Letterman Blasts Palin in Brian Williams Interview

CBS funnyman David Letterman used last night's "interview" (Sarah Palin bashing session) with NBC News anchor Brian Williams as the stage to voice his obvious contempt for the Alaska Governor. Letterman expressed his frustration that Governor Palin, did not answer the question (no mention of what question) to his satisfaction during the Vice-Presidential debate. (She did say Dave, that she was not going to answer questions in the way Joe Biden or the moderator wanted her to remember?)

Letterman, the professed Independant of course made no mention of Joe Biden's flat out lie regarding Barack Obama's statement that he would meet unconditionally with Iran's President and with Hugo Chavez. More than once during the Democratic primary candidate debates Obama said he would meet without pre-conditions with America's enemies. (Probably just one of the reason's they like Obama so much and hate McCain and Palin even more) Sarah Palin called him out on his lie and Biden continued to deny the truth about his previous statements regarding Obama's inexperience and naivete'. But after all since Obama is the messiah he can't possibly be criticized by Letterman and his crowd.

During the taping, Letterman expressed that he like others in his business (Leno, O'Brian ?) were hoping for the proverbial train wreck, hoping that someone (meaning Palin) would crash and burn during the debate so then he could go home happy. Sarah didn't crash and burn according to the storyline that had been fed to Letterman and others in his business and he had to go home frustrated that she was not the Dolt that Chris Matthews had been telling him she was while watching MSNBC.

David later confessed that he was outraged, just outraged, I mean your flat-out, boxers-tied-in-a-knot kind of outraged that Palin asked Joe Biden at the beginning of the debate, Can I call you Joe? and then during a retort quipped, Say it ain't so Joe,....there you go again. while responding to one of Biden's whoppers. Mimicking Governor Palin, Letterman brought up the phrase and mentioned its context, the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal involving "Shoeless Joe Jackson" of the Chicago White Sox. Letterman then railed, She knows, I'll bet you everything I (indecipherable), she knows nothing about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the Black Sox. And claimed that it was a, cheesy, cheap set up on her part to invoke his first name so that later she could say 'Oh, say it ain't so Joe'.

In his lengthly response to Letterman, Brian Williams pointed out that Sarah's fans would say, "Well,...yeah, and your point is? They have the right, want the right and require the right to like her, and to want something different. She has to the disgust of liberals, (Like Letterman) touched a nerve out there starting with that convention speech. Williams goes on to mention, to the derisive chortling of Letterman and some in his audience, that Sarah Palin has had some rough patches during her two national network interviews.

Gee, let's think. Sarah's been on the national political for five weeks while campainging for the number two slot in her party's race for the White House. For her first interview with Charles Gibson, entire sections of her interview where she is seen deftly and articulately responding to the interviewer's questions were left out of ABC's broadcast and for her second foray into the land of the MSM, CBS hatchet-woman Katie Couric conducted what amounted more to an interrogation than an interview in an effort to "get Palin". In fact, Couric ordered staff to drop all references to "Governor" or "Gov." from her interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The Washington Prowler reports, Ultimately the higher ups at CBS News agreed, saying that wherever possible, the reference to "Governor" should be struck from graphics, scripts and published transcripts. In fact, based on perusal of the CBS website, between video and print, there is only one reference to Palin as Governor, and that is buried in a subhead on the splash page of the interview transcript.

Let's see how this works since the fix is in according to one of the people working in the bowels of the MSM newrooms. First, arrive at a consensus between the networks on the storyline that you will construct around Governor Palin, (She's dumb, she's a hick from nowheresville, she's inexperienced, she burns books, she's a fundalmentalist christian; did I cover them all Dave? ) then the anchors try to set her up under the pretext of an "interview" and use "cherry-picked" (Isn't that the term that you and the Obama campaign like to use when defending Obama's Pastor of 20 years, GodDamnAmericaJeremiahWright?) to disseminate a false and misleading image of the Governor of the largest state in the Union. Finally, when the McCain-Palin team won't play your version of the game complain that Sarah Palin only gave two interviews to the national media. Ahh,Ha,Ha,Ha. By the way. You're a public figure Dave. You've been in the national spotlight for decades. How many interviews have you granted? - Just asking.

A few unsettling things really jump out at me when I watch this interview.

One is the personal animus and contempt that David Letterman has for Sarah Palin. I used to think that the funny jokes and skits about Palin were part and parcel of entertainers poking fun at political luminaries that they found curious. Watching this interview where Letterman expresses his near-hatred for the woman shows me the engine (ugly wiring and all) that is driving this campaign to discredit Palin. He's not just having fun, he's on a personal quest to try and destroy her.

Next is the mocking tone that Letterman uses when referring to Governor Palin. He raises the pitch of his voice mimicking an old lady and wisecracks about her worrying about her hair, not possibly being able to know who "Shoeless Joe Jackson" and the 1919 Chicago Blacksox were, because after all, she's just a woman. That's the subtext that's clearly in play here and I'm really disappointed although not too surprised that Brian Williams let that bit about Palin fussing over her hair and "how could she possibly know about the Blacksox" pass without contention. And oh by the way, Sarah Palin was the local Sportscaster at her local TV station, a sports nut and was the point guard of her High School championship Basketball team, so yes Dave she would know about "Shoeless Joe" and the 1919 Backsox. Feminists would rightly call those kinds of grotesque characterizations of women; Male Chauvinism.

Lastly, it has to be said that Sarah Palin rises from the strata in life we know as middle-America.
Her parents were both school teachers, she went to public schools and attended small colleges where she earned her undergraduate degrees. Her husband is a proud Union member Oil Field worker and fisherman. She was the president of the PTA before she entered public life. She attends church with her family, supports gun rights, the rights of the unborn and is a hockey-mom. All of these things make her anathema to northeastern liberals. But David Letterman's disdain for Sarah Palin betrays a fundamental disdain that he holds for everyday Americans like Sarah and "First Dude" Todd Palin. Sarah and Todd don't come from money and position in life. They made their way like others in America make their way, starting a family, buying a home, paying their way as they worked to make ends meet. There probably were many times when they had too much month to show for too little pay. But through it all with faith in God's provision and faith that hard work pays off they kept at it and now because of Sarah's success as Mayor of Alaska's fifth largest city and Governor of the country's largest state find themselves suddenly thrust into the spotlight of a high-stakes presidential election. And rather than take the time to get to know these folks who hail from such humble and colorful circumstances talking-heads like Letterman look down their noses at them and take every opportunity to treat them like dirt. It doesn't speak well of Letterman who himself comes from obscure beginnings that he should treat these fellow travellers from that land of middle-America in the disgraceful manner that he has. It's clear that he has lost his moorings while trolling around Martha's Vineyard.

Here is the video: