Comics, critics walk fine line creating humor

Politicians are naturally funny. They’ll always be the target of satire, jokes and ridicule because of their quirky personalities, hilarious gaffes and embarrassing excesses.

Frankly, they can’t help themselves. Stuffy and solemn are out. Casual and outgoing are in, thanks to the advent of celebrity television and the instant gratification of the Internet. In the year 2009, you’re a nobody if you’re not on YouTube.

Let’s be clear. Nearly all comings and goings should be fair game for the late-night comedians and editorial cartoonists.

When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin talks about being the soccer mom next door, then undergoes a makeover with expensive clothing for the campaign trail, she accepts the consequences by jumping into the arena.

When first lady Michelle Obama breaks protocol by touching the Queen of England on the back, it’s silly, but the media have a field day at her expense.
Still, in this everything-goes culture, we wonder if anyone’s worried about boundaries.

Comedic writers walk on the edge to create a buzz and to improve ratings, and we appreciate creativity. But what happened to good taste?

Two recent, poor attempts at humor on television and on the Internet strike us as unbelievable. They set us back significantly as a culture, quite frankly.

The first was David Letterman’s desperate joke about Palin’s daughter. He was referring to Palin’s 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, being “knocked up” by baseball player Alex Rodriguez while the Palins were in New York. In fact, Palin was in New York with her 14-year-old daughter.

Clearly, Bristol is a fair target for comedians and critics. She was on the campaign trail with her mother, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, and created a vigorous debate nationwide about unwed mothers.

Palin’s 14-year-old daughter, Willow, should be off limits, and humor about her and her sexuality smacks of sexual exploitation.

In fact, Palin accepted Letterman’s apology Tuesday “on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who ‘joke’ about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve.”

For his part, Letterman said Bristol was his target, not Willow, and promised to do better in the future.

But Palin’s words, about men evolving, were correct. If only former South Carolina Election Commission Chairman Rusty DePass had a lesson from Palin before posting insensitive comments about Michelle Obama last week.

Minutes after a gorilla escaped from a Columbia zoo, DePass posted an extremely insensitive remark on his Facebook status update. “I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors — probably harmless,” he wrote.

The mayor of Columbia wrote a letter of apology to Obama after word of DePass’ misstep created a fury. DePass is a Columbia resident. The state NAACP called on DePass to apologize.

“I want to apologize for the comment that was made by a person from my city,” Mayor Bob Coble, a Democrat, wrote. “The comment was both hateful and inappropriate. The comment has been condemned by fair-minded people of all races and political parties. I want to express my deep disappointment that such a terrible statement would be associated with Columbia, S.C.”

As with politicians, comedians walk the fine line of acceptance. We would like to see crowds boo Letterman next time he tosses out unacceptable one-liners. We’d like to see South Carolinians write DePass and explain how he’s damaged the state with his crude humor.

Yes, this is a free country. Freedom of speech is cherished gift. Use it wisely, ladies and gentlemen.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Editorial board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), James Bennett (regional editor), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (news editor), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).