Letterman, for all of the foolishness involved, did the right thing to apologize.

We look bigger accepting the apology and moving on than dragging this thing on. But it isn’t for us to look big anyway. Gov. Palin was the one offended, and she determines how far this thing goes. She’s been a class act throughout.

But in a couple of weeks, he’ll still be David Letterman. The novelty of this train wreck will have worn off, and those with a temporary interest will go back to there old viewing habits.

Back to normal. Except that any conservatives he had before this episode will be gone.

http://www.kansascity.com/236/story/1246153.html

Oh, and thanks for making me a mutual friend on digg

Got a nice, personal response back from the Programming Director at my local CBS affiliate, acknowledging my concerns and informing me that he had passed them on to CBS. File his name away for later, if necessary.

That part of the Chattering Classes dependent on viewership and advertisers have been put on notice — there is a line and they just crossed it. We will let this incident drop, but we will “file it away” for easy recall. We know we can hurt you and your sponsors the next time, too, and we know we can shame you into backing down and apologizing. Remember this, because we will.

Forgive, and move on — to Conan O’Brien on NBC. CBS and the Letterman franchise shed some brand equity that they will never retrieve. I’ll follow the Gov’s lead, AND I’ll never watch the Letterman show, again.

Hope it was worth it, Dave, for the few cheap yuks from your peanut gallery. Hope he’s worth it, Mr. Moonves, the $40M/year you pay this guy to alienate half your potential audience.

Letterman SHOULD BE FIRED, on principle, in any event, NOT because sponsors are complaining/withdrawing.

Let him “try to do better” in new employment as a gas station attendant or grocery bagger, if he can find one that will hire him.

But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18.

(Snip…)

Well, my responsibility – I take full blame for that. I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood, it’s my fault. That it was misunderstood.”

Everything Letterman said was “just words,” because it doesn’t matter that he “checked to make sure in fact that she is of legal age, 18.”

Age is irrelevant as to whether, or not, Letterman’s “intent” was “sexist” on its face.

If you were a network exec, and your late night comedian made a joke about the daughter in attendance, wouldn’t you react immediately, the very next night.

There is no way that CBS, as one of primary players in the vast shrinking leftist media empire with 25,920 employees, did not know of the factual error the next day. But they sat on their hands. That company wide acquisence may be just as bad*.

Half-assed apology offered. I’ll accept (in a half-assed manner.)

*Is it possible that the entire CBS staff consists of the Gang That Couldn’t Get It’s Facts Straight? Nahhh…

The tv apology, in my view, is completely appropriate. It is up to Gov. Palin whether she wants to get it personally from this guy.

Tell that joke about my 23 year old daughter like that you ass and I will have you for breakfast.

And Palin did just that.

Lesson learned.
Forgiveness none

Just proves to me the only reason he attempted an apology at all about either “joke” is because of the level of outrage being raised and likely pressure from sponsors.

And so, I’m back to the intent, to hurt and slam the Palins.