Top 10 Tacky Jokes About David Letterman

I'm no fan of Sarah Palin. I think she is an opportunistic prima donna, as well as a liar and a hypocrite. However, I became increasingly appalled with Andrew Sullivan's obsession with her medical records. I do not believe that politicians have no right to privacy, and I am unconvinced that the voting public has the right to know about any potential health problem.

I am no fan of "family values" politicians using their children as media props. However, I do not believe that makes those children fair game for any subsequent media harassment or humiliation. The children do not choose to be props, and they should not be seen (by either side) as mere extensions or accessories of their parent(s).

David Letterman made a joke that was in extremely poor taste on many levels. While it can be argued that it was aimed at Bristol Palin, who has hypocritically chosen to make herself a spokeswoman for teenage abstinence, the fact that Bristol was not present at the Yankees game supports Sarah Palin's belief that the joke was really aimed at 14-year-old Willow.

The fact that Letterman (and undoubtedly many of his viewers) thought it was funny shows that much of America still thinks female sexuality is inherently degrading, and that a powerful female can have her social status undermined by the implication that she (or her daughter) is a slut.

I believe very strongly in the right to free speech. I do not think CBS should censure Letterman, or that any of his sponsors should be boycotted. I think even David Letterman would agree that he has made himself fair game, and that turnabout is fair play.

Therefore, I present my very own Top 10 List:

Top 10 Tacky Jokes About David Letterman

10. He didn't mean to be offensive -- Indiana's age of consent was 13 when Dave was growing up.

9. What can you expect from a man who attended school at Broad Ripple and Ball State?

8. That's what happens when a 62-year-old tries to be edgier than Conan O'Brien.

7. Dave loves the Palin clan, because their names are even funnier than Oprah and Uma.

6. Dave wanted to get back at Alex Rodriguez for scoring with Madonna.

5. Dave was just helping out a fellow Hoosier by hiring Bobby Knight as one of his joke-writers.

4. Dave can take the moral high ground, now that he's finally married his baby-mama.

3. Thanks to Viagra, jokes about sex get a rise out of Dave again.

2. Dave hasn't gotten this much attention since his bypass surgery.

and the number one tacky joke about David Letterman:

1. You can't expect good taste from a man who uses Stupid Pet Tricks to get dates.