

It’s the apology that makes everything … worse.

I imagine Mrs. Palin was relieved to receive at least some acknowledgment that her family had been so rudely offended, but Mr. Letterman obviously comes from the “mistakes were made” school of personal responsibility. It’s an arms-length accountability that makes you seem heroic just for feigning regret.

Mr. Letterman could have said, “The joke I made at the expense of Gov. Palin and her daughters was offensive, thoughtless and unkind. I deliberately tried to embarrass them, and the fact that Gov. Palin had to ask for my apology on a competing television network further showed my insensitivity and immaturity.

“I ask her forgiveness and that of her daughters and husband, and I promise never again to make jokes at the expense of the Palin family.”

Then again, think back to high school. The class clown never did get it, and this one still doesn’t.

Ann Coulter: Palin vs. Letterman | Sean Hannity’s Show

I don’t believe Letterman really understands that attacking ANY of the Palin children is off-limits, as I don’t think he believes that conservatives, especially conservative women, are real people, worthy of respect. I think he’s been doing the CYA dance because of the outcry, but really is grappling with why his joke wasn’t funny. Here’s hoping he’s learned that there are consequences for attacks on politicians’ children. If not, back to protest and boycott, the good old-fashioned American way.

Categories: Conservatism, Entertainment, Celebrities, Government, International Relations, Knowledge, Media & Communication, National Security, Social and Political Climate
Tags: Alaska, Ann Coulter, apology, baseball, Bristol Palin, CBS, conservative, David Letterman, hate-talk, late-night talk show, liberal, New York, political, politics, rape joke, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, sexist, talk show, Willow Palin

About the author

Vicki McClure Davidson

I'm a conservative frugalist. My priorities: Watchdogging the government, making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely, living within our budgets (at home and in Washington, DC), and adhering to our Constitution and the conservative principles upon which it was developed by our founding fathers. Also, loving God, my family, and my country. Be wise, be frugal. God bless America!

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