OK, so in case you haven’t seen it, here’s the recap. David Letterman made a joke about Sarah Palin’s trip to New York last week, and said that she was going to Bloomingdale’s to get a “slutty flight-attendant” outfit. Palin was upset, but that didn’t stop “ol’ Dave.” He went on to make a joke about her daughter being “knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.”
The question on everyone’s mind this week is: Has David Letterman gone too far?
Obviously the criticism is there about the uncertainty of whether he was talking about Governor Palin’s 18-year-old daughter (the unwed mother of one) or her 14-year-old daughter.
This is a case of taste. Letterman did not specify which daughter he was referring to when he made the joke, so the case could be made he was implying that Sarah Palin’s 14-year-old daughter could have been “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez during the family’s recent trip to Yankee Stadium.
Hardly.
It’s pretty obvious that Letterman was referring to Palin’s 18-year-old daughter; the one that you could say has been “knocked up.” She has a child with a man who she is not married to, and who, last time I checked, is set to make less than $28 million this year. In fact, he’s just a dude who wants to smoke pot and play hockey.
Let’s face it. Letterman crossed the line with his joke. He shouldn’t assume that any governor’s daughter is going to get impregnated by a professional athlete. It doesn’t help that the governor he’s trying to poke fun at has a 14-year-old daughter as well.
Moving forward, would it really be that bad if Bristol (the 18-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin) were to get “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez? Think about it. A-Rod has been trying to clean up his public image ever since coming out about his steroid usage, and what better way to do that than to be a loving father to a child and marry the woman who is going to bear his child for 9 months?
Besides that, A-Rod is banking $28 million a year, so obviously some of that money is going to the Palin family, which means, hello, funding for the Palin for President 2012 campaign. Yes, that is a very scary thought, but it could happen.
That is, if Alex Rodriguez “knocked up” Palin’s daughter.
All joking aside, the joke Letterman made was in bad taste, and Letterman should have known better than to take low blows like this on political figures. Except for the fact that, well, Letterman is known for taking low blows on political figures.
Remember President Bush’s words of wisdom? Or a quote from President Bush? Or even more recently, the Sarah Palin Debate Recap, where Letterman cuts footage and puts it together to make it appear as though Palin said something profoundly ridiculous? Hard to do, I know, but he’s been ridiculing politicians for years. That’s what he does.
For the media to give the Palin joke as much media attention as it did shows that they have nothing else to talk about. Palin said it best when she said, “Slow news day, evidently.”
And a slow news day it must have been. Luckily though, Letterman has since apologized, and Palin has forgiven him. What Palin should really be thinking about are more important things, like running the state of Alaska, taking care of her family, and uh, maybe meeting Alex Rodriguez.
Hey, money talks people. Just think about it. A-Rod is doing pretty well, and Bristol (not to mention the Republican Party) could be doing better. What better way to rally the troops than to bring A-Rod on board? Just something to think about.
In the meantime, watch Ball State Alum David Letterman do his thing at night, and don’t take his jokes too seriously. They’re called jokes for a reason.
