Letterman apologizes...again

David Letterman said his joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter was a lousy joke, no matter how you cut it, and he's sorry.

But the late-night host insisted that what's got people really riled is the misconception over which Palin daughter the joke was about.

On Monday's edition of "Late Show," Letterman explained that the risque joke thought by some to have targeted Palin's underage daughter, Willow, was actually referring to 18-year-old daughter Bristol. The name of the daughter wasn't mentioned in the joke, which was part of Letterman's monologue on last Monday's show.

It was "a coarse joke," "a bad joke," Letterman told viewers. "But I never thought it was (about) anybody other than the older daughter, and before the show, I checked to make sure, in fact, that she is of legal age, 18."

"The joke, really, in and of itself, can't be defended," he declared.

Even so, the ongoing outcry, led by Palin and her husband, Todd, has centered on Letterman intending to make a joke about the Palins' 14-year-old daughter having sex with a Yankees baseball player.

Todd Palin issued a statement last week that said "any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable."

And Sarah Palin charged Letterman with "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity."

On Monday's show, Letterman said, "I'm wondering, 'Well, what can I do to help people understand that I would never make a joke like this?' I've never made jokes like this, as long as we've been on the air, 30 long years."

If that's the misconception -- that the joke was aimed at a 14-year-old -- he understands why people are upset, he said. "I would be upset myself." Letterman has said from the beginning that he thought the Palin daughter who attended the Yankee game was Bristol.

"I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke," he said. "It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault that it was misunderstood."

He apologized to both daughters, "and also to the Governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke," he said as the studio audience applauded. "I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future."

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:sure...if someone comes out saying those kinds of things about my kids...no matter what age they are...I'm gonna be bitching up one lane and down another about that person. I think she did what most parents would do.

Bman wrote:

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:sure...if someone comes out saying those kinds of things about my kids...no matter what age they are...I'm gonna be bitching up one lane and down another about that person. I think she did what most parents would do.

Heck you bitch about Bill Maher ...

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:

Bman wrote:

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:sure...if someone comes out saying those kinds of things about my kids...no matter what age they are...I'm gonna be bitching up one lane and down another about that person. I think she did what most parents would do.

Heck you bitch about Bill Maher ...

Has he been fired yet?

Pez wrote:He said something about A-Rod molesting one of the palin daughters during the 7th inning stretch... he thought he was talking about the over 18 Bristol, but in fact the only Palin daughter that was at that game was the 14 year old....

It pains me to side with Palin here, but I just gotta. Dave was too far outta line... as in "on Pluto" kind of outta line.

floridafun wrote:

Pez wrote:He said something about A-Rod molesting one of the palin daughters during the 7th inning stretch... he thought he was talking about the over 18 Bristol, but in fact the only Palin daughter that was at that game was the 14 year old....

It pains me to side with Palin here, but I just gotta. Dave was too far outta line... as in "on Pluto" kind of outta line.

and he did an as-expected-by-a-comedian apology, then gave a much more dignified apology. she accepted, then got her prez hat on and thanked our troops for putting their lives on the line so dave can make those kind of jokes and she can come out and dump a big bowl of word salad on his recording studio

floridafun wrote:

Pez wrote:He said something about A-Rod molesting one of the palin daughters during the 7th inning stretch... he thought he was talking about the over 18 Bristol, but in fact the only Palin daughter that was at that game was the 14 year old....

It pains me to side with Palin here, but I just gotta. Dave was too far outta line... as in "on Pluto" kind of outta line.

and he did an as-expected-by-a-comedian apology, then gave a much more dignified apology. she accepted, then got her prez hat on and thanked our troops for putting their lives on the line so dave can make those kind of jokes and she can come out and dump a big bowl of word salad on his recording studio

Cincy Fan 44 wrote:

floridafun wrote:

Pez wrote:He said something about A-Rod molesting one of the palin daughters during the 7th inning stretch... he thought he was talking about the over 18 Bristol, but in fact the only Palin daughter that was at that game was the 14 year old....

It pains me to side with Palin here, but I just gotta. Dave was too far outta line... as in "on Pluto" kind of outta line.

and he did an as-expected-by-a-comedian apology, then gave a much more dignified apology. she accepted, then got her prez hat on and thanked our troops for putting their lives on the line so dave can make those kind of jokes and she can come out and dump a big bowl of word salad on his recording studio

are you embellishing again FF? I don't remember her bringing up anything on the troops during this. Granted, I'm basing this off the interview I saw of her with Matt Lauer, so I admittedly don't follow every single thing she says looking for the slightest thing I can criticize her on.

Markwes wrote:and the obsession with Sarah Palin continues...