Huffington on Letterman’s “Rape” Joke: Palin asked for it.

From this morning’s Morning Joe. Huffington starts by calling the whole incident “manufactured outrage”, moves on to everyone knew that Letterman was talking about the 18 year old daughter, (which, just to set the record straight, Letterman’s joke referred to the daughter in attendance at the Yankee’s game, who was 14 year old Willow), as if a joke about a baseball player raping an 18 year is OK in a liberal’s mind, and descends into Palin asked for it.

Unbelievably the clip goes downhill from there when Donny Deutsch, formerly of CNBC, tries to pin the whole thing on Palin for having the Palin daughters out there on magazine covers and in public. In Donny’s world does this I make the Obama kids fair game too.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RypKlAYIyIk

Let’s try and remember folks, Sarah Palin was in New York to help raise money for autism research and brought her daughter to the city as any parent would. Much the same way the Obama’s brought their kids to Europe. What stuns me more than anything is the way these two “hate filled” libs would even take the time to defend a cranky old wrinkled up “hate filled” comedian who apology is not “good enough for me” as Arianna would say. Not good enough for

Posted in

Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

29 Comments

  1. gillie28 on June 12, 2009 at 1:55 am

    This whole incident has been sickening. It should never have been a political issue, but sides have been taken according to political affiliations. Just disgusting. How ANYONE could justify making a national "joke" about this subject is beyond logical comprehension and decency.

    Where are the child advocates and women's rights groups??? Mostly silent, or grudgingly late to the game. Who cares if the girl is 14 or 18, 28 or 38? The comments were awful and abusive toward females of any age. Whatever one's political leanings, the fact that Sarah Palin rose to become the governor of a state should have made her a poster woman for organizations like NOW, instead of an open-season target. The real agenda of so-called "women's advocate groups," and of others who claim to be so supportive of "equal rights," is revealed in all its ugly, distorted, shameful hypocrisy.



  2. Wayne SW on June 12, 2009 at 2:12 am

    Huffington, is the word "Huffington"  some type of sex act between same sex enthusiats?

    Oh well, does not mean anything to me.



  3. CT-Amy on June 12, 2009 at 2:28 am

    So they blamed Sarah Palin. I'm surprised that they didn't find some way to blame Bush for the whole thing! lol



  4. homosapiens on June 12, 2009 at 2:38 am

    Maybe I missed something along the way, but why is there no outrage about the other part of Letterman's comment, specifically, the accusation that Alex Rodriguez would assault a girl/woman of any age? Where is the outrage against painting all men as inherent predators?



    • gillie28 on June 12, 2009 at 4:08 am

      that too – hope Arod is consulting his lawyers.



  5. Dimsdale on June 12, 2009 at 6:36 am

    Wow! "She asked for it?!?!?" Isn't that the kind of crass statement that so called feminists have been railing about for decades?

    Isn't "she asked for it" precisely what the Taliban says while they stone a victim of rape?

    Is the Obamanation now a place where you can mistreat a woman because she might have given you a flash of leg or breast? Should we be fitting women for burkhas now?

    What would have happened if Karl Rove said this? (that's rhetorical, son!)



  6. Anne-EH on June 12, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Sadly it is a sign it is open season on people who hold conservative values.



  7. Erik Blazynski on June 12, 2009 at 10:42 am

    How is this a "Rape" joke? Nice spin, Letterman mentions nothing of rape…. He is saying that The Palin girls are sluts because one of them got knocked up. It is a joke. You people need to lighten up. I admit it was in poor taste but you have have to kidding me if you think that this is a big deal.



    • Eric on June 12, 2009 at 12:27 pm

      Hey Blazynski… it's people like you that give the left a bad name. Why don't you crawl back under your rock. Kool-Aid drinkers… ugh!



    • Anne-EH on June 13, 2009 at 12:36 am

      Erik,would it surprise you that the older daugther has admited she made a "mistake" in getting pregnant too young and is warning other teen girls not to make the same mistake? Also this tasteless joke was aimed at the 14-year-old sister. As Rush Limbaugh has often said, a joke has an element of truth in it. David Letterman's "joke" was both false and tasteless.



    • Lucinda on June 14, 2009 at 3:13 pm

      Erik,

      So I guess you're a mind reader, now. David Letterman's "slutty" remark was about Sarah Palin, not her daughters. And if your statement were correct, then he's calling his own wife a slut, since he knocked her up long before they were married. And since when is advocating statutory rape a joke?



  8. Anne-EH on June 13, 2009 at 12:37 am

    It is times like these when I miss Jay Leno.



  9. Jim Vicevich on June 13, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    Sex with a minor on the part of an adult male is "statutory rape" … according to New York Law … Class B Felony – Max fine $30,000. The prison term shall be fixed by the court not to exceed 25 years.

    Statutory rape is defined as, "A person age 21 or older with a person less than 15 may be charged with a Class B felony".

    It is, sadly, a rape joke.



    • Ted on June 14, 2009 at 4:58 pm

      Jim,

      You seem to know a lot about statutory rape "humm".



    • Anne-EH on June 15, 2009 at 1:03 am

      Ted:

      You forget that Jim has got a sister who is a lawyer.



    • Steve McGough on June 15, 2009 at 2:11 am

      Ted,

      Read the TOU again. You’re now on moderated status for 30 days. I’m not putting up with your insults on this site. I’ve discussed this with you and all you do is revert back to insults. If that’s all you’ve got – you’re gone.



    • Dimsdale on June 17, 2009 at 4:09 am

      Sounds like "Ted" is auditioning for a spot on Letterman's writing staff (actually, it is probably better spelled "staph")

      And since we are on the topic, and since I have been associated with politically correct college campuses for decades, shouldn't Letterman's joke be considered a "hate crime," and be prosecuted as such?



  10. BEA on June 13, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    I must be a dud because I just don't get the humor.

    If a girl gets pregnant…it means she's a slut? Even if that were true…how is that funny?

    Also…"knocking up" someone's daughter?…again, right over my head.

    This is someone's precious child. What parent wouldn't be outraged? What decent human being isn't? As the mother of 2 teenage daughters, I certainly am.

    It's just not funny any way you look at it.



  11. pjdroney on June 14, 2009 at 6:32 am

    Arianna Huffington, who used to be a "conservative" decides to switch sides when it was personally and financially expedient to do so. She's a loser; any woman who could justify Letterman's comments is a hypocrite.



  12. Ted on June 14, 2009 at 5:09 pm

    Jim,

    Try reading the teachings of Jesus and maybe it will help you to

    see the light.As a Christian I do not like to hurl insults

    at people no matter how much I disagree with them.If

    you are paying attention you would notice I have never

    called you a name and I think what you are doing on the

    radio is shameful.



    • Anne-EH on June 15, 2009 at 1:02 am

      Ted:

      Would it suprise you that even Jesus had situations in which he got "angry", remember he chased out the moneychangers from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, not once, but twice. Even as Christians, there is a time and a place for just anger. Jim simply is expressing just anger in this situation. Also he is much more classy then you give him credit.



    • Dimsdale on June 18, 2009 at 7:42 am

      Hurling insults is out, but insinuating that Jim is too "familiar" with statutory rape is okay?

      I don't think Jesus was too keen on smarminess either, Ted.



  13. Ted on June 15, 2009 at 2:40 am

    Steve,

    You are going down the path of Putin,eliminate all apposing voices.

    Jim has called Obama an Idiot on the air so he should be able to

    handle anything from me and although the joke by Letterman was in

    poor taste,this is typical conservative radio schtick to try to overhype

    it,how about talking about something more important.There is a

    war in Iraq and Afganastan in case Jim forgot,but all he wants to do is

    bash liberals.



    • Steve McGough on June 15, 2009 at 3:25 am

      Ahh, can someone guess how Ted just got banned from posting here? Ted, go away. You no longer are welcome here. You're stuff will now go into a spam drawer along with the posts for vicadin prescriptions online. You had an opportunity and you blew it, always reverting back to personal attacks. Your last two posts broke a cardinal rule and you probably don't even know what it is. Cya never.



  14. theignorantfisherman on June 15, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Their hatred is unreal!

    the Left is insane and reprobates!



  15. Uconnjim on June 15, 2009 at 11:13 am

    Letterman and his writers have fallen to such a cynical low that it is no longer humor. I believe all late night comedy has become despicable. I have boycotted the show and I ask you all to do the same.

    As a father of a young girl, I would stop at nothing to protect her. I have been put-off by the jokes made on television for decades against Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, Barbara and Jenna Bush, and now, Willow and Bristol Palin. And, I pray that Malia and Sasha Obama do not fall prey to the same. (That is how my parents raised me) These girls are minors at the time of their parents' political term. They hold no office. Adolescent girls in particular have enough difficulties growing to maturity without the onslaught of tasteless jokes and the arrogance of those people who defend such crassness. It makes no difference which political side we stand on; children must be protected from violence, danger, and incestuous remarks alike. They do not need to hear what some old, heartless bastard believes how homely they may be, the foolishness of their mistakes, or who they choose to date. Leave them alone, period.

    To those of you who say this is just a joke, I want you to take two minutes and look at yourself in the mirror. Are you proud of what you see?



    • Dimsdale on June 17, 2009 at 4:17 am

      Good points, Uconnjim!

      Add to that the fact that Palin was not in NYC on any political mission: she was there to lend her name to conference on autism for God's sake! She was on an apolitical mission to help others, and was out enjoying a baseball game with her 14 year old daughter, and Letterman, bereft of good taste, common sense, or humor.

      Will Letterman make a "joke" about Obama's children shopping with MO in London? It is exactly the same thing. But no, just like "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches," Obama and his family are off limits to any "jokes" by Letterman.

      Maybe Al Franken can come in and soothe Letterman's ego. Again.

      I am reviving the "Colin McEnroe" bounty in my house, but this time for Letterman: if any child (or spouse) hears Letterman's voice on the TV, the first one to change the station gets a buck.



  16. Linda Mae on June 17, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    In all of the discussions, I've yet to read any compassion towards Willow Palin being the butt of Letterman's jokes. Both A-Rod and Sptizer should be talking to their lawyers for being accused of wanting statutory rape. Willow must be hurting. The saddest thing is that after the parade, Palin told the town of Auburn, NY, that since it was the birthplace of so many strong wonderful people (Seward, Cady Stanton, and Harriett Tubman) that it must be in the water and so she told Willow to drink the water to be a strong wonderful woman! And then Letterman's joke. He could have stopped it by a quick phone call to apologize and then comment that he had done so. To invite Palin on his show to "talk about it" was gross. I also heard Whoopie demean Palin's acceptance as wordy. I just received How Obama Was Elected and Palin was smeared and can't wait to see it.



The website's content and articles were migrated to a new framework in October 2023. You may see [shortcodes in brackets] that do not make any sense. Please ignore that stuff. We may fix it at some point, but we do not have the time now.

You'll also note comments migrated over may have misplaced question marks and missing spaces. All comments were migrated, but trackbacks may not show.

The site is not broken.