The Atlantic - Latest Comments in Letterman goes off on McCain

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

eric k — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:30:18 -0000

Doug,

If he'd actually gone to Washington he would have been ok, but the nail in the coffin is that he was on the CBS evening News. Which let's be real, the candidate appearing on the news isn't putting the crisis ahead of the campaign it is campaigning! It is free PR. McCain just decided he got better bang for his time on the Evening News than on Letterman.

Letterman is absolutely right to be pissed, McCain bailed on his commitment and treated Dave's show like he is some local Cable Access gig. Like I said if he had actually gone to Washington there was at least a semblence of credibility, but to be in another CBS studio at the same time?

McCain is the girl who took the back up Prom date but then bailed on him at the last minute because the dreamy guy she really wanted finally asked her.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Adolphus — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:12:39 -0000

MikeCee: Dave is not an NYer. He is a native of Indianapolis who now lives in Connecticut. And if you think what we just saw was a "New York State of Mind" I would offer up evidence that he has grown softer and fuzzier the closer and longer he lived near NY. As I said before, this was Letterman Old School. Last night this clip made me nostalgic so I tiptoed through Youtube. Letterman used to be a tremendous and entertaining ass interrupting live news magazine shows with Harvey Pekar in tow. Good times.

Other blogs have pointed out that him doing the interview with Couric was probably designed to push out or minimize footage from the train wreck interview Couric did with Palin. I don't know if that is true, but it seems likely. It also seems likely to me that that is what Letterman thinks, too. Aside from being entertaining (IMHO) he also is VERY savvy about how PR, Show Biz, etc works. He knows exactly why McCain stiffed him and it wasn't to put country first. It was all about spin, and he spun him right back.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Michael — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:11:32 -0000

Ego? Schmego. This is vintage Letterman: Not just the Irreverant Prankster from Wabash, but a rightfully peeved Everyman calling the stunt for what it is.

It's why Letterman's been in the biz for as long as he has -- truthiness.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

DougEFresh — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:25:16 -0000

Come on Asher you gotta admit Olberman's line about McCain meeting with Couric instead because she might be rich enough to fund the bailout on her own was pretty good.

Except isn't Letterman richer than Couric and makes more money than her?

McCain was pretty much stuck, if he went on Letterman, he could have easily been savaged by his critics for yucking it up with a comic while the economy is threatened with collapse. The fiddling while Rome burns charge would have been made by someone.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Antoine "Hussein" La — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:08:45 -0000

Dave was right to be pissed off! McCain should come on the show no matter what! He wants to be the president, and as Hyman Roth said:" This is the business we are in"!

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Stewie — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:42:46 -0000

I don't believe Dave's ego was hurt by this.

I believe he truly did respect McCain and believe him to be a man of honor.

That McCain is long gone. Dave believed him when told that McCain was racing back to Washington but then finds that McCain is literally just down the street at the very moment Dave tapes his show.

That lie by McCain was probably the last straw for Dave. And bravo for Dave making an issue of this and calling out McCain.

A few months ago McCain was famously quoted for saying that the economy was not something he really understands or has thought much about. Yet suddenly McCain feels his input on important economic matters is needed in Washington. What, has McCain been taking a couple economics classes online the past few months?

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

MikeCee — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:14:38 -0000

Classic Letterman and why you don't get fancy with NYers. :P Peices of that clip are going to run all day long on every news show. The American Hero standing up in Hanoi but afraid to do Dave or campaign was especially brilliant.

I agree JH, not petty at all. They do think the American public is stupid enough to fall for it all. I'm just praying they are not.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

John Henry — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:43:38 -0000

The nail in the coffin:

After standing Letterman up by telling Letterman he needed to go back to Warshington to fix the economy John McCain is filmed getting his make-up touched up on Katie Couric.

I know it seems petty but I think this is the 'HW Bush looking at his watch during the 1992 debates' moment. If he does not show up to the debates people will be saying, 'So you can go get a manicure on CBS Evening News but you can't come to the debates and tell the American people what your plans are.'

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

eric k — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:08:31 -0000

Come on Asher you gotta admit Olberman's line about McCain meeting with Couric instead because she might be rich enough to fund the bailout on her own was pretty good.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

cynic — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 03:01:28 -0000

Reminds me of this (via BuzzFlash 4/2004):

After David Letterman aired a videotape of Tyler Crotty, 13 and the son of a Bush $100,000 plus "Pioneer" fundraiser, fighting to stay awake as George droned on and on, CNN host Daryn Kagan dismissed the videotape with the following on-air comment: "We're being told by the White House that the kid, as funny as he was, was edited into that video, which would explain why the people around him weren't really reacting." CNN anchor Kyra Phillips later reran the tape but cautioned viewers: "We're told that the kid was there at that event, but not necessarily standing behind the president.

Accused of misleading his viewers, Letterman called the White House a bunch of liars. (Hey, Dave, we've been doing that for four years. So, don't think you're breaking any new ground here.)

And what do you know? CNN did a sudden turnabout, claiming that the Bush propaganda machine never really called them at all. They vaguely attributed the unfounded allegation to news staff error.
"This whole thing just smells. Doesn't it smell a little bit?" Letterman remarked on his show after the CNN retreat.

It was a much bigger deal at the time; Letterman's rebuff was a small but telling salvo in the dismantling of the Rove slime machine. Hard to recall when that mechanism was formidable - but it was.

Don't mess with Dave!

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Chas Clarke — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:06:26 -0000

"The road to the White House runs right through me" expresses Letterman's true feelings, though he wants to appear to be playing it for laughs. He really does think that, though, as he showed back in 2000 when he thought that Bush and Gore should debate each other on his show and when Bush declined he took it personally. He thinks way too highly of a show that exists primarily as a forum for people to plug their movies, TV shows, CDs, etc. In order to do that, they have to engage in tedious small talk that is of interest only to those who think that tedious small talk is entertaining, I guess because tedious small talk spoken by celebrities is inherently fascinating. Letterman's schtick was funny at one time but as he has gotten older he hasn't evolved at all and he now comes across as more pathetic than hip. Will he be doing this when he's 70? His smart-assed shallowness when discussing political matters reveals him for the intellectual lightweight that he's always been.

I found this clip entertaining not because anything he said was funny but because he WAS plenty steamed.

And some of the comments here about McCain's cancellation are hilarious. This won't hurt him in the least. It might even help him a little, given the nature of Letterman's comments over the last eight years. As far as it being a political stunt, who knows? One thing is certain: dissing a show like Letterman is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Dan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:22:44 -0000

John McCain was caught lying again. He really didn't cancel Letterman to suspend his campaign if he was interviewing with Couric. Can we expect this same behavior if he were President? Its not about country first its about McCain first. Hopefully the American people get it!

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Adolphus — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:03:17 -0000

Another thing to think about.

Ever since Clinton played the saxophone on Arsenio Hall, all these shows have been used by candidates and politicians at many levels for political reasons. McCain more than most. It it pure political theater and everyone knows how it works and everyone gets what they need. Good PR, ratings, whatever.

McCain broke an unspoken rule I suspect and left Dave with no guest after Dave and other hosts have sucked up to him for years.

McCain broke his end of the bargain. Hoist on his own petard I would say.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

OPS — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:18:22 -0000

Sure, Letterman's pissed, and sure he's got an ego. They all do. If you had a show with a big audience, so would you or I. That shit happens.

The two hardest hits are 1) the point about Palin stepping in, which is utterly indefensible, and 2) that shot of McCain getting the powder job at Couric's desk. Check the crowd. Their contempt is audible.

Put it like this: John McCain just put on a clinic for losing votes in today's USA.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Adolphus — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:12:20 -0000

I'm with Shawn.

This is the Letterman I used to cut school to watch when he had a daytime show.

This is the Letterman that interrupted The Today Show with a bullhorn. This is the Letterman that spray painted socks on Bryant Gumble. This is the Letterman that could hold his own with Crispin Glover, Andy Kaufman, and Gerry Lawler. This is the Letterman that scoffed at Brooke Shields for 15 minutes after she claimed to be "just another student" at Princeton. This is the Letterman that proudly pissed off Oprah.

This is the Letterman that USED to be able to turn personal umbrage into great TV.

Oh, it's all ego. You can't have your own show without it.

I stopped watching this show long ago, because this Letterman seemed to be the intellectual property of NBC and had to be left at the 12:30 time slot.

Jeebus I missed this guy. It's good to know he can still be riled.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Matt J — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:05:32 -0000

I love angry Dave. Now if he only had that weasel Leno's ratings so more people could see what a lying little grandstanding shit McCain really is.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Grover — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:55:59 -0000

This video was hilarious because Letterman was so obviously pissed. The anger is clearly almost all ego, but I get he's especially pissed because he knows he's being dissed for a political stunt. He just can't let it go. McCain screwed up his show and, really, it doesn't matter. It's just not that important. To anyone. Except Letterman. So he's pissed. It was fun to watch.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Levi Stahl — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:52:49 -0000

I think what you're seeing there is someone who is geniunely angry at having his plans ruined at the last second so that McCain--whom he's always treated well and respectfully--can engage in a political stunt. Especially once he cuts to the Couric interview prep, I get the sense that it's taking everything Dave has to make jokes rather than just let the anger out.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

John Henry — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:35:47 -0000

Dave's long been on my TIVO list. Dave's honest.

TNC, you said you thought him picking Sarah Palin with all her drama was the nail in his campaign coffin. I think this is.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Asher — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:16:33 -0000

I was enjoying the clip until Mr. Douchebag showed up.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Steve H — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:15:34 -0000

Ego? I'd be a bit peeved as well if I had to fill airtime at the last second because of a rather brazen political stunt.

Defending late night talk show hosts makes me feel old.

Re: Letterman goes off on McCain

Shawn — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:09:11 -0000

I haven't seen Dave that grumpy since his NBC days! McCain's right up there with Crispin Glover and Bryant Gumbel now. Nice going, Senator.