North Carolina’s Rusty DePass, described as a GOP Activist, came under fire after remarking that an escaped gorilla was probably an ancestor of Michelle Obama. When the remark (posted on Facebook) hit the news, he explained that Michelle Obama, not him, had made the comparison. When news outlets failed to find any supporting evidence of her making such a remark, he issued a waffling attempt at an apology.

At least he didn’t do my favorite thing and try to pass it off as freedom of speech.

David Letterman, meanwhile, delivered a crude joke meaning to have referenced Sarah Palin’s 18-year-old daughter, but it really fell apart when people took it to refer to the 14-year-old daughter, and it just got worse and worse as people talked about it. So Letterman issued a (lengthy!) on-air apology: “But there was a joke that I told, and I thought I was telling it about the older daughter being at Yankee Stadium. And it was kind of a coarse joke. There’s no getting around it, but I never thought it was anybody other than the older daughter… But the joke really, in and of itself, can’t be defended…  I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception.”

Sorry for all the HuffPo links. I got there by watching this Daily Show clip about Iran’s elections, which is a pretty apt summary of the elections there.