Letterman Apologizes to Palin, Bristol, Willow

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin is "glowingly happy to be in the national spotlight again and doesn't want to give it up any time soon," Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly observes in the course of offering David Letterman unsolicited advice: "Clam up." The Late Night host returns tonight after being off the air since Thursday—his Friday show tapes earlier in the week—while the flap over his wisecracks about the Alaska governor has inflamed the blogosphere. More»

(NEWSER) - David Letterman is handily beating his new late-night rival, Conan O’Brien, in the ratings—just not in some of the key, younger demographics. And that’s due to his singular, quirky charms, writes Peter W. Kaplan in New York, calling Letterman the “last grown-up on network television.” Unlike his erstwhile and future rival, Jay Leno, Letterman does not disguise his disaffection to satisfy affiliates. At 62, he is “the last American codger.” More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin has a new ally in her feud with David Letterman: the National Organization for Women. "The sexualization of girls and women in the media is reaching new lows these days," NOW says on its website, taking particular offense at Letterman's remark about Palin looking like a "slutty" flight attendant. "Someone of Letterman's stature should be above wallowing in the juvenile, sexist mud that other comedians and broadcasters seem to prefer." More»

Dave still joking, Sarah still furious

(NEWSER) - David Letterman joked on his show last night that Sarah Palin made nice by inviting him hunting, but their feud showed no sign of letting up this morning when Palin called on him to apologize to young women nationwide on the Today show, the AP reports. Letterman’s joke that Palin’s daughter got “knocked up” by A-Rod amounts to joking about statutory rape, and his explanation—he was referring to Bristol, not Willow—was just a “convenient excuse,” Palin said. More»

...two years, he says casually

(NEWSER) - What will David Letterman be doing in two years? No one knows, but one thing he apparently won't be doing: hosting the Late Show. He let that little tidbit slip casually while interviewing Howard Stern last night. The clip in the gallery ends, of course, just before the comment, but Splitsider reports that later in the interview Letterman tells Stern he'll only do the Late Show for two more years. (You might not hear the announcement in this clip, but you will hear a lot of Leno-bashing from Stern .) More»