By the time you read this, Letterman's public admission, about an hour ago — of having had sex with several staffers (and subsequent extortion) — will be old news.

Yet how many times has Letterman attacked people (well, those he disagrees with politically, anyway) for being sexually immoral? How many times has he, for example, slammed Sarah Palin's daughter for having had sex before marriage? Or slammed some politician for failing to keep his marriage vows?

And now, I suppose, we know why Letterman saw Sarah Palin, a woman who has apparently been unfailingly faithful to her husband, as "a slutty airline stewardess."

The traditional Hollywood image of a movie "hypocrite" often looks like this: An irritating, bible-thumping preacher or other Christian, who screams about the evils of sex even while lewdly forcing himself upon any woman (or better, child!) stupid enough to fall for his phony moral front.

Yet real-life hypocrites often look more like the screenwriter or director behind that stereotype — a guy who's undoubtedly "moral" because he hates all the right people (Christians, Republicans, etc.) but who'd as gladly exploit any actress as the villains he depicts. But he's better because he at least doesn't pretend to be moral! (All while condemning his opponents for being so much less moral than he.)

Before we move on, note that Letterman's situation matches this precisely: Do you think it was just one or two staffers? That Letterman hadn't been doing this for years or decades? Unlike Bristol Palin, he was apparently sleeping around with several people — people he obviously wasn't in head over heels love with — while married to someone else. Nor was Bristol using her power as as an employer to get sex from her subordinates, as Letterman was.

I'm not saying this to gratuitously bash David Letterman. (Not at all: who knows how I'd do, if I were in his shoes?) In honesty, I feel as bad for him and his wife as I felt for the Palin family, or any of other people he hated and belittled publicly. My sympathy goes out to both of them, as well as any staffers who might also be publicly humiliated (and/or lose their jobs) over this. It's a painful and sad thing.

I just wish he'd be as respectful of the moral frailty of others as he undoubtedly wishes now we'd be of his.

Particularly given what he was doing while mocking them.

Hypocrisy isn't failing to live up to one's own standards. We all fail in that way. (And anyone who's ever criticized someone else has standards, whether they admit it or not.) Hypocrisy is viciously belittling a person or class of people you hate for the very things you privately approve and do.

God help and forgive us all.