First Post

I'm a long-time blog reader; first time blogger. So here is my first ever post---Enjoy:

What's in the news at this moment? War in Iraq, Election stolen in Iran, War in Afghanistan, Nukes in North Korea.

So I think I'll write about the David Letterman/Sarah Palin flap.

Point one is that what Letterman said was definitely in terrible taste. I didn't really think it was funny to suggest that any of Palin's (still teenage) daughters had sex with (adults) Alex Rodrigues or Eliot Spitzer. You shouldn't joke about a public official's kids, even if that public official shamelessly exploits their kids in campaign appearances, as Palin has done with all of her children and grandchild.

But here's what really annoys me---it's the POM in action. The Phony Outrage Machine.

The Phony Outrage Machine is run primarily by Fox News. The POM selects a target, then all the news, interviews, commentary, etc. is geared towards generating a gigantic reverberation of outrage in a huge echo chamber. Sean Hannity will have a blonde on to discuss the "issue" in his trademark santimonious manner; Bill O'Rielly will have two blondes on to discuss the issue, and Neil Cavuto will have a scrolling banner along the lowest portion of the screen, "David Letterman---Has He Gone Too Far?" Since this is the fair and balanced network, the banner always ends with a question mark, because, hey, they aren't necessarily saying he went too far; they're just askin', you know.

And Greta Van Susteren will have Sarah Palin on herself to keep the outrage alive, never mentioning that her husband John Coale serves as an advisor to the Palin campaign.

We need to realize two things---one is about David Letterman, and the other is about Sarah Palin.

Letterman is a comedian. He is in show business. He is not in politics, at least not in any way that I know of. I have no way of knowing if he is a Democrat or Republican.

Letterman's joke, while in terrible taste, is simply true to a standard Letterman-style comedic construct: Briefly discuss a current happenning (Palin's New York visit) and suddenly end it with a shocking incongruity (her daughter had sex with some famous New Yorker known for sexual transgressions). The humor is derrived from the sudden jump from the mundane to the shocking. This is Letterman's standard humour technique. It is a ruder style than, say, Jay Leno, but maybe that's simply the New York humor. Usually I find it funny (not in this case, however).

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is a politician. Her party nominated her for the second highest office in the United States. If elected, she would have been one 72 year old cancer survivor's heartbeat away from being President.

When Hillary briefly showed a tear during her own campaign, the POM jumped all over her. "How can we expect her to stand up to Al Qaeda if she breaks down in tears during a speech?" I think the same should be said about Sarah Palin in this episode.

I certainly understand Palin's desire to protect her daughters from public insult and ridicule, but she seems determined to keep the outrage alive. Going on the the Matt Lauer show and accusing Letterman of being a pervert was really just too much. Letterman may not be funny to some, but there is no reason to think he is a pervert. I certainly believe him when he said that he was refering to the older daughter Bristol.

And if you think it is simply over the line to make the joke about Bristol, I guess I still agree---but there is overwhelming issues of hypocrisy that cannot be ignored. Bristol did in fact pregnant out of wedlock while her mother was promoting the idea that the best way (actually the only acceptable way) to stop teen pregnancy is to teach abstinance. Bristol and baby Track were prominately displayed during Sarah's campaign (when she, Bristol, should have been back in Alaska caring for her baby and attempting to graduate from high school). After the campaign, Bristol casts herself as self-appointed spokesperson for preventing teenage pregnancies (motto: Don't end up like me!), pausing only to go on morning TV shows to refute what she says are slanders promoted by the baby's father, her ex-fiancee.

So, while Letterman's joke was definitely over the line, there still is, in fact, a good joke in all that!