So McCain finally broke down and reappeared on Letterman in lieu of his bugging out of the last one to be interviewed by Katie Couric. He begged forgiveness in as dignified a manner as a Presidential candidate could. Letterman responded by ripping him a new one, deservedly so.The hypocrisy of skipping out on an interview to supposedly fix the economy but end up on ANOTHER interview show deserves at least a few snide remarks.
But, all feuds must end otherwise the public tires of them. This happened on Letterman last night.
McCain was in full political mode. On a positive note, he took the ribbing from Letterman with grace and dignity. I think if McCain acted in such a manner during the debates, he might be doing better in the polls. Perhaps Letterman should have been the moderator at one of the debates.
Letterman, on the other hand, went after McCain with a vengeance. He called him on such topics as Palin's inexperience, Republican attempts to associate Obama with terrorism via William Ayers and McCain's association with G. Gordon Liddy. The interview makes me wonder if Letterman has liberal leanings or would he have been similarly harsh to Obama under the same circumstances.
Letterman has always been great at calling guests on their crap, whether it's a presidential candidate or cast member of The Hills. This interview is no exception and is fun to watch.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-17-2008 @ 10:13AM
const said...
all Dave was missing was a Obama '08 button on his lapel.
If only Dave held EVERYONE's feet to the fire. He's pretty darn soft on the dems.
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10-17-2008 @ 10:21AM
mayorjimmy said...
Looks like baby got his bottle. It took a few weeks of crying but Letterman got his way.
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10-17-2008 @ 10:26AM
No1Dad said...
"Letterman has always been great at calling Republicans on their crap"
Fixed your sentence, Brad.
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10-17-2008 @ 10:38AM
chrissthomas said...
Does Letterman have liberal leanings? Did you really have to ask that question? Of course he does! If you want proof just go through all his jokes for the last year and try to find any about Obama.
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10-17-2008 @ 10:33AM
R-Bro said...
Glad to finally see someone call McCain on his b.s.
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10-17-2008 @ 10:41AM
Craig said...
There wasn't a single question that was out of line.
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10-17-2008 @ 2:16PM
taxedToDeath said...
It isn't that the questions to McCain are out of line. It's just that these questions are never asked of Democrats. With Obama we get such hard hitting questions as "What is your favorite color" or "Who does the dishes in your household?"
10-17-2008 @ 10:34AM
Jimmy said...
"This interview is no exception and is fun to watch."
No, it wasn't. I have been an avid Letterman viewer and fan for nearly 20 years, and his handling of the McCain situation these last few weeks has totally turned me off.
Letterman spoke over McCain half the night, hardly giving him a chance to answer his questions. When McCain was able to get a word in edgewise, Letterman just looked smug and disappointed.
Do I agree with McCain "suspending his campaign" and appearing on CBS News after jilting Letterman? No, but I do buy McCain's argument that "it wasn't a night for comedy." Letterman needs to get over it. His shows lately are biased almost to the point of being unwatchable.
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10-17-2008 @ 11:28AM
Bas said...
Evidently, Jimmy and I weren't watching the same program. I thought McCain took the ribbing he knew he was going to get very good-naturedlly. Over the years, Letterman has had McCain on a lot - more than he has ever had any other senator by far. Frankly, I thought McCain last night was being more of who he really is than he has been since the GOP convention. If we saw more of this McCain rather than the stiff, angry McCain of his rallies, commercials, and debates, he might even be leading in the polls.
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10-17-2008 @ 11:37AM
Jimmy said...
I didn't say anything about how McCain fared. I agree; I think he took his medicine. It was Dave who acted like an ass, and McCain couldn't get out of there fast enough after the third segment.
Ne-Yo's Obama banner at the end of his song was the final slap in the face!
10-17-2008 @ 12:03PM
No1Dad said...
"If we saw more of this McCain rather than the stiff, angry McCain of his rallies, commercials, and debates"
I don't understand this talking point about McCain being "angry" all the time. Neither he or Obama have lost their cool once during this campaign. That is to their credit as it hasn't been easy on either of them.
10-17-2008 @ 11:50AM
Bas said...
Jimmy, I disagree that Letterman looked 'smug & disappointed.' And if you've been an avid Letterman fan for 20 years, then you know that he usually acts like an ass - it's his stock-in-trade, and what makes him Letterman. As to the complaint that you find him intolerably biased lately, so what? Why would he have to be unbiased? It's his show, not a news show.
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10-17-2008 @ 12:16PM
cee said...
I dont understand what the issue was from the get go. McCain suspended his campaign, but said he was fulfilling ad space and interviews that were already in the can. As for Letterman not qualifying in that list of things in the can already, it's because its a comedy, and couric was serious interview about the economy. As soon as some people dont get the spotlight they start crying like a baby.
As for Letterman being "independent", please. When Obama and Clinton were on he could barely control the drooling. When they were on it was as if he was having a friend over for a beer. When McCain was on it was like a terrorist interrogation.
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10-17-2008 @ 1:02PM
segsig said...
McCain told Dave he was suspending the campaign to rush back to DC. He got there a day and a half later! He didn't screw up, he lied. And Dave let him off the hook. Yes, he tried to confront him about Liddy, but when given a line of CRAP, again let him off the hook.
Actually, his line of reasoning about Liddy serving his jail time vs. Ayers, puts McCain on the same level as Ayers. Ayers was never convicted, just as McCain got off with Keating.
10-28-2008 @ 11:47PM
StillBash said...
I love this dance... "There were other things that were more important".
From McCains perspective maybe.
But what I love is the fact that McCains supporters claim that he didn't lie. From Dave's perspective McCain lied. McCain told him "I'm going to Washington right now, I'm suspending my campaign". He didn't go to Washington. He didn't suspend his campaign that day. He went to appointments he had in New York. That's not suspending the campaign.
The best thing about this is how it isn't really a problem that McCain lied to a Talkshow host for all of his supporters.
Let me put it like this:
- Rumsfeld shaking Saddam Husseins hand
- George W. Bush shaking Jassir Arafats hand
How can it be that a guy who's been a terrorist and is now integrated into american society, not sitting in jail or anything, who has an opinion about 9/11 which is about as political correct as the one that Bill Maher's, is portrayed as still being a terrorist? And even if so - how's dealing with terrorists shady? Either it is or it isn't.
With this logic you could argue that during his 5 years in a prison camp, McCain could've been turned by the Vietcong. I know. Sounds totally ridiculous. Just like the Ayers accusations. Or this Acorn BS.
I still can't believe that all this is happening in a country which is supposed to be a democracy, with attacks like these. Fearmongering, absolutely off any political agenda, far off any real discussion, with computers automatically calling people. It's so god damn ridiculous how the most powerful person in the world is elected.
Next time anybody asks about Russia and their democracy think of your own and keep your mouth shut. It's better that way. At least in Russia we know Putin is the puppeteer.
10-17-2008 @ 1:08PM
UnionStayshyn said...
How come most of the comments on news/politics/academic sites lean left but many TV/entertainment sites have people from the hard right?
Priorities? Education? Intelligence level?
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10-17-2008 @ 4:04PM
Franklin said...
Do you actually read the comments on this site at all or do you grab a sampling and then spew a knee-jerk reaction? The HUGE majority of comments and commenters here are so far left as to be barely recognizable.
Not to toss logic and reason at you, but all you've done is found a rare article where the comments aren't majority left. Actually, the comments so far from both sides have been relatively fair, especially when compared to other articles.
Now when you say, "How come most of the comments on news/politics/academic sites lean left but many TV/entertainment sites have people from the hard right?" I'd like to see that proven. Give us proof that "most comments on news/politics/academic sites lean left". You know, facts, not conjecture or your own limited experience.
Half-baked comments like that must be the result of a lack of priorities, education or intelligence. I'm sorry to dip into that bucket, but you brought it to the party. But as a Canadian, your thoughts on our politics are both irrelevant and unwanted since socialists don't have the capacity to understand personal responsibility.
10-18-2008 @ 1:53AM
RC said...
McCain's been on Letterman around 12 times if I remember correctly. I do know Letterman was the first place he announced his run for President. Sure that history is why Dave went after John so much for skipping the interview.
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10-18-2008 @ 2:48AM
Will said...
I agree with Jimmy (#5) almost 100%. I've watched Dave since the early 80's on NBC. I think he's gotten to the point that he thinks he's WAY more important than he actually is. To watch the way he fawns over guests like Paris Hilton and Julia Roberts and then treats a man like McCain with such disrespect was just sad. I wish McCain had done more than just say, "I screwed up". Anything, even "I made a decision & then changed my mind & it was too late to call & say I'd be here." I get the distinct feeling that, due to his disappointment with the Bush presidentcy, he feels that Obama is the only logical choice. McCain deserves more respect than that, if, for no other reason, the huge price he paid in service to this country, long before he became a senator.
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