Sarah Palin's Hypocrisy: Fighting Words

When David Letterman made a flippant remark about Sarah Palin's daughter being "knocked up" by New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the former Alaska Governor told NBC's Matt Lauer that such talk was unacceptable:

"I would hope that people really start -- really rising up and deciding it's not acceptable. No wonder young girls, especially, have such low self-esteem in America." Palin said that she could "connect the dots to a degrading statement made about young women, and that does contribute to some acceptance of abuse of young women."

Palin made similar connections several times during the interview, ultimately saying that Letterman's "jokes" contribute directly to violence against women:

But here again, the double standard when it comes to acceptance of a celebrity being able to get way with a disparaging comment that does erode a young girl’s self-esteem and does contribute to some of the problems that we have in society.

This so-called humor I don’t find it humorous. I think a lot of Americans don’t think that it’s–

...I would like to see him apologize to young women across the country for contributing to that–kind of that thread that is throughout our culture that makes it sound like that it’s okay to talk about young girls in that way. Where it’s kind of okay and accepted and funny to talk about statutory rape. It’s not cool. It’s not funny.

In the Lauer interview, Palin also accused the media of employing "double standards" in how it treated her family.

Any yet...

Palin today, on her Facebook page, reacts quite differently to the uproar about accusations that violent rhetoric and imagery contributed to 6 murders and the assassination attempt on Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords:

After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.

Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them...If you don’t like a person’s vision for the country, you’re free to debate that vision. If you don’t like their ideas, you’re free to propose better ideas. But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.

There are those who claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this deranged, apparently apolitical criminal....

In an ideal world all discourse would be civil and all disagreements cordial. But our Founding Fathers knew they weren’t designing a system for perfect men and women....Public discourse and debate isn’t a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength. It is part of why America is exceptional.

Video here and here.

So, was David Letterman "blood libeled" or has Sarah Palin failed to "connect the dots" between her words and violence?


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