By John W. Lillpop
Uncontrolled envy, one of the most toxic emotions in the human arsenal, can drive even the most powerful and famous to immature acting out.
Take the case of David Letterman. With Jay Leno leaving the Tonight Show, Letterman surely saw himself as a lead pipe cinch to take over the Number 1 spot in the hearts and minds of millions of sleep deprived viewers, those too old or exhausted for amour after 11 bells, PM.
Regrettably (for Letterman), he did not take into account the wit and charm of Conan O'Brien, Leno's replacement and a very entertaining young man indeed.
Even more distressing (for Letterman), was O'Brien's showing in the ratings war.
As reported, in part, at http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/06/conan-obrien-regains-lead-palin-letterman.html:
"Conan O'Brien's 'Tonight Show' reversed its ratings decline and showed growth for the first time Wednesday night. Also, new ratings for O'Brien's first week behind the "Tonight" desk give NBC a record-setting lead over CBS' "Late Show" among adults 18-49
"That was enough to edge out David Letterman's "Late Show," which had bested O'Brien's "Tonight" in the overnights for the first time Tuesday evening. Letterman pulled a 3.1 rating, dropping slightly from the previous night."
Just what is a 62-year old, second best codger to do when bested by a 46-year-old whippersnapper with attitude?
Letterman did the really dumb: He assaulted the teenage daughter of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, the woman liberals love to hate.
As reported, in part, at http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20284295,00.html:
"In the wake of her recent visit to New York, David Letterman had some fun at the expense of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on The Late Show this week – but the governor and her husband, Todd Palin, aren't laughing.
"On Tuesday's show, Letterman joked in his opening monologue that the governor visited Yankee Stadium, sitting in "far, far right field" with Rudy Giuliani. "They had a wonderful time," he continued. "The toughest part of her visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter."
"That last bit, a reference to the disgraced former New York governor who was caught with a prostitute, went over like a ton of bricks in the Palin household. Alaska's first couple took to their Facebook page to post the following messages:
"From Todd Palin: "Any 'jokes' about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too."
"From Governor Sarah Palin: "Concerning Letterman's comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter): 'Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands – that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'"
You tell him, Governor!
Even left wing nut balls at NOW piled on the beleaguered Letterman by inducting him into the Media Hall of Shame, as reported at http://hotair.com/archives/2009/06/11/oh-my-now-inducts-letterman-into-its-media-hall-of-shame/
A word of advice for Dave:
Forget Conan O'Brien. You are still # 2, and nobody can take that from you--yet.
