Letterman vs. Palin: This is officially getting ridiculous

Fire David Letterman! That is the rallying cry of a web site and Facebook group that is trying to get CBS to ax the host due to his comments about Sarah Palin's daughter.

The site says, "David Letterman Must Held Be Accountable For His Disgraceful Statements. 62 Year Old Letterman Violates Common Decency With Sexist Insults of 14 Year Old Girl." There's also a list of "Late Show" advertisers (so you can write to them and demand they pull their ads from Letterman's show).

According to the New York Daily News, one of the organizers of the group is New York State Assembly member Brian Kolb, whose web site features the following quote from Samuel Adams: "It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." "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 wrote to CBS' Les Moonves.

The group plans to rally outside the Ed Sullivan Theater tomorrow at 4:30 PM.

Talk Show News recommends James Hibberd's essay about the controversy. Here's a sample:

...The way Palin has managed to turn Letterman’s jokes into an increasingly dramatic media spectacle centered around her underage daughter’s sexual well being is so icky — an opportunistic overreaction that would seem more damaging to her teen’s self-esteem than the original joke.

Palin called Letterman "sexually perverted" and “inappropriate" on Fox News and, in a response to an invitation by Letterman to come on his show, her office replied: “It would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman” — all stunningly upping the ante by suggesting the veteran host should now be considered some kind of sex offender.

One expects a late-night host to sometimes cross the line of good taste when making jokes. One doesn't expect the governor -- a political leader taken seriously by millions -- to respond by accusing the comedian of personally having criminal intentions.

If any Talk Show News readers happen to be in the vicinity of the Ed Sullivan Theater tomorrow afternoon (hopefully not as part of the rally), please send us a report.