Has David Letterman Had His "Imus" Moment?

When Don Imus made his disparaging remarks about the Rutgers womens basketball team, people rightly turned him off. Calling them nappy headed hos was not only ridiculous, it was appalling. What was hard to understand is why he said it. He had been in the broadcasting business for eons and should know how far, and no further, he should go. The recent incident with David Letterman joking about Sarah Palin's daughter getting knocked up by A-Rod has somewhat of a similar feel. In this case, most of the feel comes from Palin's reaction to his comments than the comments themselves. Palin said Letterman was talking about her 14-year-old daughter; he says he was talking about her 18-year-old daughter Bristol who had been pregnant out of wedlock. Looking at the TV clip, you couldn't tell if it was Willow or Bristol--they look so much alike. Part of the difference is that Letterman's comments were truly funny, whereas Imus' feel way short. Imus' comments were not funny but came off as the error of a nonthinking, careless man. Imus was directly saying something derogatory about the girls on the team; whereas Letterman was not saying anything derogatory about the Palin girl herself. So no, I don't think this is Letterman's Imus' moment. But Palin appears poised to milk it for all it is worth. The problem is she is still inarticulate and will not gain much by this.