Hotline After Dark -- Don't Call Me Daughter

"World News," "Evening News" and "Nightly News" each led with the Holocaust museum shooting.

During last night's "Late Show," CBS' David Letterman addressed the controversy surrounding the recent jokes he made about AK Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter.

Letterman: "We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news, and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin, and her daughter, the 18-year-old girl ... Bristol. ... So, now they're upset with me. Let me read you how upset they are, because I didn't realize this until today. ... Keep in mind, I can't really defend these. They're just jokes. It's like, some jokes are fine. Some jokes are not fine. And of course we make mistakes left and right."

Letterman went on to read the statements from both Palin and her husband, Todd.

More Letterman: "I'm not necessarily proud of these jokes. I mean, we do stuff all the time, and our objective here is to get a laugh and, thank God, we don't have to go to the Hague before the world court to defend them. It's a joke, that's all it's supposed to be. ... Everything the governor and Todd said, I absolutely agree with."

After the jump, more Letterman and Speaker Nancy Pelosi on health care reform.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

Letterman, on the jokes allegedly being about the Palins' 14-year-old daughter, Willow: "These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never, make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl. I mean, look at my record. It has never happened. I don't think it's funny. I would never think it was funny. I wouldn't put it in a joke. Here's where you draw line. Yes, maybe these are questionable because the girl, who actually ... was knocked up is now 18 years old. So, the difference there is, 14 years old and of legal age, okay. Now, I can't really defend the joke. I agree, unpleasant, ugly. But I would never, never think that it was funny to use a 14-year-old girl as a joke like this, for God's sakes."

More Letterman: "Were the jokes in question of questionable taste? Of course they were. Do I regret having told them? Well, I think probably, I do. But you know what? There are thousands of jokes I regret telling on this program. Would I do anything to advocate or contribute to underage sexual abuse or misconduct? Absolutely not, not in a thousand years. Look at me! Do I look like I'm trying to make trouble? No, no."

Letterman: "So with that in mind, Governor Palin, if you're watching, I would like you to consider coming to New York City, you and Todd, as my guests, or leave Todd at home. Love to have you on the show. It would be exciting. There, I hope I've cleared part of this up? Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No" (CBS, 6/10).

FNC's Greta Van Susteren reacted to Letterman's explanation on "On the Record."

Van Susteren: "Does Letterman think rape jokes are funny if it's an 18-year-old woman but not a 14-year-old girl? And do you really think Letterman was making the joke about the 18-year-old girl or is he now just trying to cover his tracks because he got caught? The 18-year-old girl wasn't even at the game. It was Willow, age 14."

More Van Susteren: "And perhaps even most bizarre, Letterman in his statement tonight invited Governor Palin and Todd Palin to appear on the show. So now, Letterman is trying to use his rape joke about their child to score a booking on his show. Go figure" (FNC, 6/10).

Guests on "O'Reilly Factor" and "Countdown" also discussed Letterman's digs at Palin.

FNC's Alan Colmes: "I don't think it helps Letterman. But look, let's put it in context. He is a comedian. ... You know what I think happened? I think the writers got the daughters confused. It was not the older daughter, Bristol, who was with her on the New York trip. It was the younger daughter."

FNC's Bill O'Reilly: "It really doesn't matter, though. ... You used to be a comedian. ... It's a cheap shot. Why wouldn't you do it?"

Colmes: "Because I don't think you should go after the daughters of public officials. ... I didn't like when it did it against Chelsea Clinton. ... They went after Amy Carter."

Talk radio host Monica Crowley: "Where is the new era of civility that President Obama's election..."

O'Reilly: "You're going to blame this on Obama?"

Crowley: "I am not blaming it on Obama. I am saying that his election was touted as ushering in a new era of civility. ... David Letterman voted for the guy, supported him. ... People like David Letterman and Katie Couric ... continue taking these gratuitous hits at Sarah Palin for one reason. That is because she is a woman, and she's an attractive woman at that. She is also pro-life and pro-gun. And she lives her life according to those values. ... She represents an existential threat to liberalism. Therefore, she must be destroyed."

Colmes: "Oh, come on" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 6/10).

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann: "I love David Letterman. I respect him. Sitting next to him last year the day John McCain canceled out on him was like getting to sit next to Wellington as he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. I agree with him, though. The joke about the daughter ... was poor taste. But when he makes a knocked-up joke, isn't it safe to assume he meant the daughter who actually was, in reality, knocked up? Did the Palins just overplay what would have been a good political hand before they sort of hit it over the head with a hammer?"

CQ's Craig Crawford: "She has definitely sought political advantage here. There's no getting around that. I don't know that she was even personally that offended as much. I think she was probably secretly thrilled to be in the top ten of Letterman. But this is something that works for her. And you saw in her statement where they mentioned people around the country, those Hollywood, New York entertainers not understanding the rest of us. There is the core of the political purpose in this. It's turning those people against the coastal elites, and to her side."

More Crawford: "This is the old formula of talk show hosts, maybe inadvertently insult politician; politician gets outraged; talk show host apologizes; politician goes on and they all make up. So I think that's what will happen."

Olbermann: "I don't think it will happen in a million years" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 6/10).

GOING PUBLIC

During a sit-down with MSNBC's Ed Shultz, Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked about being in favor of a public option.

Pelosi: "A public option is an option that would be available to people, and perhaps it will be renamed something else. But the opportunity for us to have, alongside of the private sector companies, an option that is a public option. The point of that is to make sure that every American has the opportunity to have quality, affordable health care. ... It doesn't cost you anything if any more people have access to a public option."

Schultz: "And you can guarantee to the American people that's what's going to come out of the House?"

Pelosi: "Well, I'm saying the converse. A bill will not come out of the House without a public option."

Pelosi, asked if she's willing to raise taxes to pay for it: "Everything is on the table. Everything."

Pelosi, on whether she's going to support taxing health care benefits: "Everything is on the table, and our chairman of our Ways and Means Committee has not been receptive to that point of view. But again, we want to have quality, affordable accessible health care for all Americans."

Schultz: "So you're not willing to say that, you know, taxes are going to go up because of health care reform."

Pelosi: "No, but I'm saying everything is on the table" ("Ed Show," 6/10).