Never mind that McCain once said, “”Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.” Republicans have decided that jokes about their kids aren’t OK (to be fair, Obama agrees). As such, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s recent response to a Letterman quip about her daughter was barbed and undeniably inflamed (despite not knowing the difference between being “knocked up” and sexually assaulted). While the nature of the joke itself is up for debate depending of which daughter you decide it was referring to, one can’t help but wonder: after months upon months as a figure of constant public ridicule, shouldn’t Palin have developed a thicker skin? After the jump, a selected timeline of other Palin-related incidents that have begged apologies from public figures.
September 10, 2008 Obama’s camp OKs the infamous “lipstick on a pig” joke, which while a common expression, is taken as an accusation that Palin herself is an animal.
September 20th, 2008 SNL performs a skit intimating that Palin’s husband, Todd, commits incest.
September 19, 2008 As part of a larger commentary on race in America, stage performer and provocateur Sandra Bernhard says that if she comes to New York, Palin will be “gang-raped by my big black brothers.”
October 2008 – December 2008 Show alumnus Tina Fey sends up Palin on SNL in a series of widely-celebrated appearances. The lambasting culminates with an appearance by Palin herself, who is mercilessly mocked while attempting to appear in on the joke.
Oct 20, 2008 In a show about WWII Germany, Family Guy portrays a group of Nazis wearing McCain/Palin campaign buttons.
Nov 1, 2008 A group of Canadian comedians get Palin on the phone and convince her she’s talking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
March 24, 2009 Gov. Jennifer Granholm says Palin “really set back the cause of hot governors.”
May 9, 2009 At the White House Correspondents dinner, comedian Wanda Sykes says that Palin was supposed to make an appearance but she pulled out at the last minute, following “Somebody should tell her that’s not really how you practice abstinence.”
June 9, 2009 David Letterman calls Palin a “slutty stewardess” and implies that her daughter had sex with A-Rod.
There are plenty more outrages out there, so chime in if we’re forgetting anything important.