Comments on: Asshattery is Not a Zero-Sum Game

By: Shaun

Shaun — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:00:44 +0000

A very erudite commentary. Also greatly impressive because the underlying ideas are universal to all things rather than just the political.

Thanks for the great read.

By: Grandy

Grandy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:04:02 +0000

Alex Rodriguez lives in a complicated micro reality none of us can understand. Being part of this joke may not have pierced the veil. Even if it does, he's still got to have a team come up with a response before he can give it.

But I think he has bigger fish to fry.

By: Legally UnBound

Legally UnBound — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:21:10 +0000

Ken hits another homerun!! We can't discount this, no matter the age, the campaign (which was joined post-pregnancy) or the mother of Bristol. Of course, many people are letting it go because it was meant to be Bristol and not Willow. Somehow, in our society, we have gotten so focused on 18, that it is "magical". NOW, we can beat her up and call her a slut. I don't care either way on the Letterman thing, though I do lean toward the distasteful. My point is "why is 18 so magical?" I know the law says so, but at 18 I am yet to meet anyone that knows their ass from a hole in the ground. We ought to still be helping that group "grow up", no matter which side of the isle you sit on.

By: PatrickKelley

PatrickKelley — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:12:39 +0000

What I would like to know is, where the hell is Alex Rodriguez in this mess? He shouldn't have to be a Palin fan to be pissed off by this. If somebody told a joke about me raping a fourteen year old (Willow was the only Palin child at the game with Sarah, so its understandable that would be the interpretation), I'd be inclined to go up the side of the bastard's head with a baseball bat.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:59:30 +0000

Bristol Palin is an 18 year old public figure, who separate and apart from her mother, has become the face of a new abstinance campaign (notwithstanding her earlier quotes about abstinance being "unrealistic"). I didn't think the joke was very funny, but Bristol, based upon her own decision to enter the ring of public discourse, is fair game as far as I'm concerned (just like Chelsea is completely fair game now, given her age and all the stumping she did for her Mother). Calling out Letterman for making a cheap and tasteless joke? ... I'm okay with that. But calling him out for targeting the children of politicians? I don't think that holds up, given Bristol's own decision to step forward as a public figure, whose specific focus is sexuality. Letterman's second apology did focus on an important point, though. Given the manner of its telling (and the underlying facts), it was at least somewhat ambiguous as to whether the joke was about Bristol or Willow, the latter of which should be strictly off limits. I believe Letterman when he says she was not the target, but the telling didn't rule out that interpretation, and he's now paying the price.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:57:14 +0000

"Asshattery is not a zero-sum game." <— Nominated for new tagline.

Score points for an original quote, too!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=35Q&q=%22Asshattery+is+not+a+zero-sum+game.%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=