Letterman is such a CREEP and HYPOCRIT. He should resign. CBS ADVERTISERS WATCH OUT – we’re going to boycott Late Show advertisers that support this bum. What a disgrace. He’s more upset about having to testify to a grand jury, rather than cheat on his family.
"This morning, I did something I've never done in my life," said Letterman. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury." Boo hoo hoo you self-absorbed IDIOT, what about your wife and coveted son Harry? Please do the right thing Dave and resign or we’re going to ask all sponsors to stop supporting your show, or we’ll stop supporting and buying their products. Adios Cheater.

I think there is mental health counseling available for those that may need it.

Just sayin.......

Well, apparently Mike R has inside info the rest of us aren't privy to know. The article says no time line was given. Probably a set up by the Palin camp. Resign? I think not. But Mike, feel free to quit watching, you probably didn't appreciate his politics or the show anyway.

Maybe he ought to have John Edwards as a guest soon. They could swap stories, and maybe a few phone numbers.

Lets watch him try to cast anymore judgements in the future.

Count me in on the boycott.

Well, on the bright side, they aren't 13 years old.

As with Bill Clinton and any other PUBLIC official, His private life is his private life. I expect Dave to entertain me Monday thru Friday. What he does while he is not entertaing me is none of my or your business. If he sexually harrased his staffers, that's one thing, but if they were willing, it's none of my or your business.

First of all no timeline was released. Did it occurred while single or after he legally got married. I believe he is right in protecting his family and was up front with not only his audience but I'm sure his family was clued before the world.

Get a life people. What Dave does in his private life is none of our business. Give me a break, I expect Dave to entertain me Monday - Friday 11:35 - 12:35. What he does outside those hours is none, I repeat none of our freakin business. You are all such hypocrits. Look in your own closests before looking in his.

I guess the extortion attempt made it public. Not much way to ignore that. What is happening to these people. I can't feel to sorry for them saying they want to protect their family after the fact. Do they know what they are getting into in the first place. Good that the person doing the extortion was caught. I guess that is a positive note.

He's HUMAN. Just like everyone else. Stop holding him, or anyone else in the public eye to a certain standard. He's no worse or any better than anyone else in the world..Just because he's on TV doesn't make him any different. His blood is the same colour as everyone else's.

I think we should give Dave the same level of compassion he would show any others in similar circumstances.

At least we should give David Letterman's family the same amount of compassion that we would want in that circumstance.

Is anyone really surprised? Just another day in reality. This is all to common place these days throughout humankind. probably always has been.

Letterman is a Complete hypocryte Scumbag.I hope he gets sued for SEX Harrasmment

Letterman is an ..., and one of the worst jerks on TV.

The extortionist, if what he knows is fact, could've made more money by writing the screenplay and selling it.

All you who are saying Dave's private life should remain private don't realize HE may have committed crimes. Look at his own words: "A guy is going to write a screenplay about me and he's going to include all the terrible stuff he knows about my life. This guy knows creepy stuff about me."

If he made unwelcome advances on women who were working for him, and they submitted rather than risk losing their job, that is the "civil implications" referred to at the end of the article.

Stay tuned. I like Dave's humor, too... but if he's guilty, he'll pay a heavy price.

Well I think Dave is great - I'm so happy his needs get met! For all the happiness he brings other people, I have no problem for him having happiness. God bless the man, may me continue to be happy, and bring me and our great nation happiness. Amen.

Dave is married to a woman who used to be a producer on his show. Maybe she's one of the women he had sex with. They do have a son. But I don't care who he has sex with as long as the Top 10 List is funny. And since when is a man a "creep" because he has sex with a woman? Lots of people date/have sex with people they work with.

Dave's not a saint. So stop worshipping people on the tube. Find a role model in your own home. Or better yet, be one.

I see the Moralizers are up late tonight. Shouldn't you be busy polishing your halo, Mike? Dave Letterman has been,and probably is still, a sexist, but that makes him no worse than a lot of men. And I too have the feeling that Mike dislikes Letterman's politics more than his sexual behavior. Re: "hypocrites": how many of those "good" Christian preachers have been caught in bed with anything and anyone?! At least Dave doesn't claim to be holier than thou.

Let's not forget that one of the worst sexual harassers was the guy who was in charge of the EEOC, Clarence Thomas, and he now sits on the Supreme Court, thanks to Republicans.

Gee, who'd thought that Dave had a sex life almost as colorful as Madonna's! Well, at least no one has accused her of sexual harrassment yet.

Eeewww. I never liked him and now I like him even less.

I'm actually a long-time David Letterman fan versus Leno, but I've kinda fallen off the wagon in recent years.

I intend to give Dave the same amount of compassion that Dave gave Sarah Palin's mentally challenged child and her underaged child who supposedly had sex at Yankee Stadium with an MLB player according to Dave.

The only way I can describe my level of compassion for Letterman is this way in probably the only terms he'd really understand...

Karma baby, it's a .....!

Or for smarter people... You reap what you sow.

The tangled webs we weave.

Regarding the Clarence Thomas comment.......

I can't even believe some complete idiot made such a comparison.

Big difference between David Letterman and Clarence Thomas. Why? ....

There was no court case there, nor any charges, nor any grand jury, nor any crime ever filed, charged or proved, nor any lawsuit whatsoever against Clarence Thomas nor did Thomas have to testify in a grand jury nor was it ever suggested he even had sex with that employee!

Why do left-wing nutjobs keep making ridiculous comparisons like this up?

What's next? Tribune and The Washington Post start defending child rapist Roman Polanski?

Oh WAIT, that ALREADY HAPPENED! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

If only I were making THAT up. Geez, what a world of nutjobs we live in today. :-(

And you wonder why circulation is down? Many newspapers keep getting the answer to that dilemma. They just don't want to listen to the message.

Honestly - I am not surprised at all by this. This is as common as breathing and eating these days! And I honestly don't need to know anything about Mr Letterman's private life. Next subject please.......

The best defense is a good offence. At lease Dave admits what he's done which takes the majority of its impact away when the sorry details emerge!

I was a big fan of Letterman back in college during the 80's. Now he's such a mean spirited partisan hack worthy of MSNBC.

I miss the old funny Dave.

Basically, it is between Mr Letterman and God. I wonder what the chances of these affairs would be if Mr Letterman wasnt famous with money? Probably zero. That says two things. It is easy for people to get hung up on fame and money and it is something that the media wants us to pay attention to because they make money off of it. The idea is to not get too involved in it and to be the best person we can be with God instead. One of the best things any president can do is to encourage parents to turn off the tv all summer and to instead encourage them to spend quality time with their children.

I wonder if Mike R was just as angry about O'Reilly's exploits, which were, after all, very very creepy.

I cannot stand Letterman...never found him funny and think he is a liberal turd. That aside I am glad this has worked out for him. No one deserves extortion.

I applaud him for turning the extortionist in. He could have easily paid him off (he wouldn't miss $2 mil) and not have to expose himself to all of this.

RFG - I consider myself a liberal Democrat who must disgree with you about Clinton. Yes, his personal life was his own, until he lied under oath about his affair with Lewinsky. Letter should have practice the rule of no relationships with subordinates.

This was interesting, Al Roker did an interview with Dan Abrams and two other people on the Today show about David Letterman. They said this may actually help his career because he gave full disclosure and he was a victin of extortion. Most of his audience thought it was a joke when he revealed it on his show. If none of the women come forward and they were all consenting this may end up being good for him they said. But, there could be civil suits. One of the relationships happended at least two years ago. What is wrong with this picture? I guess goes to show you where we are as a society. I know, I know it has happened before. Something similar even took our church down, divided it right in half. Still, what is wrong with this picture???

Wow .. Letterman's probably the first and surely the last celebrity to have had an affair. And just as surely, they are all men as female celebrities would never engage in such actions. It may not be right but it's probably happening as I type this. Who cares as long as they are both consenting adults and it doesn't impact me? It's their conscience.

Now we know why Letterman is always attacking conservatives with traditional family values like Sarah Palin and John McCain. He's just another rich philandering liberal who can't keep his zipper or mouth closed.

Good for him.

The only way to combat a blackmailer is to take the power away from them.

Hey Mel, I am HUMAN too, what's your wife, mother, or daughter doing tonight? Get It! Being HUMAN does not mean you break up marriages and families to satisfy you sexual desires. Of course this assumes you are normal with a normal family life, which probably does not apply to such a liberal thinker as you. Have your wife call me.

David Letterman is all over the place. Being discussed right now on Hoda and Kathy Lee. I am learning more than I ever wanted to know. I thing this crosses all kinds of lines of behavior in the workplace and lines being possibly crossed. After all he was in charge, a boss if you will. The burning question seems to be what will the women have to say. His wife was also employed on the show. I know where our church stands on these issues, but where does society stand. It will be interesting to see where the commentors come from.

I have to run, I'll be back. I think Taco Bell is calling.

Joe Fab says: "There was no court case there, nor any charges, nor any grand jury, nor any crime ever filed," -- right; he was only testifying in front of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. No big deal for a potential Supreme, right? Nor for you, either. There was tons of evidence. But the cowards wouldn't let half of the other women testify who made the same charges. Instead, they pilloried Anita Hill and tried to claim she was nuts. Convenient.

btw: in case you haven't noticed, about Letterman: "There was no court case there, nor any charges, nor any grand jury, nor any crime ever filed, charged or proved, nor any lawsuit"--against him either.--I notice you didn't try and disprove my remark about the sex-crazed Christian ministers who do whatever they want, and they cry about it on tv, when someone catches them.

I am a longtime Letterman fan. (Since the 1970s.) There are a lot of things as a viewer/fan I can overlook. But, I don't like sexual harassment. I don't like it when bosses make it difficult for their employees to get in and out of work without being miserable. And I don't like it when people are hypocritcal.

Letterman's behavior was sexual harassment, pure and simple. At a minimum, hostile work environment. Certainly plausible that it's quid pro quo as well. That it was brought to light by an extortion attempt doesn't excuse the behavior. That Letterman portrayed himself as the victim of the ramifications of his rotten behavior is inexcusable. And that he continues to make jokes about the same behavior by Clinton, Madonna, John Edwards, etc. WHEN HE'S DOING THE EXACT SAME THING is hypocrisy at it's worst.

Again, until yesterday I was a huge Letterman fan. And, his politics in general don't matter to me. But, he's lost me with this one. Time for CBS to cut him loose.

Why didn't he just deny it like Clinton did?

Letterman's wife has been his wife for 6 months. We don't know when these sexual encounters occured. We don't know what type of relationship he had with his current wife before marriage. It may have been an "open." I have my doubts. Letterman called his actions "creepy." But nevertheless, we don't know. So let's not condemn the man based on assumptions. You know what they say about assuming.

Just wait: Somehow he will try to blame this mess he has gotten himself into on Sarah Palin. What a jerk!

Karma is a funny thing...

Why go to a bar a pick up chicks? Get a job where you are the big man and then sleep with your staff, if they complain fire 'em. Forget the glass ceiling - all you need is a comfy couch. You don't want those women to get a bad back and have to use health insurance.

If women groups are okay with this...then tell Gloria Steinem to get me a cup of coffee and bake me a pie.

Honestly, how many of the women that worked for him felt they could object/complain and keep their job? He is just like the jerk CEO that take advantage of those without power.

If what Sherry T. (above) says is correct; "One of the relationships happended at least two years ago," one has to wonder how his wife, Lesko, will take this.

She and Dave have been living together for 23 years, so she could consider this as cheating.

And divorce him and take him to the cleaners.

For anyone here who is a fan of his show, it is being reported on other sites that one of the women he had an affair with is Stephanie (Birkitt).

I don't watch Letterman but based on this blog it seems like he's had some very political interviews the past 18 months. In this political environment and with the terrible state of journalism and mass media, he will be blasted and disregarded any time he touches upon something political in the future.

Whatever comes out from here on, his credibility is gone.

Letterman should have kept his World Wide Pants zipped.

Maybe 'cause I knew ahead of time (thanks to Z.s earlier heads-up) what David Letterman's 'punch-line' to last night's surprising, odd, on-air 'confessional' would be, i.e., that he was going to admit to having sexual relations w/ at least two female staffers, made his half-jokey/ half-serious explanation up till his final far-out revelation very "creepy" in itself, aside from his self-confessed "creepy stuff I've done" refrain.

To me, and to many other viewers I'm sure, there seemed to be an awkward disconnect between the inherent gravity of his halting, detailed explanation, and the giggly audience reaction , until finally when having exposed the dirty deed(s), a palpable hush came over the studio-audience, who up until that point seemed to think Dave was merely joshing, and the whole plodding, Kafkaesque explication was all a kind of clever Andy Kaufman-like faux-comedy-verite put-on.

Instead of starting out w/ the whole CSI-ish intrigue of finding the bag and note in the back seat of his car at 6:30 AM three weeks ago, I feel it would have been better (but maybe more painful) to have just come right out and matter-of-factly stated that he had had sex w/ female staffers dating back to so-and-so year, in a serious, non-joking, forthright manner.

Immediately, the audience would clue into the fact that this was no laughing matter , and THEN he could have proceeded to outline the whole extortion plot, the Grand Jury scenario, the sting operation, and finally the perp's ultimate arrest.

Letterman probably talked for almost ten solid minutes before he told America and his in-studio audience what "the creepy stuff" was that he was guilty of doing, yet by giving off mixed vibes (serious, then jokey) about the whole 'affair' along the way, until he finally spilled the beans about his sexual escapades, at the very end, to me really came off as slightly disingenuous to his viewers, who deserved better.

After Dave's shocking 'punch-line' revelation, and attempting a kind of perfunctory tying up of loose-ends, like any seasoned comic , he quickly moved on to other business, awkwardly cutting to commercial, hoping the dust would settle.

Unfortunately for Dave, there appear to be many 'loose-ends' dangling in this seedy 'affair', one being the implied possibility of allegations of in-house work-place sexual harassment of employees, which cable T.V. legal analyst Lisa Bloom was quick to point out, in her CNN(?) interview yesterday afternoon, almost seeming to be smacking her lips in gleeful anticipation of more trouble for Letterman down the road. (Bloom is the daughter of high-profile attorney/ celeb, Gloria Alred, so I guess the 'mean-gene' runs in the family. HA!)

I imagine if the confessed extracurricular sexual liaisons were consensual in nature, by all parties involved, there would be little, if any grounds for a viable legal case against Letterman. However on the home-front it does look like a rather dicey scenario for the veteran late-night comedian/ talk-show host going forward. As many fans know, he's been in a (hopefully) consensual common-law/ live-in relationship w/ one of his former "Late Night" producers, Regina Lasko, since 1986. They had finally tied the proverbial knot in March of this year, and together have a son, Harry, almost six years of age. Hardly a pretty picture on the domestic front, folks.

But as some astute blogger has pointed out, maybe SHE (Lasko) is one of the fellow (female) employees that he had had sex with, yet I gather more than one individual was involved. No, you pervs, I'm not implying a threesome. Dah.

I wonder if it had been disclosed that Dave had been carrying on w/ a male staff member, a gay tryst as it were, whether that revelation would have been an even bigger bombshell? Just asking.

Can you fathom how Dave's poor, sweet, 80+-year old, mom back in Hoosier-Land (dare I say hoser-land, in light of current events) is feeling about now...... bless her heart?

Knowing her frank, out-spoken, mid-Western character, she'd likely admonish her naughty boy w/ "Son, can't you keep it in your pants, for God's sake?"

I guess it was only a matter of time before something sleazy like this would surface w/ the on-air master of the sexual double-entendre, Dave Letterman. After all, he DID graduate from Ball State. (Weak pun intended)

That's all (for now) folks!

ALEX

If he wasn't married when he had sex with these women what is the problem?

As long as it was censual its no ones business. Geez, the whinning and judgmental people on her are the worst.

David,

I thought you don't tolerate name-calling on your blog. So how about cleaning up Gina's "liberal turd" comment?

ALEX,
No fair with the inside information. But, you made some good points. I do think him posing it as a joke to the audience was in bad taste. It did make him seem way less credible to me. Does he even really take any of this seriously. What he did to Palin's daughter was not funny even as a joke. Guess he and his family have to live with the consequences of this now. Maybe a divorce is in his future?

I stopped watching Letterman long ago for two reasons. 1) somebody lets Paul Shaffer have a mich. 2) the old stupid jokes about Pres. Bush. Oboma is now prez. He's on tv more then Pres. Bush in 8 years. Oboma seems to be watching a tennis match. As for Letterman, busted! Now Letterman can be the butt of jokes on Saturday Night Live, and other late night talk show hosts, and youtube. Get him guys!

Come on.

If it was with someone before he was married - he would have said that.

If it was only a one time thing, he wouldn't have said "stafferS."

And he didn't come clean until someone wanted money from him.

He is a ...

Why do married men love single women? But why do single women think its okay to sleep with married men?

LETTERMAN rofl. Not at your jokes, but you're busted, now YOUR the butt of S.N.L., and other talk show hosts. Get him Leno!

As most people would agree, what goes around comes around...he had major ... treating Sarah Palin's daughter in such a rude, crude fashion while committing work place sexual harrasment with his subordinates.....still not sure what sex the subordinates where.....

David was never funny....even less now
What's even creepier is that his loyal audience continued to giggle throughout the whole confession....these are the very people that put this man in power...These late night hosts are becoming very tiresom...can't our television stations break away from these boring shows and give mainstrean Amrica something better? Enough idolizing these characters...these talk shows are so shallow...

I love the folks who say what he does in his private life is his business. The reason there are laws against managers having sex with subordinates because it protects them from predators. This is no different than protecting the underage from adults, but these are the same people who are probably defending Roman Polanski. Maybe if it were their child they would think differently, like Monica Lewinsky's parents.

you people are forgetting that none of the women dave had relations with ever came forward or threatened to blackmail him or any of that nonsense. if they don't have a problem with it, why do you?

oh right, here in america there can be no such thing as guilt free sex unless it's between a married man and his wife.

it's insulting to not only these women but all women to say he must have used his position to get in their pants. because of course women are dumb creatures who can't make reasonable decisions but will follow or do anything a man says if he has enough money or power over them. please.

let's stay focused on the crime here. extortion. until evidence comes out otherwise, this is consenting adults having consentual sex and an outside party trying to profit from it.

Hi, Thanks for the comment. I am surprised by this kind of defense of what Letterman did. This is about power and control, and trying to invert the discourse to say people who rightfully criticize Letterman are somehow "insulting" the women won't change that. Thanks. Z

z, i appreciate your response to my response.

you obviously feel strongly that employees and their supervisors should under no cirumstances be allowed to have any sort of relationships that are anything but professional.

i disagree. they're both consenting adults, i don't see a problem with it, except for the infidelity aspect.

now, z, if it comes out that letterman forced these staffers into situations they didn't want to be in, if it comes out that he manipulated them or threatened their jobs if they didn't do what he wanted, if it comes out that this was anything more than two adults having an affair, i will send you the biggest e-pology since al gore invented the internet.

mikeman, you're kind of missing the point.

It's not always so cut-and-dried as "if he forced these staffers..." or ..."threatened their jobs."

It's all just speculation now, but it could be that the women who said "no" were never promoted... or had their hours cut. Maybe his involvement(s) created a hostile work environment.

That's nothing being forced, but it's just as threatening. It could happen to you on your job if you had a woman supervisor. I'm sure you can understand.

I don't really see the point of speculating that there was harassment here. If someone alleges that, then o.k. I suppose it might be interesting to some people.
But beyond that, I'm not sure Dave is even all that embarrassed by it. He said "It might be embarrassing to the women if it came out". Eh, if we looked deeper into it, I'd bet that Dave's more the rule than the exception- Especially considering he's been single the large part of his career.

jingtoon, that is my point. you have to say "maybe" his actions created a hostile work environment. "it could be" that the women who said no never got promoted. you sound like a foxnews legal analyst (buh dum ching). making moral judgments about two consenting adults having sex based on speculation isn't right, and that's what's going on here.

all we know is letterman admitted to sleeping with staff members. now if you, like z, believe that a superior shouldn't fraternize with underlings under any circumstances, that's fine. i happen to disagree.

my point is let's wait until the facts come out before we start condemning the victim of an extortion attempt.

I don't care for Letterman, but I wouldn't wish extortion like this on anyone. However, if you wallow with pigs, you are likely to get dirty.

Letterman Karma matches his humor, SICK !

Extortion is a serious crime, having sexual relationships with women is not. When exactly did we as a nation become so morally indignant? He's not a politician or church leader. It does not sound like his actions were anything but consensual. I think we would be best-served to save our moral outrage for people who put themselves on a pedestal in the first place.

Hi Suzi J: Thank you for your comment. You always offer great ones, and I appreciate it. But I have to say I am suprised that you and other readers think it is OK for a boss to have sex with employees. Doesn't the power imbalance and the potential the boss has to hinder or further a subordinate's career trouble you? Maybe I am the opne who is off base here, but I have never seen such a relationship end happily -- and I have often seen them spell disaster for promising careers. And I think it is an especially dangerous situation for young women in the workplace as regards their older male supervisors. Z

Letterman a hypocrite? Bill O'Reilly lectures America on morality every night, and what did he do? Paid 12 million to make his sexual harassment case go away...

mikeman, you seem a little quick to judge me. That's fine... I think I know where that's coming from.

I'm not condemning Letterman, but he should know these situations are usually forbidden in workplace policy manuals. CBS is saying Dave didn't violate any of their policies, so that is a checkmark in his favor at this point.

Back to what I was referring to, I realize there can be workplace relationships that work out VERY well, but I guarantee that if you talk about this to several people who are in management, they will tell you that when it is the boss and an employee, even if it is consensual and begins well, these relationships are fraught with pitfalls and usually end messily and sometimes with terrible consequences for both parties, and many times, for the company, too. That is why they are usually against policy.

As I said, we are all speculating the unknown edges of this at this point... I was just pointing out that employees can feel pressure even when some may think none has occurred.

Is the statement Sneeky pete saying true?

Z - I can't speak for other readers, but I'm by no means saying it's a good idea for a boss to sleep with his or her employees. You're absolutely right - the inbalanced power of the involved parties and the potential for future career repercussions (not to mention the waste of company resources!) make it a bad idea and I support companies that discourage office romances. That said, unless there are elements of sexual harrassment that have not been disclosed to the public, this seems a situation that CBS should be upset about, not the viewers. And maybe it's my rather twisted sense of gender equality, but maybe he was sleeping with Samantha from Sex & The City and he's been the one feeling used... :)

Hi Suzi J: I see what you are saying, and take your point. Yes, I think it is a matter for CBS, and I have not even waded into the discussion of what this says about the culture within CBS that lots of people seemed to know about Letterman, and no one said anything. Oh, and by the way, this CBS News producer is a blackmailer. But you are absolutely right about elements of sexual harrassment NOT being yet disclosed. Thanks. Z

Z, You know what maybe I see this as a bad thing because I have seen it happen and it was not good. One of the first jobs I had when I was working part-time and going to college. A boss at this particular place used his position and job title. It was just talk, but it was harassing and one girl finally filed sexual harrassment charges. He was moved to another company affiliate, but did not lose his job. At least she turned him in, but that is the problem people have I think they don't want to lose a job etc. We should have all stood behind this girl. It is just a bad thing in a company setting.

... What Dave does is his business. I applaud him for coming clean. And if someone wanted to ruin Dave they shouldn't have tried to extort money. Boycott? I think not. Get a frickin life people. If you don't like the guy there are a few hundred channels of other crap to choose from. Dave you did alright by me.

Hello, I deleted your first sentence because it violated the rules of civility for this blog. I don't publish words intended to insult others. You want to insult me, fine. But not other commenter -- and especially not with language intended to deingrate groups of people. Z

Letterman is fine; he never was the “Family Values” type. Yes, he probably cheated on his girlfriend now wife. But at least he does go around claiming he is Mr. “Family Values” like some of our politicians (can you just see the grin on all “Fake News” reporters/commentators and Palin’s fringe). This has been a tough summer, for Dave, for our economy but at least he did not end up on the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC).

He didn't break the law, if he cheated on his wife (then girlfriend), well welcome to the rest of people getting divorced.

Yes cheating isn't right but it happens everyday..

For starters, there are no laws against bosses fooling around with subordinates. A sexual harassment suit would be a civil case, not criminal. If the subs want to sue, they can and a jury can figure out if an award for damages is appropriate.

If, as is very possible (see e.g. Monica Lewinsky), the relations were consensual, then Dave is only guilty of cheating on his wife. That is not a good thing but really none of YOUR business. If he violated CBS policy, then CBS can punish him if they think they should. End of story.

Z and Jingtoon speculate that "it is about power and control." Why so sure? A subordinate can be attracted to a boss, and vice versa, without some inevitable coercive pressure. Maybe the women liked Dave's talent, maybe they were drawn to his success and yes his power. Is that automatically wrong? Of course not. It is part of the dynamic of personal attraction. Did Dave USE his power to coerce these women into compliance? Nothing out there yet suggests that he did (other than the backstory you are writing in your own mind) so you shouldn't go there without a shred of supporting evidence. Still you do...

Many of the posters here seem willing to add a lot of speculative color to the story (glass ceilings, casting couches, they'd be fired if they didn't give in) or bring their own baggage to the analysis (see comments re: CEOs, Sarah Palin and right-wing Christians). To me, those comments say more about the poster's issues than Dave's.

I for one think it's great that Dave put it out there on national TV just like he did. Dave says "here it is, I'm filling you in because you're my audience and it's only fair to let you know, but in the end it's my business (personal for sure, maybe professional and legal) and I'm dealing with it... now, on with the show...." Regarding his Palin comments and karma, you guys wring your hands over it and call him a hypocrite, but lighten up, he's a comedian and satirist. He's entitled to his flaws just like those people who are the butts of his jokes are entitled to theirs. If he whines about being the butt of jokes, that makes him a hypocrite. If he's willing to take his medicine in the form of jokes about him now (as I suspect he will be) then he is not a hypocrite at all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Dave joked about it self-deprecatingly in the future. Dave's no hero, but as far as I can see, he's no villain either.

From a TV perspective, late night without Letterman would be a much duller TV time than it already is. Here's hoping Dave soldiers on.

" Letterman, you are a hypocrite." Your liberal runts against Palin and others went over the roof with sheer lies. Why? you won't do that to Obama or his wife and children. You are a plain ugly man. I'm glad you are now in some kind of hot water and this goes to all your co-workers of the same mindset. I hope the end of your career just lands flat down on earth. Not an inch of the great "Carson" is seen on you. BTW, your secret love lair/ harem/bunker has just been discovered (atop the CBS bldg.). You used to be funny ---- not anymore.

Eva should check some of her baggage before boarding this blog.

Eva,

Maybe "the great Carson" was more like the plain ugly man than you know (according to his ex-wife in People magazine anyway):

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20117582,00.html

I love the "secret love lair/harem/bunker" comment. That's a place I'd like to see on a tour of the CBS building.

Eva, it sounds like you might hate Dave's liberal runts (another great one) more than Dave's infidelity. If so, your outrage at his personal transgressions is a little contrived and a mere mask for the base political vitriol that has taken over social dialogue in the past quarter century.

i do not understand what have ever been so great about the David Lettermen show. He talks from a script that has been given to him, throws his note all over the floor and he has a band that makes this all seem grand. His top 10 list is fake written by someone else. He makes huges bucks and now wants our sympathy because he slept around. The only thing good about the Dave Lettermen show is his band. If he was off the air tomorrow would not miss him on bit.