Sarah Palin on "Today Show": David Letterman Should Apologize to "All Young Women" for "Joke"

The David Letterman and Sarah Palin controversy over Letterman's telling of an objectionable joke Monday night refuses to die. Because Sarah Palin will not let it. Now, she's making it into a women's right issue. And she told the "Today Show" Friday that Letterman should "apologize to young women" for his ill-chosen words while her family spokesperson insinuated that there might be a reason to keep her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, away from David Letterman. Sarah Palin herself chastised Letterman for "sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity."

Now who is going too far?

Just when you thought Sarah Palin and her far right redneck-ish conservatism had been put out to an Alaskan pasture, not just by popular vote but by her own Republican Party, the Governor of Alaska shows the world how a true politician uses anything they can to spring back into the thick of things. In this case, Sarah Palin, who has never been shy of pimping out her family (and, to be fair, what politician isn't?), is now doing it again, but this time she insists that Letterman's joke was not only derogatory toward her 14-year-old daughter, Willow, but that it was demeaning to women the world over. She called on Letterman to apologize to women everywhere.

For those not in the loop on the controversy, it all began when David Letterman chose to pick on Sarah Palin, something he did almost nightly during the 2008 presidential campaign, during his monologue and on his "Top 10 List." Number two on the list included Sarah Palin shopping at Bloomingdale's to "update her 'slutty flight attendant' look." The next day, Palin called his remarks toward her "pathetic."

The remarks concerning her daughter did not heat up until later (which only leads one to believe that Palin was not immediately apprised of them). But when they did, Todd Palin, Sarah Palin's husband, stated on Facebook: "Any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old daughter are despicable."

Letterman, during his monologue Monday night, had said there had been an "awkward moment" at the Yankees baseball game that day. He said that Alex Rodriguez went into the stands and "knocked up" Sarah Palin's daughter.

David Letterman made a rambling semi-apology on his show Wednesday night, because the daughter that had attended the game had been Palin's 14-year-old daughter, Willow. He admitted that the joke was in "poor taste." He explained that the joke had been in reference to Bristol Palin, the Governor's 18-year-old daughter, whose choice not to abstain from teenage sex made national headlines during the presidential campaign. "Did I suggest," he rhetorically asked, "that it was OK for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No." He then said the Palins were welcome on his show anytime.

To which the Palin clan replied, through spokesperson Meghan Stapleton, that they had no intention of giving David Letterman a "ratings boost." Then she said, "Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."

Alluding to Letterman being a some type of sexual pervert through a spokesperson allows the Palin family a retaliatory over-the-top dig at Letterman while being able to plausibly deny that they authorized such a statement. But Palin's own statement about Letterman's comments being "perverted" comes directly from Palin herself. An allowable shot, considering that she's taking up for her offspring. But she must take care not to go too far...

But there is no doubt that the "Late Show with David Letterman" is enjoying a boost in ratings as people tune in to see the latest installment of what has become a war of words. Well, a war on Sarah Palin's part, at least. Letterman seems to be trying to distance himself from it.

On Thursday night's "Late Show," Letterman began with a tongue-in-cheek "I'm Dave Letterman, making friends wherever I go." He later said, "I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I don't think it's funny. I would never think it was funny."

"I'm not necessarily proud of these jokes," he also said. "We do stuff all the time and our objective here is to get a laugh, and thank God we don't have to go to the Hague and the World Court to defend them. It's a joke and that's all it's supposed to be."

But distance is not what he's going to get. Sarah Palin has decided to use the issue to highlight discrimination against all women in general. She told the "Today Show" Friday that the joke was "a degrading comment about a young woman. And I would hope that people would start really rising up and not accepting this." She also said that "it's no wonder girls have such low self-esteem in America when a comedian can make a remark like this."

Sarah Palin went on to say that Letterman should "apologize to young women" all over the world.

The Governor of Alaska may not go on the "Late Show" to boost Letterman's ratings, but she doesn't have to. Letterman's distasteful joke has provided Sarah Palin with a platform with which to launch her 2012 presidential campaign -- women's rights (and child abuse, child sexual abuse, discrimination in general, and anything anti-liberal). It has given Letterman a platform to apologize, be the bigger person, highlight distortion, and still get in a few comedic barbs along the way.

Both parties have already received a "ratings boost" out of controversy.

In the end, however, Sarah Palin will lose this verbal war if she doesn't rein herself in. Political posturing is only allowable by the general public if it is not recognized for what it truly is. Sarah Palin championing women's rights is one thing; distorting a 'pathetic' joke into an abstract discussion on discrimination is another. Using her 14-year-old daughter as leverage, if taken too far, is in itself 'pathetic.'

This is where it should end.

But Sarah Palin is a politician. Restraint is not something they are known for. And given Palin's propensity for saying the wrong thing herself, she may end up doing more harm than good.

So far, Sarah Palin has handled the situation fairly well.

Letterman apologized for the joke. Palin wants an apology to all women. She controls the moral high ground now. Pressing her advantage will make her look like a self-righteous, self-aggrandizing crusader, verbally battering a popular comedian who has apologized for an objectionable faux pas, ruthlessly posturing for political position and advantage. Regardless of what Letterman does now, Sarah Palin should simply let the matter rest and let others carry the banner for her.

That would be the sensible thing to do.

But she won't. You betcha...

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"Late Night with David Letterman," CBS Television

"Today Show," NBC Television