OK, OK, Mea Culpa, Already

I have resolved a couple of times in the past to stop blogging about Sarah Palin, but I take it all back. She is the gift that keeps on giving - kinda like herpes.

Sarah finally harrangued a sincere apology out of David Letterman, which aired last night. She accepted, but it's not over, folks. She said, " Of course, I accept his apology", which is all she needed to say. Over. Done with. Move on. But, no, she went on (and on and on) to say that she "accepted for all young girls"..... and then made some weird, disjointed statement about Letterman's right to free speech...."He can say anything he wants, of course. This is what our brave troops are fighting to uphold", etc., etc., etc.

The fact that Sara Palin and her family accepted David Letterman's apology isn't and never will be enough for some, especially the newly formed website "Fire David Letterman dot com", to which I won't link because it would only encourage them.

This is a website dedicated to the ruination of one aging comic with a long history of telling tasteless jokes, as admittedly these were. And, yes, he was right to apologize. But, it seems to me that he also needs to apologize to Eliot Spitzer and Alex Rodriguez, by the way. They're too busy to demand an apology, I guess, but they may yet get around to it some time this week.

So, with the wingnuts in full cry, Sarah can afford to be gracious.

On the Republican front, where is all the outrage over the comment of a politician in South Carolina? Have you heard about it? Seems a gorilla escaped from a South Carolina zoo, and this jerk said "Not to worry. The gorilla's not dangerous. It's probably just one of Michelle's (Obama) relatives. " Ba-da-bum!

Talk about a tasteless joke. But, I suppose since he was making the joke at the expense of a grown-up, it's ok. But, wait. Let's take this joke to its logical extent. If he thinks the gorilla is a relative of Michelle's, then, it must also be related to Michelle's young daughters. Of course, it would.

So, since Michelle is busy elsewhere, I am picking up the torch of outrage on her behalf and on behalf of her daughters. Don't bother to apologize to me, dude. I won't accept it.

Stay tuned.

They Call It A Snoozefest.

It has come to this. The Media won't be satisfied with a political convention unless one party is snarling and sniping at the other. If each speaker doesn't attempt a character assassination of the members of the other party, the pundits start yawning. And, they do what they did last night. They simply don't show most of the speakers and videos, enjoying, instead, the sounds of their own voices.

I watched most of the opening night on C-Span so I could actually see what was going on. Nancy Pelosi made a very good opening speech. Former President Jimmy Carter made a few remarks and he and Mrs. Carter were warmly received by the crowd. Clair McCaskill was introduced by her son and two daughters, and her speech was upbeat and well-received. In the meantime, on the other channels, the pundits (gasbags, all) tried to outdo each other with their cynical, pithy comments about what was going on, although they weren't letting anyone see it.

For me, the highlight of the evening was Caroline Kennedy's introduction of a video featuring her uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. And then, there he was, Teddy, himself. And the crowd was thrilled. If you didn't know how ill he was, you could close your eyes and believe that there was nothing wrong, because his speech was as fiery as always, and as full of conviction. There weren't many dry eyes in that crowd.

Then, there was Michelle Obama's 6'6" brother, pride radiating from him, introducing his sister, Michelle. Michelle's speech was informative and conversational, and accomplished exactly what everyone wanted it to accomplish. It showed her as a concerned wife, mother and highly intelligent woman who wasn't anything like the scary, angry, militant woman that the Republicans try to make of her.

All in all, I think the evening was successful, even if there were no fireworks and not much Bush-McCain bashing. In fact, it was kind of a relief that we didn't have to listen to a lot of vitriol. That will probably start tonight. They can't afford, politically, to keep the gloves on. The voting public has come to expect and even like the nastiness, so there will probably be plenty of that.

But, it was nice while it lasted.