David Letterman, Sarah Palin and the Olive Garden of Earthly Delights

If you thought that the grand media triptych known as the David Letterman/Sarah Palin feud had finally wound down, you were mistaken. Or, maybe you weren't. After telling a series of controversial jokes about Palin's recent visit to New York City, David Letterman found himself the target of criticism from fans and foes of the Alaska governor alike. Letterman attempted an initial, backhanded apology, but Palin's camp was not amused. A second, much more earnest-sounding apology was put forth, even as Letterman mocked the handful of demonstrators who had gathered outside the Ed Sullivan theater to call for his firing. Palin offered her own qualified acceptance of Letterman's new and improved apology, and the story seemed to be over.

Enter the Olive Garden, which, according to a Politico piece published last week, had decided to pull its ads from "The Late Show" in response to the controversy. Sherri Bruen, a guest relations manager at the Olive Garden, issued the following statement explaining the decision:

"We apologize that Mr. Letterman's mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden."'

This apparent victory was trumpeted by Palin supporter and anti-Barack Obama filmmaker, John Ziegler, who sent out an ecstatic e-mail to his fan base:

I wanted to give you some major news about this cause. Despite the media doing their very best to try and diminish our efforts and pretend that the issue is dead, several of the members of this list have received e-mails from "Olive Garden" announcing to them in very strong language that the restaurant chain is pulling their advertising from David Letterman's show for at least the remainder of the year.

The Letterman/Palin feud was also embraced by PUMA, the group that enthusiastically supported Hillary Clinton over Obama in the Democratic Primary. Though that contest was long ago decided, the blog "HillBuzz" soldiers on, and picked up the Letterman story, decrying the talk show host's sponsors as "sexist." HillBuzz PUMAs called for a boycott of each and every "Late Show" sponsor, including Olive Garden.

But not so fast. Richard Jeffers, a spokesman for the company more highly placed (apparently) than Ms. Bruen, denies that Olive Garden ever pulled any ads from Letterman's show:

"Information reported today by Andy Barr of Politico regarding Olive Garden's advertising on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' was erroneous. No authorized spokesperson for the company confirmed the information in his report.

"The Olive Garden media schedule is planned months in advance. The schedule for 'Late Show with David Letterman' was completed earlier this month. We take all guest concerns seriously. And, as always, we will factor those concerns in as we plan our advertising in the future."

So, there may still be hope for those who feel like Letterman and the companies that support him need to be punished. And if Olive Garden does decide to pull future ads, this may prompt a new campaign to boycott the chain from political opponents of Sarah Palin (or will the temptation of breadsticks prove too much?)

Somewhere Hieronymus Bosch is smiling.


David at Paradigms Lost
David on Twitter