(Check the update at the bottom of this story. Bristol may have accidentally tipped us off as to the intentions of her mother.)
You know what a true insult from comedian Don Rickles would be? It would be if you appeared on a stage with Rickles and did NOT receive an "insult" from the "Merchant of Venom."
However, many media websites seem to be unaware of Rickles' stock in trade. They are crowing over the fact that they believe Don Rickles delivered serious insults to Bristol and Sarah Palin during a visit of the former to the Tonight Show last Thursday where the comedian was one of the guests. As you can see in this video (and below the fold), Rickles "insults" were relatively mild compared to the zingers he directed towards President Ronald Reagan on stage during his second inauguration in 1985. And the reaction from The Gipper was sheer delight at the "insults."
Yet here we have such sites as Raw Story and andPOP taking the Rickles insults as if they were some sort of serious political commentary. Raw Story leads off with a headline that could also describe a Rickles encounter with anybody on a stage: "Don Rickles makes fun of Bristol Palin to her face."
During last night’s broadcast of The Tonight Show with NBC host Jay Leno, comedian Don Rickles made for an unexpectedly hilarious interview with Bristol Palin, daughter of the former Alaska governor.
"Unexpectedly hilarious interview?" Sorry Raw Story but that is just what we do expect from any Rickles appearance. What would be unexpected would be the LACK of any comedic insults. Raw Story can't shake the notion that Rickles is making some sort of political commentary as you can see as they continue in this vein:
When Palin admitted to Leno that her mother did not know how she’d lost her virginity — and then described it — Rickles seemed to laugh out loud and wave his hands, making the sign of the cross as if he were horrified.
Then, when Leno asked Palin whether her mother has decided to run for the presidency, Rickles interjected, “She could lose,” drawing a wave of laughter from the crowd.
The andPOP site also seems completely unaware of Don Rickles shtick:
Talk about a PR nightmare. Bristol Palin paid a visit to The Tonight Show last night to plug her new memoir. However the conversation took a turn to discuss Sarah Palin.
Leno asked Bristol if her Mom was going to run for President, and whether there are reasons she shouldn’t run. Good old Don Rickles piped in and said, ”‘Cause she could lose!” The crowd erupted in cheer and laughter.
Sorry, andPop, but a real PR nightmare would be if Don Rickles made no insults. You can see where andPOP is coming from in their bitterly sarcastic attempt at humor in stark contrast to Rickles:
This was probably not the appearance Bristol had in mind. And it’s a shame as we are sure her memoir is a literary masterpiece that deserved attention.
And it's a shame that andPOP couldn't shake its own bias and realize that Don Rickles "insults" everybody including Ronald Reagan in this hilarious video from his second inaugural show.
As you can see, it was The Gipper who was laughing the loudest at the "insults" directed at him.
UPDATE: Did Bristol accidentally let the cat out of the bag at about the 3 minute mark of her interview video when Jay Leno asked if she thinks her mother would be a good president and Bristol replied: "Yeah, I think she WILL."
(H/T: jsdjason at the Free Republic.)
