Statement from Meghan Stapleton, Palin spokesperson
Today at 8:08am
“The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman.”
A major alphabet network late night host, drunk on the arrogance of a freshly-negotiated contract, started a public battle with the Palins that he can’t win. A sincere, no excuses apology is his only way out.
Major sponsors are already trying topass the buck to local CBS affiliates. Why? Angry fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents of young girls are putting pressure on the sponsors, the network and their local CBS stations. It’s working.
Update: Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, a national women’s public policy group, called on David Letterman today to formally apologize.
Please take a look at this interchange between John Ziegler and Contessa Brewer on Barack Obama’s MSNBC. (H/T: crippy)
John Ziegler just demonstrated the picture-perfect attitude to take towards the “reporters” and “anchors” at any and all of the Democratic networks; ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc.
Some variant of disdain, contempt or somewhere in between. No liberal-talking point assertion or premise should be left unchallenged. Openly and repeatedly question their honesty and integrity. Highlight their hypocrisy in their coverage. Change the subject when you feel like it or stay on a subject even if they want to move on. Ask them questions that they have to answer before the interview can go further.
Monday Morning Quarterbacking; Ziegler only made a few mistakes as far as I can see;
not directly asking Contessa Brewer if she thinks it’s fine that David Letterman attacked Palin’s 14 year old daughter and why she didn’t show that part of Letterman’s act? Why is she deliberately ignoring the attack on Willow Palin? As a mother, would she let it slide? Is she a mother? Why is she and her network trying to make the American people think Palin was only complaining about the attack on her while deliberately, dishonestly, keeping the creepy attack on her daughter off the radar?
when Brewer brought up the silly factoid about the poll showing Palin as not being seen as one of the spokesmen for the GOP, he should have pointed it out and dismissed it for the irrelevancy that it is, and pointed out that it’s only out-of-touch journalists who think it’s significant - Palin is the Governor of a vast state, with an environment tougher than any other state, she doesn’t have time to waste on such nonsense as an irrelevant poll.
when he touched on the fact of the media portraying the GOP as being solely comprised of old white men {NRSC endorsing Charlie Crist doesn’t help} Ziegler should have added that the only time the media covers Governor Palin is when they’re attacking her with knowingly false Democratic talking points (like Keith Olbermann on “plagiarism”) or from the fever swamps of the Left-wing blogosphere, so of course, the poll results will reflect that.
when Contessa Brewer (at 3:50) challenged Ziegler about asking Palin “tough questions“, he should have reacted, first of all, by letting loose with a long and hard laugh. And then he should have answered that the day any reporter at MSNBC stops swooning at Obama’s feet and actually asks Obama a question tougher than “Why are you so soooo dreamy? Can I have your autograph? On my chest?”, that’ll be the day MSNBC can question anyone else on asking tough questions.
But then, I wasn’t the one in the hot seat, I’m critiquing in hindsight, and even with all that Ziegler did very very well in that interview. He was properly mocking, disdainful, disbelieving and made it very clear that he considered Contessa Brewer and her network to be no more than Democratic mouthpieces.
Which happens to have the benefit of being the truth.
As I promised here, I watched this throughout (via Michelle Malkin), and I’ve decided that I don’t believe you. It’s because of the constant mugging for the camera, the frequent pausing for laugh lines, the phony forgetting of the husband and child’s name, the neglecting to mention that the first joke you recited - the one where you called a 14 year old a prostitute - was made the day after you called her mother a slut and cracked a joke about the 14 year old getting raped. And there wasn’t even a “sorry that you were offended” - which is the standard fake-apology that your type usually resorts to when someone complains. Instead, we got a “This is what I do.”
Yes. I suppose that it is.
Moe Lane
PS: The hate apologetics that I’ve been getting from this episode have been fascinating: by all means, I invite people wanting to excuse this behavior to keep them coming.. So far I’m pretty sure that I’ve identified at least one impending divorce and two wrecked relationships from the subtext.
PPS: Dan Riehl has some more thoughts on the subject.
