Letterman Protest Fizzles; Dave Beats Conan By 700,000 Viewers.

FireDavidLetterman.com and crackpot radio douche John Ziegler really know how to stage a protest!

50 people showed up--in New York City!

Were New York's Finest on horseback, outfitted in riot gear?

From the New York Daily News:

An apology from David Letterman was good enough for Sarah Palin - but not for protesters who demanded the late night host's dismissal Tuesday at a Broadway demonstration.

"Fire Dave! Fire Dave!" the crowd of about 50 protesters chanted as Letterman fans filtered into the Ed Sullivan Theater for the show's taping.

The demonstration came hours after Palin accepted Letterman's Monday night apology for what he described as "a bad joke ... a joke that was beyond flawed."

The governor released a statement saying she accepted the mea culpa "on behalf of all young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve."

(Editor's note: did this evangelical media junkie really use the world, "evolve?" So she doesn't believe that Dave was "intelligently designed," after all.)

Letterman sparked the controversy with a crack about Palin's visit to Yankee Stadium last week. The one-time GOP vice-presidential candidate attended the game with her 14-year-old daughter, Willow.

Letterman - who initially said he was referring to 18-year-old Bristol Palin- said the teen "was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez" during the seventh inning.

Bristol Palin became a single mom in December when she delivered son Tripp.

And Sarah Palin became a national laughingstock in late August, when John McCain picked her as his running mate.

Teabaggers Have Tuesday Off, So Wingnuts Will Protest A TV Comic Instead.

From the New York Daily News:

A Web site called FireDavidLetterman.com is organizing a rally outside Letterman's show at the Ed Sullivantheater on Tuesday June 16 at 4:30 p.m.

And while Letterman has repeatedly reminded viewers his comments were jokes, the campaign's organizers seem dead serious about getting the late-night stalwart canned.

Sponsored by New York State Assemblyman Brian Kolb, along with an attorney and radio host John Ziegler, the site also provides contacts - including major advertisers and CBS bigwigs - to whom people can complain about what many felt was a tasteless and potentially harmful quip by the late night talk leader.

(Editor's note: JackRabbit Café has posted several items regarding outrage-of-the-moment, failed radio hack John Ziegler--here and here--who now seems to act as some sort of de facto Palin media representative. It gets weirder; New York magazine reminds us of the time Ziegler went on that dating show.)

Our l'il helicopter hunter really knows how to pick 'em.

"Firing Mr. Letterman would send a clear message that CBS will not tolerate any of its employees even an established media figure like Mr. Letterman making demeaning and degrading comments about women," Kolb, a Republican from the Western New York state district of Canandaigua, wrote in a letter to CBS chief Les Moonves.

The accompanying Facebook group and an ancillary one have about 1,800 members to date.

"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game," Letterman said, "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

Letterman contends that the outcry over the comment was due at least in part to a misunderstanding.

He had intended the joke to be about Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, 18, who did in fact become pregnant by her then-boyfriend Levi Johnston, when in fact the daughter attending the game was Willow, age 14.

The loudest response from no less than Palin herself, who went on the "Today" show Thursday morning to rant against the comedian.

Hey, Dave: stop apologizing! You are a comedian who made a joke that you say was in bad taste; Palin is a desperate politician from the tundra who'll do or say anything to stay in the news. Just shut up about it and she'll move on to her next manufactured outrage as quickly as you can say, "abstinence."