"If you marry a man who cheats on his wife, you'll be married to a man who cheats on his wife" -- Ann Landers, (American Advice Columnist)
So, David Letterman, the beloved grandfatherly type of late night talk show television fame, openly admitted to a somewhat stunned and mesmerized studio audience and his at home viewers that he had been the victim of a would- be million dollar extortion plot.
The alleged extortionist in this case, "48 Hours" producer Robert Joel Halderman, had won a news Emmy in 2006 for best continuing coverage of a news story for the segment "Hostage" , about Chechen separatist attack on a Russian school. He was nominated in the same category last year.
This indiscreet action on his part Letterman admitted freely, candidly and somewhat glibly on his late night show. I'm sure the melodrama of the event helped to pump up his shows flagging viewer ratings.
Letterman was obviously the biggest loser in the television ratings game when Hugh Grant confessed his sexual shortcomings on Jay Leno's late night show on NBC in the mid-1990's. That bombshell helped Leno surge past Letterman and stay in first place.
The public acknowledgment while delivered in a somewhat somber and sincere style also seemed to contain well rehearsed lines of delivery complete with the obligatory pauses a comedian often uses to help unleash the audiences pent up need to chuckle especially during stressful times.
Letterman's injection of humor into the confession seemed to downplay the seriousness of his actions. He did not appear to feel the least bit guilty of having had the affairs with the female co workers. He seemed more relieved the he had personally broken the story before the extortionist could contact the scandal hungry media machine.
Entertainers, politicians, athletes, clergymen,and other personality types who attract and hold public interest and fascination seem to fall from grace quickly when the less than admirable traits of their personalities float to the surface. Their human side seems to corrode and tarnish that special Teflon covering admirers place around their heroes.
In this instance the drama of it all might even have sparked a renewed interest in Letterman's late night talk show. A mild infusion of midlife playfulness and mayhem might be just what the spin doctor recommended to breathe new life into the low viewer ratings.
In this day and age the issues of marriage fidelity should be discussed privately between husband and wife. This is usually a delicate and highly trying and emotional time for the offended marital partner. Audience participation is not required.
Last night's public admission of guilt did not seem that authentic. He was simply covering his butt for his discovered transgressions. There was a look of relief in his face as he mouthed his hollow words of repentance and involvement.
The viewer wondered if David was mentally calculating the effect this act of contrition would have on his overall viewer ratings. Could there possibly be an Emmy nomination for this?
The Jerry Springer Show at its peak also intentionally threw its audiences deep melodrama, intense human interaction and the thrill of knowing that life is an emotional roller coaster filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, and surprises around the very next corner.
Marriage is still a sacred commitment to another person. It is based on love, trust and mutual respect. How much respect can a man possibly have for his wife when he publicly flaunts his trysts on national television just to increase ratings and save face?
I remain unaffected by whatever Letterman or Leno choose to disclose about themselves. I simply can't stay up that late to watch them. Books are where it's at, man, books!.
I have to admit I've been a Letterman fan for years. His show is one of the few that I've ever viewed as a member of the studio audience (back in 1996 his first year with CBS). I've even had lunch at the Hello Deli. I don't watch his show every night, but probably at least once a week on average.
I don't think he was repentant at all. He had to come clean as soon as the story was breaking, it's too hard for anyone who does a monologue night after night, connecting with an audience, to hide from what everyone is talking about. He did the only thing he could do and admit it.
At the end of the confession, he played up the fact that what he did was "have sex with women" with the insinuation that having sex with women is not that abnormal for a man.
He also made it clear that his wife, with whom he had a child long before they got married, was at one time his employee. This has been common knowledge for a long time. Again I think he was insinuating that what he did was not that abnormal.
I'm sure there is more information yet to come, but the day following the big announcement CBS released a statement that Letterman had never broken company policy. Most big corporations require full disclosure when a superior has such a relationship with a subordinate. If this is CBS's policy, it would mean that his relationships were not hidden nor coercive.
I think the point he was trying to make was that no matter how despicable his actions may have been, they were pretty tame compared to what we're used to seeing from many public figures.
I can appreciate the fact that Letterman was trying to minimize the fact that what he was doing, in today's world of flexible morality, was not really worthy of public condemnation. He may be right.
The point I do argue is that celebrities tend to hide behind a special Teflon coating that immunizes them from the codes of morality and decency and allows them to do them because everyone is doing it to a greater degree than I am!
For the past two evenings the Letterman show has been converted into a public confessional for David. The words he mouths seem insincere and that same mischievous side of his character had floated easily to the surface.
At this stage of the game no one but Letterman and his attorney know the approach they will take before going into trial.
It may be that Letterman had the Seven Year Itch way before its time. Or maybe being married has straightened him out. Only he knows that.
But to misquote Shakespeare, "Methinks ...he doth protest too much."
I guess we can all draw our own conclusions from his cavalier attitude.
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