NEW YORK (CNN) - A protest rally against David Letterman over a failed joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter attracted more members of the media than protesters Tuesday afternoon.
A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.
But they were often hidden from view by the more than 35 members of the media there to cover the protest, and out-shouted by a few very vocal counter-protesters.
Radio talk show host John Ziegler - who is behind the FireDavidLetterman.com Web site that organized the protest, and who is an outspoken supporter of the former Republican vice presidential candidate - told reporters that the turnout at the event was not representative of the number of people who have responded to his site and e-mailed.
He also argued that Letterman should have been fired, and the only reasons that he hasn't been fired were "the media's love of David Letterman and the media's distrust and, I believe, hatred of Sarah Palin."
He also called Letterman's apology - issued on Monday's program and accepted by Palin - bogus and said that the comedian should make a charitable donation to an organization of Palin's choosing.
Ziegler made a film about the 2008 presidential campaign called "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted."
From CNN Politics
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Palin deserved to be attacked.........she is a low budget diva.......who carried out low budget acts.
While the media focused on the sexual jokes, Gov. Palin tryed to stay above it all and use this as a teachable moment.... and the media missed it. Her call to " rise up" and that " men should take a stand against the disrespect of females" went unnoticed. Opportunities missed.
John Ziegler is nothing but a fame... you know what. He has attached himself to Palin because it is the only way he can get ANY attention for his sad and pathetic little radio show.
Ahahahahahaha.
Ziegler, you're pathetic.
Hatred of Sarah Palin. Now I wonder why that is.....Doh!
John Ziegler makes a living trying to convince others to buy his book on the bad liberal press. Otherwise, he is just a big mouth insulting everyone that doesn't agree with him 100% of the time.
For the last time, IT WAS A BAD JOKE. A protest over a late night comic telling a bad joke? This is ridiculous. Do we really a bunch of brain-washed nobodies with nothing better to do with their time telling CBS to fire a comic telling a bad JOKE? As a white woman who can actually take a joke, I don't need Palin speaking for me. As for this Ziegler guy, who cares about this loser? He's just another loudmouth nobody desperate for publicity. Someone needs to tell the Bill O'Reilly wannabe that there are more important things in life than your nauseating crush on Palin.
15 teabaggers. Ha.
"Radio talk show host John Ziegler — who is behind the FireDavidLetterman.com Web site that organized the protest, and who is an outspoken supporter of the former Republican vice presidential candidate — told reporters that the turnout at the event was not representative of the number of people who have responded to his site and e-mailed."
16 teabaggers?
Is this guy John Ziegler totally in love with Sarah Palin or what? He and Rich "sat up a little straighter on the couch" Lowry are definitely birds of a feather!
15 protesters? what a joke. Palin, that is how many people who "really" cares about you.
Imus said something far less offensive and was canned. He shouldn't have been, and neither should Letterman, but it seems being a money-maker helps.
Perhaps Palin really should crawl back to Alaska and not come out until 2011 or so, when she might, and I stress might, matter once again.
This is hysterical.......I sure hope the media got free donuts and coffee from the protestors.
Would this be the same John Ziegler that said "an informed and rational woman is an oxymoron."
Did he apologize?
That's pathetic. I am so sick to death of people protesting comedians and radio hosts.
And you will notice, they would never criticize someone the likes of Newt Gingrich for his misogynist mental lapses. They want to make him their president.
They would never criticize Palin for sniping wolves either.
Give them a fake apology and then laugh about it later. They're trash.
Mr. Z uses his video of Palin for his nightly "play dates" with himself.
Ah! Ziegler! Grabbing onto anyone's 15 minutes. . .
Give me a break.
The question is: why were so many reporters there to cover such a non-event?
I've seen protests of a thousand people get NO media coverage.
Why do the media so predictably dance to the right-wing's tune?
How is this gonna get me a new job? Pay my bills so I don't have to accept unemployment for the first time in my life... SILLINESS!!!!
Well, the Media should have outnumbered the protestors because the Media made it much more than what it was. FOXnews.com today gave it even more coverage than the Tennesee woman who emailed the "beyond the pale" image of President Obama to her constituents.
Another example of idiot right-wingers lapping up whatever is fed to them. The joke was much more derogatory toward A-Rod then any Palin offspring. The fourteen year old was never mentioned. Rape was never mentioned. SP just needs attention, as usual. Can you imagine the white-trash drama this woman would have caused had she been elected to national office?
At the end of the day the right-wingers got another manufactured, fake- outrage inducing non issue to pull focus away from media coverage of their brethren murdering doctors and military personnel; Palin got more press and CBS & Letterman got record ratings. Win, win, win.
Pathetic. Simply pathetic.
But I must admit it's also worth a giggle or two.
No Surprise! We are sick of Sarah and she does not speak for women. She is a very mean spirited women and I take offense to her outrage over this small matter. But what else would anyone expect from a small minded individual!
GO AWAY SARAH!
I guess Ziegler didn't pay enough people to show up at his protest. I'm surprised Palin and clan wasn't there, since they were so upset about Letterman's joke. I would have thought the "I love to be in the lime-light" Palin, would have been right there leading the protest, wearing some of that $150,000.00 wardrobe.
So, 35 representatives of the MSM showed up to cover 15 fanatics whining about Sarah Palin eh?
I marched in an anti-war protest with hundreds of thousands of people, right past the NY Times building.
Not one word was every printed or aired about it.
That there is our "liberal media" in action folks.
If you don't care for Letterman or found his jokes about the Palins offensive, that's your right. If you felt his explanation was disingenuous, fine. Don't watch his show.
But the notion that CBS would or should entertain the thought of pulling the plug on his show, or even reprimand him or his writers, is delusional. The idea that anyone who still enjoys watching Letterman must hate all women is a bunch of self-serving hyperbole.
A protest without protesters! The media following a non-story all week. This is too funny.
As usual, Sarah Palin's supporters think they have more support than they actually do.
Why am I not surprised..
"Ziegler made a film about the 2008 presidential campaign called 'Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.'"
This guy should read about Occam's Razor...instead of thinking that the election was an outright conspiracy, how about the simple truth....America liked the other guy more. No conspiracies please.
No one came because no one takes it seriously. It was a bad joke, she called him on it, he apologized. End of story. How many so-called comedians are there that have said way worse and NOT apologized? Too many to count.
Her and her camp need to stop trying to milk Letterman's mistake. It's not like she's the first politician have jokes bounced off of her, and she won't be the last.
What's a John Ziegler oh yeah a guy trying to get into Palins pants. Deal with it Ziegler, David Letterman Rocks, you and Palin suck. We win. Go home loser.
This ridiculous! He's a comedianne!! It's a joke!! Move on people...Palin says worst stuff before. Ridiculous...
Palin and her supporters are jokes
looks like David won
I think Ziegler is more interested in self promotion. Clever boy,John!
Sigh. The media conspiracy theory and strategy has no weight, but it is how the Republican party and the right biased radio and TV personalities justify their poor behavior. This strategy of blame by the party of NO is tired.
It is the fans who love david letterman. john ziegler fire yourself. david letterman is a funny man.
And the number one sign your protest will fail...
1. It relies on people who aren't disgusted by Sarah Palin.
Don't these people have anything better to do than protest a comedian for telling jokes?
15 protesters? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Why is this woman still relevant? Seriously, what good has she done?
Also, don't these people have better things to do? I mean, if you're going to protest something, protest something that could actually make a difference. Gotta love how some people will push free speech when someone on their side says something off-kilter (failure to America, anyone?), but when the opposing side says something, everyone's up in arms and they should lose their job for it. This can be said for hardcore conservatives as well as liberals.
Either way, it was a harmless joke. No political motivation or anything. It's the Palins' fault for not teaching their kids about safe sex and effectively making them a punching bag for comics.
Mr. Ziegler is a nut and crazy man. This phony outrage is unbelievable.
Ziegler must be in luv wit Sarah Palin, Letterman apologized, Sarah accepted, what honour is fighting 4, we know where his loyalties lies, but that sh'dnt stop any1 else 4rm havin a laugh at Sarah's shortcomings
I agree with Zimmy. Will Palin and all her white trash kids please leave the stage. I am a conservative repub an I can't stand to watch any of them. She has exploited her kids way more than Dave ever could.
Is this the biggest problem we have in this country? Where are the tea bags when you need them?
And you're surprised? And how many were paid to "protest"?
Palin exploits her daughter - Ziegler exploits Palin ... they deserve each other.
Ziegler is Palin's very own stalker.
Stop grand standing Ziegler, your 15 minutes of fame is over!
FIFTEEN protesters? Ha! John Ziegler is a waste of carbon and water, as this pitiful, pathetic display proves. Maybe David Letterman should start a FireJohnZiegler.com website.
I think that the Palin family can qualify for the TV show "Wife Swap".
I think that the Palin supporters need to get a life.....find something worthwhile to do and I don't mean watch Fox News
well here we go again i'm surprised hannity. o'reilly and beck not to mention coulter and rove , on their bully pulpit and spreading their word to their zombie viewers. the ego of these people in the media. i hear percentage figures from tthese giants of intellect of who things are, i guess its from his viewers i have never been in a survey. i hope we don't have to go through three years of this.i'm still burnt out from last years praising of the bush era.
Palin and her family are one big joke and not a good one.
More media than protesters? So much for the liberal media.
Also show the fake outrage. Letterman said nothing worse than any other comedian has already said, including other national host. Frankly, I'm surprised he made another apology. He didn't need to. It only continues this non-story of non-national figure. The election is over. Palin deserves no more coverage than any other small state Governor, which is about zero.
A "crowd" of 15 protestors? Wow, that Sarah really has a massive following doesn't she? What a joke she is. Meanwhile Letterman's ratings soared because of her mock outrage.
Miss Ziegler: Obama got elected because people wanted him. Palin was targeted because she is a complete moron.
OMG – they only got 15 protesters? Zeigler said he was expecting 1,000. What a joke the protesters, Zeigler and Palin are!
Palin should b the one apologizing for her slanderous remarks.
she made a small issue into some false accusations that were stirred up in her exploitation of her children.
she should be investigatied for exploiting her children for political and obviously economic gain
Palin go crawl back in that hole u came from
No one cares about u except ..................no one
Thanks for wasting my time. Please go away now.
This Ziegler guy put it all in prospective. Just give them some money and all is fine. Not only does he not have anybody of great numbers to back this protest, but now he wants it financed. They did accomplish what they wnated to do. Get the media involved. Get over it.
Way to go, Zeigler. A city of 8 million people, and you get 15 to protest over a maybe inappropriate joke for which Letterman apologized. Looking at FireLetterman.com, Willow Palin could put together a more intelligent web site, and brains ain't in her genes!
hahahahahahahaha Well I guess she cant use this as an campaign issue–that dog wont hunt, lip stick or not
A dog taking a leak on a fire hydrant would attract a larger group than John "Pimpin for Palin" Ziegler was able to garner in front of Letterman's studios.
When will the media finally ignore this loser?
Hahaha, 15 people? Wow, that's all the media simpleton Ziegler could pull. 15 lousy people? I could randomly organize 16 people right now, from my couch, to protest Zima as an elitest beverage. Failpalooza!
John Zeigler is a bonafide jerk, really. Is he ready to cry or what?
Letterman won't be fired because of the "media's love of David Letterman and the media's distrust and, I believe, hatred of Sarah Palin."
Yikes! What "supporter" talks this way? He sounds like a whiny tweenie. It's embarrassing. The solution to this fiasco? Palin should "fire" Zeigler for his pedestrian slobbering. By the way, the syntax of his film title, "off", just like him.
15 people? Hahahahahaha. David fired for a freakin' joke? Yet Palin keeps her job in the light of Troopergate, aerial killing of wolves, 17k in unpaid taxes, and her husband being a secessionist?!!.
Ziegler....go home and play in your sandbox...LOL!
What a flippin' idiot. The GOP really is the biggest joke in the world. And talk about whiners - geez, could you all please do us all a favor and jump off the nearest bridge? The country and the world would appreciate it.
The right wing gooks (republicans) should pause this time and look at themselves in the mirror and stop lambasting Dave Letterman, as there is another republican espousing family values, none other than a current senator of Nevada, Sen. Ensign, admitting to having an affair with the wife of a close friend. This is outright unacceptable! Yeah, a lawmaker and a lawbreaker!! How about that??? Sarah Palin and her cohorts should shut their stinking mouths for something so petty since this was just a joke made by a comedian! What is unacceptable is a senator suppose to uphold the constitution yet involved in such an immoral behavior!
We LOVE you DAVE !!!
Hey Palin, please go back to Alaska and stay there!
Sad when this is all we have to talk about in America.
Here's a real issue: Young GIs and innocent civilians getting killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Don't blame the media. 65% of us support Obama. The hateful lies about him during the campaign & now is as bad as Letterman's mistake. Forgiveness is the Christian way.
People, its called Free Speech. David Lettermans' job is to poke fun of people. Sarah Palin should have tougher skin if she expects to make it in this world, especially if shes going to run for office again. Go protest and picket a child molestors home, or get a hobby.
The media ain't the only one's who hate Palin. We do not need drama queens like her and sean Hannity running the USA.
This is a shame the man did apologize so move on people please!
more media than activists ??? imagine that.. that's because you knuckleheads in the media MAKE these things into events.. it's like the octomom and casey anthony.. the rest of us couldn't care less about this garbage... there really are stories worth covering out there.. but you idiots insist on wasting countless hours on this drivel.. i'd be so honored to tell people i work in the media.. sometimes, i can't tell the difference between CNN, and People Magazine..
Letterman should have never apologized nor should have had to apologize. Sarah Palin has never apologized to the President of the United States for calling him a "terrorist". She is a JOKE and not even a funny one at that. She uses her children, her celebrity and her backward feminism – everything she has accused others for. Fire David Letterman?? LOL It'll take more than 15 protesters and two crazy bozos like Palin and Ziegler for that to ever happen.
Ha Ha Ha. Funny stuff.
15 people? You got to be kidding! That is all that came to the Rally???
Oh my gawd....go back to church.
Why is CNN giving one second of time towards reporting on John Ziegler. This failed reality show wanna-be tries (pathetically) to make a name for himself by smearing big name show-biz types. He's obsessed with being some sort of celeb himself.
This guy is a pathetic nobody trying to generate publicity for his latest "film" he's making. The more time given to these super-douche hacks, the more of them we are all going to be cursed with in the future.
So Ziegler is a showman trying to get listeners. People don't hate Sarah Palin. They just think she's a doofus. Where's all this hate coming from?Much ado about nothing.
Congratulations Ziegler! You got the participation your bogus event deserved. Find a new target for your hatred.
A crowd of 15!! WOW!! People feel for Letterman in this situation and not crazy Palin! SHE turned it into this big ordeal! A crowd of 15.....I think that says it all! I especially liked how she declined his invatation to be a guest on his show stating that she didn't want to give him a ratings boost. Honey don't flatter yourself, people watch you only to see what assinine thing is gonna spew from your mouth next!
What a waste of time by Ziegler and crew, unless their only intention is to get publicity. They have to realize that all they're doing is boosting Letterman, this will never hurt him (let alone get him fired).
The joke was in bad taste. Letterman apologized. Let it be.
Letterman doesn't really need to do jokes about the Palin family. They're a joke all by themselves.
John Ziegler is an idiot. I can not believe that they are wanting to fire David Letterman over this. He was making a joke about the girl who was already knocked up once. David should have stuck to his guns. After this crap, i hope Sarah wins the Republican Primary so that she can get obliterated by Obama during the general election.
Letterman best days are behind him – he needs to go.
Well, I don't watch Letterman all that often. But I will now.
Really ? Really ? Is this even a story. Come on Cnn there is more important stuff out there than this. I know its a good story to sell but seriously give yourself some respect. Whyare you covering right wing loonies out on the streets ?
Letterman is just another left-wing nut that will say crude things about Republicans. Liberals should be outraged at this too, considering how the Obama children are "off limits" or is there a "double standard."
Hey, Letterman made a bad jock. he apologized. If you don't like it, don't watch his show, don't support him, but move on.