Can Dave Letterman Survive the Scandal?

Suddenly the joke's on Letterman. Can he survive better than the pols he's skewered?

Illustration by Francisco Caceres for Time

Apologies are becoming as much a part of Late Show with David Letterman as Top 10 lists. In June the host apologized, twice , for joking about one of Sarah Palin's daughters getting " knocked up ." On Oct. 1, Letterman, prompted by a failed blackmail attempt , revealed that he had had sex with female employees . He followed up two shows later with a sober apology to his wife. And for good measure, he joked, "once again I'd like to apologize to the former governor of Alaska."

Letterman took heat — when Howard Stern is criticizing...

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