Last week, David Letterman made a “coarse” joke about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her daughter who were visiting New York City. The joke was done in poor taste, and all who were offended and outraged by the joke have legitimate grounds to respond the way they did.
I could give a lengthy analysis of why Letterman’s joke was bad, give an interpretation of his intent, accuse him of being an angry liberal, so on and so forth. But I won’t do that; rather I will focus on something all of us should be ready and willing to do when we have done something wrong. That is admit the wrong and begin the process of forgiveness.
Monday night, Letterman gave a sincere apology:
I commend him for what he said. He admitted there was a misunderstanding, and he gave a thorough explanation. He also was genuine in apologizing to everyone involved.
Forgiveness is not a quick remedy. Time is needed. But the greatest thing about forgiveness is watching how God can work. I recently received a good description about forgiveness from Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life. I think it is applicable to this situation.
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June 16, 2009 at 8:45 am
Jason Lee
I was actually not too impressed with his apology. He apologized more for the bungled delivery than the actual joke from what I’ve seen (note: I have not seen the video, only transcripts). “I’m sorry you misunderstood me. That’s my fault. I was cracking jokes about middle-aged men assaulting 18 year olds. See? That’s much funnier, right? I’ll try to be more clear next time.” Either way, I’m not a fan Letterman and his shrill, left-wing political comedy. :)
June 16, 2009 at 9:09 am
Chris Doyle
I think he did more than that. He did say it was a coarse joke. He did give an explanation of why he originally thought the joke could have been acceptable, and yes, you and I and many others know it’s never appropriate to joke about women being assaulted, regardless of age.
But listening to the video, I interpret sincerity in his apology to everybody affected. I will agree with you that his comedy isn’t funny. He does berate conservatives, and I decided long ago not to watch his show anymore because of his constant ridicule.
However we may interpret Letterman’s apology, there is a lesson to be learned about forgiveness, and I chose to use this current issue to focus on that.
June 16, 2009 at 11:27 am
Jason Lee
I’m still not buying it, nor is Brent Bozell, for what it’s worth (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2009/06/16/mrcs-bozell-letterman-apology-slippery-clintonian). More to your point, *I* have nothing to forgive Letterman for (beyond being reliably unfunny :), but whatever you think of forgiveness, I think his apology mocks the whole process.
June 16, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Chris Doyle
I hope that what I think of forgiveness would be similar to what you think of forgiveness.
This wasn’t about you specifically forgiving Letterman. It was about the general process of forgiveness that all of us can find applicable.
Letterman said he told a bad joke, a not very good joke, a joke that was beyond flawed. He said it was his fault for telling the joke, and he didn’t blame anyone else but himself.
I don’t think this was a mockery. You do have a point that he doesn’t have a full understanding that it is inappropriate for telling a joke about a woman being assaulted no matter how old she is, but that is more about values than him being sorry.
June 16, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Chris Doyle
And for what it’s worth, Tommy De Seno agrees with me:
http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/06/16/deseno_tommy_palin_letterman/
June 17, 2009 at 8:09 am
Jason Lee
But he didn’t apologize for the joke. He apologized that flubbed it’s delivery. I get the impression that he’d tell the joke again, but he’d choose his words more carefully.
There’s much to be said and to learn about forgiveness, true, but this is not a good case study. That said, Palin accepts so that ought to end that side of this side story.
June 17, 2009 at 8:34 am
Brian Hobbs
I have been following your analysis and am intrigued. I think you both bring up points. I would not let myself get away with such a half-hearted apology
but I also would accept his publicly if I were Palin.
That said, who’s ready to move on from the whole thing? All of us, methinks.