Channeling Keith Olbermann, David Letterman on Wednesday night proposed to guest Scott McClellan that President Bush and Vice President Cheney “just couldn't care less about Americans” since “all they really want to do is somehow kiss up to the oil people so they can get some great annuity when they're out of office,” and so he marveled: “Is there any humanity in either of these guys?” Letterman's conspiratorial rant:
My feeling about Cheney, and also Bush, but especially Cheney is that he just couldn't care less about Americans. And the same is true of George Bush. And all they really want to do is somehow kiss up to the oil people so they can get some great annuity when they're out of office. [audience applause] “There you go Dick [hand motion of distributing cash], nice job. There's a couple of billion for your troubles.” I mean, he pretty much put Halliburton in business and the outsourcing of the military resources to private mercenary groups and so forth. Is there any humanity in either of these guys?
McClellan only disagreed about Bush:
Oh look, I still have personal affection for the President. I can't speak to the Vice President's thinking that well because he's someone who keeps things to himself and he believes in doing it his way and he doesn't care what anybody else thinks. He's going to do it the way he feels is best and that's not always what's in the best interest of this country -- as we've seen.
Video: The “Big Show Highlight” for the Wednesday program includes the above exchange. It starts about 45 seconds into the 1:40 in length Flash video clip. Go to the Late Show's video highlights page and click on the top left clip titled “What's the Deal With Dick?”
Earlier in the interview on the June 11 show, Letterman wondered: “Is Cheney a goon? I don't mean that to be like a smart ass, but he seems like he might be a goon.” McClellan, the former Bush White House Press Secretary hawking his Bush administration-bashing book, didn't disabuse Letterman of the notion.
On Monday's show, Tom Brokaw chided Letterman with some historical context after Letterman forwarded standard liberal claims about how the America of 2008 is in a "horrible" state thanks to the awful President George W. Bush, and when Letterman fretted about government inaction on global warming, Brokaw pointed out how he's a big carbon-producer since he drives a big vehicle and flies executive jets.
My June 10 NB item, with video, “Brokaw Scolds Letterman on 'Horrible' U.S.; Environmental Hypocrisy,” recounted:
Tom Brokaw came aboard Monday's Late Show to promote his book, Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today, but soon chided David Letterman with some historical context after Letterman forwarded standard liberal claims about how the America of 2008 is in a “horrible” state thanks to the awful President George W. Bush, and when Letterman fretted about government inaction on global warming, Brokaw embarrassed the late night host by pointing out how he's a big carbon-producer since he drives a big vehicle and flies executive jets.
On the terrible state of the nation, Letterman contended “everything...has gone so lousy in the last eight years” so “things are horrible in ways they shouldn't be horrible.” Brokaw pointed to his book about 1968, and delivered a friendly lecture:
Let me remind you that forty years ago this year, Doctor King was killed, Bobby Kennedy was killed, we had the Chicago riots, 16,000 people were killed in Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for re-election, the Kerner Commission said we are two societies -- one white, one black, separate and unequal -- we had urban riots and in the fall we had as cantankerous and as contentious and in many way as mentally violent an election as we've ever had...Similarly assuming the present is the worst ever, Letterman complained: “People are all talking about, 'okay we're going to change the emissions by 2035, by 2020.' That's too late. I mean, it's a hundred degrees now!” Letterman pleaded: “It's got to come from the government. They have to lead us.” Brokaw agreed, but then made the host uncomfortable:
BROKAW: The government has to lead and those of us who drive -- uhh uhh -- big carbon-emitting vehicles or fly in airplanes that have only two passengers on them-LETTERMAN: Alright, alright, that's fine Tom.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center





Tom Brokaw came aboard Monday's Late Show to promote his book, Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today, but soon chided David Letterman with some historical context after Letterman forwarded standard liberal claims about how the America of 2008 is in a “horrible” state thanks to the awful President George W. Bush, and when Letterman fretted about government inaction on global warming, Brokaw embarrassed the late night host by pointing out how he's a big carbon-producer since he drives a big vehicle and flies executive jets.















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Comments Policy
Alienate half of your audience
June 12, 2008 - 01:41 ET by JWFWhat political party was Johnny Carson affiliated with again, Dave?
Oh, that's right, we do not know. He would not offend half of his audience.
Letterman's Not This Dumb
June 12, 2008 - 02:29 ET by Intellectual HonestyLetterman has been on the air for twenty years. He has a huge staff. He has all the time in the world to read up in a broad, fair manner. And yet he is not only spouting liberal talking points but taking them to their extreme. All the while he plays it as if he is just this dopey guy asking honest questions and making fair judgements. Letterman is asking us to believe that he is so aloof that his over-the-top declarations are rooted in common knowledge vs. common opinion.
Letterman is just purposely doing his part by using his show's bully pulpit to directly influence viewers without any sense of balance. It's free political advertising that would seem to fit the 527 format but without the federal filings.
the left needs vindication
June 12, 2008 - 10:03 ET by TruthMongerthe left needs vindication - desperately
i mean who wants to go down in history as a Hussein supporter?
not even libs like lettermen can stomach that one...
and scotty needs money apparently - gambling debts? gay porn addiction? who knows - there's big $$$ to be made as a useful idiot...
this greatly offended much
June 12, 2008 - 09:49 ET by TruthMongerthis greatly offended much more than half the country:)
Well Dave Certainly has no "Humanity"
June 12, 2008 - 02:14 ET by ChasvsThere's nothing funny about that idiot Dave Letterman and he's one to talk about humanity!
How he hasn't tanked as a late night host I'll never know. But I guess keith olberman's audience ( yeah, both of them) need something to watch after hours!
Dave, take KO's advice Shut the Hell up!
I was going to say
June 12, 2008 - 03:00 ET by SchnikeysI was going to say something along the lines of what you said in the first sentence of your post.
"Is there any humanity in either of these guys?"
Why, Dave? Are you running low on it again, like you always do?
------------------------------------------------------------
"It could be the answer to our age-old, philosophical question, 'Why are we here?' PLASTIC!"
is there any comedy left in
June 12, 2008 - 10:04 ET by TruthMongeris there any comedy left in David Lettermen...?
Dave could feed millions of Africans for a year with what they pay him in a day...
now that's what i call humanity, dave
Dave is fantastic! The
June 12, 2008 - 03:35 ET by mrsimeleDave is fantastic! The wonderful thing about being as successful as David Letterman is that you don't have to suck up to anybody. He is not alone in what he said tonight about Dick Cheney either. Day in and day out I talk to regular people, republicans AND democrats, and they all agree that this Administration has screwed things up for this country beyond belief. Now, that is your "cue" to bring up Clinton's womanizing.
mrsimile
June 12, 2008 - 03:59 ET by Cool ArrowActually I was going to bring up Bill Clinton's unprovoked missile attack on Iraq in 1998. Remember his speech on Dec 18, 1998, when he claimed he sent Cruise missiles into Baghdad to attack Iraq's, (and I quote) "Weapons of Mass Destruction"?
Why would I mention his womanizing? You already did. But you conveniently forget you're cursing President Bush for doing (with a vote from Congress)what his predecessor did (without a vote from Congress)
LYDSEXICS UNTIE
mrsimele
June 12, 2008 - 04:38 ET by NortoWe're wwaiting for a reply(Cool, note the spelling diff? AND great reply to simele)
if Bush has screwed up the
June 12, 2008 - 09:57 ET by TruthMongerif Bush has screwed up the country so much why do BDS liberals have to work so hard to apparently remind people every day?
Still waiting
June 12, 2008 - 06:00 ET by 10ksnookerThis is what makes conversation and debate with the left so interesting, they speak lies then run and hide. Like with the global warming hoax, they declare the debate is over, when the debate has hardly begun. In fact to begin the debate on the global warming haox, it was necessary to take down the left's lies, the deciet, the falsification of data and academic malpractice that the hoax was built on. And only then could the real debate begin. There is not one shred of verified proof remaining that man causes anything of significance with the climate, not one shred. It's just that the left thought no one would bother taking down their facade of lies.
How quickly the left forgets the Clinton and the Carter years. Take that dreg Carter who almost buried the country in disastrous policy, malaise and smarmy cardigan sweaters. He said dumb things like "the world will be out of oil by the year 2000, put on a sweater and turn down the thermostat". Meanwhile the Iranian terrorists, that Carter had installed in Iran, continued to strum his strings. How long did the loser Carter sit there, our embassy under siege, looking like a powerless stooge on a log chasing bunny rabbits, before it finally ended -- 444 days, the day a real President took office.
... and you thought Carter's 'misery index' had been retired for good, hah, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Comrade Obama comes from the same cloth as Carter, same empty suit, same empty thoughts, same naive glint in his eye, same dumb economics education. Comrade Obama just has his father's 'new Marxist' streak added in. Where do the Democrats get such stupid, totally vacuous people as Obama?
Carter wasn't a Marxists, he was just dumb.
Still waiting ...
How about pardoning terrorists. . .
June 12, 2008 - 06:23 ET by WingletDriverfor campaign contributions. Marc Rich & 16 FALN terrorists received pardons. The FALN terrorists had not even petitioned for them, but Hillary needed PR votes. Honest liberals were especially galled by these pardons, but apparently not enough to stop worshiping their prodigal first couple.
Another point liberals often ignore is our involvement in the former Yugoslavia. Strangely it seems to fit all of their descriptions of the Persian Gulf War: We attacked a country that wasn't a threat to us; we created a humanitarian disaster with hundreds of thousands of refugees; we didn't give diplomacy a chance to succeed; they didn't have WMDs; the administration lied about how easy it would be (Clinton promised to be out in 6 months, 14 years later we're still there); we went in unilaterally; it wasn't authorized by the UN or by Congress.
Come on mrsimele, I'm sure you've roundly criticized the inhumanity of Bush/Gore for getting us into an illegal & seemingly endless war in the Balkans.
When I think of "Bubba" and
June 12, 2008 - 07:14 ET by Seabeach4348When I think of "Bubba" and the eight unfortunately years that he and Hitlary ran the show, I think more of how he empowered Communist China with our own missile technology for campaign contributions. And the scum and perverts in the lamestream news (Letterman and Oberman included) generally gave him a pass.
I remember when the Clinton administration labelled Saddam Hussein as a threat to world peace and stability with his WMDs (cc 1998) along with a lot of other people in Congress and in his administration. Yet, when the Bush administration used this same approach (which was later on found to be inaccurate....but those WMDs are still out there somewhere) Bush was called and is still called a "liar".
I remember how terrorists were allowed to make fools out of America, its interests abroad, and its fine military five or six times during the "Clinton Years".....because Bill was more concerned about his world image rather than to do what needed to be done.
And I remember how Bubba turned down the golden opportunity several times to bag Osama bin Laden.....because he couldn't think of a reason to get him....and how this may have changed history and what happened on 9/11.
Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky? Who cares, really. That's his legacy, he was impeached while in office, whether he likes it or not, and it's small bananas when compared to the other transgressions during his administration.
But you'll never hear Letterman say this.
Clinton sentenced to 20 years in prison
June 12, 2008 - 07:31 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsI'll leave out the facts of Bill's raping and womanizing and just inject the fact that he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 20 years in prison. What a guy.
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
...as he crawls back under
June 12, 2008 - 09:11 ET by SickofLibs...as he crawls back under the bridge and waits to leap out and confront the next unlucky traveler...
Well, what do you expect?
June 12, 2008 - 10:44 ET by ckc1227Well, what do you expect? When you hang around with clueless people, you're likely to hear their clueless opinions.
How about the fact that Bill
June 12, 2008 - 11:12 ET by UtherpendHow about the fact that Bill Clinton lied to a Federal Grand Jury on two seperate occasions and walked away scott free. If any other person had done that they would be in prison for up to 5 years but not Bubba, he just said well you got me, my bad.
Oh, really?
June 12, 2008 - 11:12 ET by"... this Administration has screwed things up for this country beyond belief."
Oh, really? Name one thing this administration has screwed up.
CBS should consider turning
June 12, 2008 - 03:38 ET by maggieqpublicCBS should consider turning the show over to a host who likes to tell jokes and make light conversation.
Scotty WAS NOT the Press
June 12, 2008 - 05:10 ET by nicksmith112Scotty WAS NOT the Press Secretary during the run up to the war!!!!
Ari says Snotty had little involvement!
I'm a refugee from the Democratic Party.
So now Dave Letterman is a
June 12, 2008 - 05:32 ET by motherbeltSo now Dave Letterman is a political pundit and esteemed judge of character? Well, why not? We turn our politicians in "rock stars." And half the 20 somethings get their news from Jon Stewart.
Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, Scott.
Letterman should stick to jokes
June 12, 2008 - 06:05 ET by 10ksnookerAll these commedians think they are smart, but like Obama, when their pre-written script runs out, the run out.
Who watches these comedians anyway? After Carson left, I turned it all off for good. Carson knew where the line was, he was a class act. These latest couldn't hold his coat while he took a dump.
Modern liberalism on parade
June 12, 2008 - 06:29 ET by WingletDriverThis demonstrates precisely the problem with modern liberalism: They view everybody who doesn't toe the liberal line as unmitigatedly evil.
You and I think Letterman is a Kool-aid sipping fool. He thinks we are irredeemable wretches who are subhuman. I'm sure he feels that way, too, because of his deep-seated compassion; at least in his own mind what passes for compassion.
The reason the dems and
June 12, 2008 - 07:02 ET by MidAmericaThe reason the dems and their media wing, the msm, constantly drumbeat the idea that Bush and Cheney are so bad and the country is in such terrible shape is because this is the only way to get a democrat elected. They have to convince people it couldn't get any worse so you might as well try a democrat. The reason clinton won is because he ran as a 'new' kind of democrat, not a carter,dukakis, mcgovern sort of democrat. The country leans center right in its politics so it really doesn't want what the dems propose. Right now the media is doing all kinds of sideshows and misdirection to drown out any real discussion of obama's actual politics because that would doom him.
Is Dave’s chair always so
June 12, 2008 - 07:14 ET by USA4freedomIs Dave’s chair always so tall or is Scott Mc Backstabber so short.
What a pair of losers.
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
Letterman hasn't been funny for years
June 12, 2008 - 08:00 ET by ballwana13Letterman keeps his show bacause there isn't anybody else to take his spot, but his ratings suck and he hasn't been funny for years. Every once in a while he gets a top 10 that is amusing, but generally not worth watching. He is a lousy interviewer and is easily distracted.
Letterman == Loser
Cheap shots
June 12, 2008 - 08:04 ET by KC MulvilleIt's the cheapest of cheap shots to toss off these "evil" judgments, when he knows that the crowd is with him, and the people he's attacking aren't going to respond.
Letterman is simply a coward.
What stupidity!
June 12, 2008 - 08:07 ET by americaneagleHas anyone else noticed how many "comedians" try so hard to pretend they are politically astute? Bill Maher, Letterman, Stewart, Garafolo, and this list goes on and on. Maybe it's something to do with everyone laughing at them all the time that makes these folks desperate to be taken seriously.
As for McClellan's claim, I kind of think that Richard Cheney has to do what GWB wants him to, since he works for the guy! I guess McClellan is just intimidated to be around guys that actually have their own opinons and aren't just puppets for the opinions of others.
"Is there any humanity in either of these guys?"
June 12, 2008 - 08:12 ET by Prester JohnPerhaps Letterman should ask the same thing about BHO. You know him, he's the guy who voted against providing medical care to babies who survived a botched abortion.
Now there's real humanity for you.
McClellan the Coward!
June 12, 2008 - 08:28 ET by ChasvsSo Dave, Ask that weasel Scotty if he has an ounce of integrity left! Sweaty, quivering upper lip scotty the scumbag...He's the one you're asking about humanity?
Upon entering office, both
June 12, 2008 - 08:59 ET by SMGalbraithUpon entering office, both Bush and Cheney placed their investments into a blind trust. They have no idea as to what their investments are. All Presidents in modern history do this to avoid any possible conflicts of interest, real or apparent.
Second, neither Bush nor Cheney are receiving "annuities" from oil companies.
Third, upon leaving Halliburton in 2000, Cheney received as partial compensation stock in the company. He directed that all of the profits (if any) from those stocks be donated to charity (details here: link). He makes no money - none - from Halliburton.
Fourth, Lettermann is a comedian. Other than making funny jokes or noises, like Keith Olbermann, he is useless.
SM, the problem is that you
June 12, 2008 - 09:04 ET by SmartypantsSM, the problem is that you are citing facts, and the left has no interest in such things. There is an agenda here and they will follow it to the end; facts will not get in the way.
Clueless Letterman
June 12, 2008 - 09:02 ET by SmartypantsPresident Bush has done a far better job in office than what people like David Letterman will ever understand. Letterman, like many liberal elitists from both coasts, operates from a template of talking points which he has been taught to follow in his cocktail club circle. People like this are rarely exposed to any different ideas, so they come to believe that their feelings are universally accepted. It is then confounding to them why there are those who do not feel the same.
In the end, though, it does not matter. The president's job is to help protect all Americans, including David Letterman and those like him. In this, Bush has done an admirable job. Whether or not Letterman recognizes this is relatively meaningless.
Letterman
June 12, 2008 - 09:46 ET by cest moiThe top ten reasons why David Letterman is so good at what he does:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Ok, you get it by now..
You could guess the tone of
June 12, 2008 - 10:11 ET by Captain RepusYou could guess the tone of Letterman's show last night when he asked his audience who they were going to vote for and Obammy got rousing applause while McCain got very little. At the time, I told myself there was going to be an character assasination of GWB when he got sock-puppet McLellan on, and I wasn't disappointed.
Fortunately, no matter how large the margin of liberal cement dwellers on the east coast and coke-sniffing, silicone brain liberals on the left coast, these states have a finite number of electoral votes. Other Americans, you know, the ones who have IQ's significantly higher than plant life, are more than enough to swing the election to a genuine America loving patriot.
I think it's very
June 12, 2008 - 10:24 ET by balboaI think it's very interesting how strong Letterman seems to feel about BOR, the war, this administration. I think part of it is he's getting older and more curmudgeonly, but I also think that when he had a son, he started to imagine his son being in the war, and how he would feel if he lost him.
Methinks you give much too
June 12, 2008 - 10:42 ET by Captain RepusMethinks you give much too much credit for logic and compassion to a person who is nothing more than an ultra-liberal conservative hating leader of the MSM division of the DNC.
This guy has played second-fiddle to Leno since the beginning because Leno, although a liberal himself, is smart enough to keep his political bias disguised with humor instead of hatred.
They are both as insignificant as bird mites in comparison to their god-father, Carson.
Methinks you try too hard
June 12, 2008 - 11:05 ET by balboaMethinks you try too hard to simply and more easily dismiss him.
letterman's gripes ring
June 12, 2008 - 11:16 ET by TruthMongerletterman's gripes ring hollow to me for some strange reason bal...
Bush was primarily backing the UN Weapons Inspectors on Iraq - so what gives?
The Iraqi's were living under brutal repression in a police state...
Hussein was a very bad guy - why do liberals like letterman stick up for these people?
He's not "sticking up" for
June 12, 2008 - 13:12 ET by balboaHe's not "sticking up" for Hussein.
Letterman Blah Blah Blah
June 12, 2008 - 11:00 ET by HawgdrvrI wish Letterman would just shut-up. Where's the entertainment? He doesn't know anything about The Prez or Vice except what has been told him by the drive-by media. I didn't watch Letterman, can't stand to because of all his Lib BS, and I'm sure Scottie boy did one heck of a job defending the good side of his former bosses. America can't stand to have a decent man as a President anymore, because President Bush for all his mistakes is a good man. You'd think that after that low-life, immoral Bill Clinton Americans would have welcomed a man who loves his wife, is not a womanizer, prays regularly and openly, and has the "stones" to make and stand by his decisions.
Why can't Dave go back in time and put on a velcro suit and throw himself against a wall. You know, there will never be another talk show host like Johnny Carson. We all watched him for years through the Vietnam War and Desert Shield/Storm and I have absolutely no idea what his politics were. That's the way it should be with TV and Movie stars and singers.
Is their any intelligence
June 12, 2008 - 11:27 ET by mattmIs their any intelligence in Letterman?
matt...the short answer is
June 12, 2008 - 11:28 ET by bassndudematt...the short answer is "No."
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
I mean, it's a hundred degrees now!
June 12, 2008 - 12:03 ET by wizardjrDo these idiots ever get out of Manhatten? We're freezing our butts off up here in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota). May was one of the coldest Mays on record on a world basis. But it's hot in New York so it must be Global Warming, right? As a matter of fact, Aspen is reopening the ski slopes - IN JUNE!
Good grief these entertainers are ignorant and stupid. Ignorance is curable. Stupid goes all the way to the bone. I stopped watching this guy years ago. This reminds me why.
Suicide?
June 12, 2008 - 12:22 ET by okiehawk44People with as much hate inside them as is regularly demonstrated by Letterman (remember the Bill O'Reilly night) are usually pretty good candidates for suicide. I truly think that David Letterman is not far from an OD or gun-in-mouth exit.