Letterman Finally Gets His McCain

McCain Admits He "Screwed Up" By Canceling Previous Appearance

(CBS)  After spending the day on the campaign trail talking about taking a hatchet to government spending and taxes, presidential candidate Sen. John McCain returned to New York to bury the hatchet with David Letterman.

The popular late-night host had been lampooning McCain since Sept. 24, when McCain canceled an appearance, saying he had to return to Washington to address the U.S. financial crisis. However, he then appeared on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, drawing Letterman's comedic wrath.

McCain offered a mea culpa shortly after sitting down onstage and being playfully asked by Letterman, "Can you stay?" McCain told the host "I screwed up" by canceling the earlier appearance on the show.

Letterman milked the situation prior to McCain taking the stage and throughout much of the show, but did say "I'm willing to put this behind us."

The two kept things fairly light-hearted through the early part of three segments, which included perhaps McCain's best line at Letterman's expense.

"Now's not the time to raise anyone's taxes," McCain said. "Except yours."

Letterman did turn the conversation to some serious matters and had some hard questions for McCain, especially about his choice of running mate Sarah Palin and her attacks on Barack Obama over his relationship with William Ayers.

McCain's appearance on "Late Show" wasn't without drama this time around either. There was a two-hour delay flying into the New York area, so McCain got off his campaign plane in Pennsylvania and took a helicopter to be sure to make the show.

Letterman had heaped scorn on McCain for days after the blow-off. He made more jokes about the incident in his monologue and before McCain appeared, including using a prop map humorously tracing McCain's movements after he had canceled the earlier appearance.

Letterman's verbal assault on McCain right after the cancellation was relentless.

At first, he said, he felt like a "patriot" to let McCain off the hook. But after seeing McCain sit for the interview with Couric, and not leave New York until the next day, Letterman unloaded.

"Now I'm feeling like an ugly date," he said. "I feel used. I feel cheap. I feel sullied."

The next day, McCain spokeswoman Nicolle Wallace said the campaign "felt this wasn't a night for comedy."

"We deeply regret offending Mr. Letterman, but our candidate's priority at this moment is to focus on this crisis," Wallace said.

Later that day, Letterman banged away at McCain in his opening monologue.

"You're here on a good night," he told the audience. "So far none of our guests have canceled."

He talked about daredevil David Blaine's feat of hanging upside down in New York's Central Park for 60 hours.

"They just left the guy hanging there," he said. "It's the same thing McCain did to me last night."

He described Paris Hilton - that night's guest whose celebrity was once used in a McCain campaign ad to mock Democrat Barack Obama - as McCain's first choice for a running mate.

"Here's how it works: You don't come to see me? You don't come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day," Letterman said.

Noting that McCain wanted to postpone his first debate with Obama, Letterman joked running mate Sarah Palin wanted to put off her debate with Democrat Joe Biden - until after Election Day. Letterman said Palin's meeting with world leaders at the United Nations was like "take-your-daughter-to-work day."

Letterman's Top 10 list was "surprising facts about Sarah Palin," read by citizens of Wasilla, Alaska, where she was once mayor.

No. 10: Palin "sometimes calls John McCain 'Grandpa.' "

Later in the show, Letterman couldn't resist another mention of "that John McCain" while chatting with Hilton, who replied, "I heard he dissed you. He dissed me."

Milking the moment, Letterman consoled her: "You had a little run-in with him, too, didn't you?"

[mitch5511]

I see the typical GOP whitewash is trying to pigeonhole the BBC now. Anytime a new agency does not agree with them, all of a sudden they are a leftest organization, anti-Christian or some other derogatory description that totally untrue.

What happen to critical thinking? Did you all lose it when GWB came along? Get a taste of power in the
WH, you all obviously forgot how to act like a halfway intelligent human beings.

For once in your miserable little lives, try researching for all of the facts instead of depending on 60-second sound bytes that are full of distortions and outright lies!

[mrsjjs]

I enjoy watching the BBC news more than any other broadcast because they report on the world outside the United States too. The BBC seems to me to bend over backwards trying to be objective.

Posted by ERoosevelt08 at 03:04 AM : Oct 18, 2008

The BBC be objective? You''re having a laugh! I just read you comment aloud to my husband, who''s English, and he said, "If you''re a left wing socialist I suppose they would seem objective"...LOL I posted off my absentee ballot the other day & I did not vote for Obama, not because the BBC were endorsing him but because I do not agree with his socialist policies. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, far from it, & I am not rich now, but everything I do have I%u2019ve worked for. I''m all for giving someone a hand up when they''re down because that could happen to anyone at any time, but I do not believe in giving hand outs! If you want something you must work hard for it. And as I said before, Obama will tax the hell out of the working man to spread the wealth around because that''s the only sector of the population he can get away with taxing as working class people don''t benefit from the tax loopholes the wealthy do nor can we afford to hire accountants to "hide" our money. Having said that, after spending most of my life in the US, our coverage on the news of world affairs is woefully inadequate & I suppose to you, the BBC is bringing you things that our own media should be doing. But they are by no means objective about it.

[eroosevelt08]

As the BBC are backing Obama that%u2019s the best reason I%u2019ve heard so far not to vote for him.

Posted by MrsJJS at 02:32 AM : Oct 18, 2008

Oh! Why even make up a reason like that?

[eroosevelt08]

Instead of voting for or against a candidate because of remarks by a news agency, Mrs. JJS should vote based on the issues that will best solve the mess we are in.

[eroosevelt08]

I enjoy watching the BBC news more than any other broadcast because they report on the world outside the United States too. The BBC seems to me to bend over backwards trying to be objective.

[mrsjjs]

I almost fell off my chair when I was listening to the BBC news the last night. Someone on there had the audacity to say, %u201CIf Obama doesn%u2019t win the Presidency, it will just go to show that America is inherently racist.%u201D I don%u2019t know why that surprised me because a while back, a BBC memo revealed senior figures admitted the national news agency was guilty of promoting left-wing views and anti-Christian sentiment. The admissions of bias were made at an "impartiality" summit the BBC held. Most executives admitted the corporation''s representation of homosexuals and ethnic minorities was unbalanced and disproportionate and leaned too strongly towards political correctness, the overt promotion of multiculturalism, anti-Americanism. As the BBC are backing Obama that%u2019s the best reason I%u2019ve heard so far not to vote for him. The media, Labour government, and the EU are all in support of Obama because of his socialist ideals, "spreading the wealth" as he says. Unfortunately, that "wealth" won%u2019t be coming from the extremely wealthy because of all the tax loopholes they have, that wealth will be coming from working class Americans who may earn a decent living but are far from being rich. Just like the Labour government and the EU do over here.

[dibs977]

The Bush administration has done much to make us lose respect in the eyes of the rest of the world. I have been personally, deeply ashamed of many things that "we" have done such as holding innocent men for years and water torture and saber rattling etc. etc.---and everyone knows that is what Michelle was talking about. Why can''t loving, truthful honest Christian Americans speak out about the shameful face this administration has put on America. I can''t wait until we have a president we can love and trust and admire again and have a nation we can salute with pride. God Bless America and Obama and Biden.

[ulyssesmsu]

David Letterman is a spoiled-brat, whiny-butt baby who discovered that he is not the center of the universe and had a month-long hissy-fit over it.

McCain should have stayed away. What did he gain by going on Letterman''s show? Why grovel back to a jerk like Letterman? People like Letterman despise anyone who won''t lick their boots whenever they snap their fingers and issue the command.

I seldom watch Letterman, and now I have even more reasons not to. I run into enough self-centered, arrogant jackasses out in the world as it is, without deliberately watching one on TV.

[jtleseth]

Posted by kellyfromsp at 08:42 PM : Oct 17, 2008

let me enlighten you G.Gordon was bumbler who became a Zealot who committed a horrific crime of breaking and entering to uproot information on extremely far left factions connected to the anti war movement with associations to the DEMONcratic party.....

comparing Ayers to him only lends credence to a negative force to which Lettomen chooses to promote and show his lack of intelligence and pass it off as comedy while he from a distance thinks he knows just what in the heck is really going on in the middle class arena.....

if your hoodwinked by OBAMA,,,,,,,YOUR IRRELEVANT for it is the swing voter like who are looking at the big picture.....nobody owns me, by race,,,,party,,,,,***,,,,,,,it is just who is genuine leather and who isnt.....Ive heard pundits say IF YOU HAVENT DECIDED BY NOW,,,,,WELL I DONT KNOW WHERE IN HELL YOU BEEN........

GUESS WHAT URNALISTS,,,,,,,I wait until November 3rd,,,,than I will be sure to be comfy with my One vote ......

[keljacks2]

It''s funny how when Dave Letterman asked McCain about his terriost friend Gordon Libby, McCain said Gordon''s served his time and i''m proud to say hes my friend. What is the difference from Gordon Libby and Bill Ayers? Its sad to say but someone past only matter when it pertains to attacking Barack Obama. I must say If Dumb and Dumber is elected to the white house the country is doomed. McCain and Palin is so manipulative that I can see us in another war, more troops dying, deficit getting higher, Sarah only helping special needs children while other children out her starving. I could go on and on but the truth is we don''t need another average Joe in the whitehouse we need someone with knowledge and skills.