The Six People In Maine Will Hardly Notice The Change

This strip is for all my homies in Michigan.

We as a country are also in the midst of a brouhaha, hullabaloo and to-do between David Letterman and Sarah Palin. Letterman made some jokes on his show recently that really rubbed the Palin family the wrong way. Here is Dave’s side:

I don’t normally enjoy offering opinions of conflicts that have nothing to do with me. Yet how often do these controversies arise? So here goes:

I think Letterman’s jokes about Palin’s daughter were questionable and in poor taste. If Letterman had directed those jokes at my daughter I would have been upset as well. I also believe Letterman when he says the jokes were in reference to Bristol Palin. When I originally heard the jokes before the controversy began I had assumed they were about Bristol. It didn’t even occur to me that the Palins had another daughter. The clip above was an explanation and not an apology. It was classic Letterman in that he tried to get a point across while still being entertaining. I think he should officially apologize to the Palin family, if for no other reason than to put this to rest.

However, I also believe that Palin seriously overreacted. At the very least, calling Letterman out gave him and his jokes an incredible amount of press and attention that they wouldn’t have received otherwise. While I appreciate the Governors desire and ability to defend what she believes is wrong, I disagree with the direction she has decided to go in. Here are two of many quotes she has made on the subject:

“…acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone’s daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.”

“The Palins have no intention of providing a rating’s boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show… Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman.”

The first quote is extremely difficult to defend. When Matt Lauer on the Today Show asked her to explain the second quote the Governor’s response was, “Take it however you want to take it.”

So, in conclusion, Letterman made a mistake and Palin decided to take the low road in response.

– Ben