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C'mon, Dave Letterman Is No Bill Clinton

And he's no Clarence Thomas, either. He didn't harass—or lie.

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 7, 2009 8:05 AM CDT

(Newser) – These days you can't drink and smoke in the office like the ad execs on Mad Men, but when it comes to affairs with young women, working men are still living in the 1960s, writes Maureen Dowd. David Letterman is only the latest boss to fall for the interns and secretaries at his workplace, writes the New York Times columnist, but he's no Clarence Thomas: "We haven’t heard that the curmudgeonly comedian forced any staffers to listen to tales of pubic hairs on Cokes or Long Dong Silver."

"In an ideal world, bosses would refrain from sleeping with subordinates," but Dowd acknowledges that's impossible—even Barack Obama had an office romance, though he went after his superior at the firm. Letterman, still a prim Midwesterner despite his decades in New York, doesn't deserve instant forgiveness, but to compare a comedian's confession to the deceptions of a Bill Clinton makes no sense. Politicians deserve far greater scrutiny, and anyway, "Letterman trusted the public—and his bond with them—enough to tell the truth."

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In this Jan. 17, 2008 file photo, television talk show host David Letterman walks out of The Ed Sullivan Theater during a taping of "The Late Show with David Letterman", in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)

David Letterman on Oct. 1, 2009, when he confessed that he had sexual relationships with female employees and that someone tried to extort $2 million from him over the affairs. (AP Photo/CBS)

Barack Obama and David Letterman during a break at a taping of The Late Show, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

In this photo provided by CBS, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, joins host David Letterman during an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman," Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/CBS, John Paul Filo) **MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NORTH AMERICA AND UNITED KINGDOM USE ONLY)

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Working for a boss as anti-social and self-critical as Letterman, whose world is circumscribed by his show, would not be easy. But from what we know so far, the women who got involved with Letterman were not pressured. -

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C'mon, Dave Letterman Is No Bill Clinton