On Tuesday, CBS This Morning swooned over President Obama’s final appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman Monday night, with the hosts heaping praise on the liberal comedian’s tenure at CBS.
Co-host Gayle King touted how “President Obama is praising David Letterman’s contributions to America. Last night marked the president's final visit to the Late Show with Letterman as the host. The topics ranged from race relations to retirement plans. Vinita Nair is here to show us both the serious and the light-hearted moments.”
King then turned to reporter Vinita Nair for a full report and she immediately beamed that “[i]t really was a night of laughs with just weeks left until the Late Show with David Letterman airs his final broadcast. President Obama visited the Ed Sullivan Theater for his third and final time while in office.”
The CBS reporter continued her puff piece by playing a lengthy clip of the two joking about their post-retirement ambitions:
VINITA NAIR: The pair talked discussed what they would like do in their upcoming retirements.
DAVID LETTERMAN: What will you do when you’re not president?
BARACK OBAMA: Well, I was thinking you and me we could play some dominos together.
LETTERMAN: Dominos. And I plan to teach law at Columbia.
OBAMA: That’s good. That’s good. I'd be interested in sitting in on that class.
Nair beamed that “[t]he 44th president thanked the comedy legend for his 33-year career on late-night TV” before she played a clip of Obama cheering on Letterman for having “been there to give us a little bit of joy, a little bit of laughter, it has meant so much. And you know, you're part of all of us...You've given us a great gift and we love you.”
As the segment wrapped up, Charlie Rose proclaimed that seeing Obama and Letterman together was “extraordinary” and King chimed in that it “would be fun to see David Letterman and Barack Obama playing dominos.”
CBS This Morning’s tribute to Letterman on Tuesday echoed a recent segment the network ran after Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer announced his retirement. On April 9, Rose deemed the liberal Schieffer a “giant of journalism” who had a “legendary career” at CBS News.
See relevant transcript below.
CBS This Morning
May 5, 2015
GAYLE KING; President Obama is praising David Letterman's contributions to America. Last night marked the president's final visit to the Late Show with Letterman as the host. The topics ranged from race relations to retirement plans. Vinita Nair is here to show us both the serious and the light-hearted moments. Vinita good morning.
VINITA NAIR: Good morning. It really was a night of laughs with just weeks left until the Late Show with David Letterman airs his final broadcast. President Obama visited the Ed Sullivan Theater for his third and final time while in office. President Obama addressed the relationship between law enforcement and community members.
BARACK OBAMA: We have a situation in which too many communities don't have a relationship of trust with the police. And if you just have a handful of police who are not doing the right thing, that makes the job tougher for all the other police officers out there.
DAVID LETTERMAN: You believe that race relations in this country are better, stronger.
OBAMA: I think that they are better. My kids and your kids are growing up in an America where the attitudes of the next generation make you hopeful.
NAIR: But the sit-down wasn’t all serious.
OBAMA: I know you like Michelle a little bit more than me.
LETTERMAN: Oh my god.
OBAMA: Which is okay.
NAIR: The pair talked discussed what they would like do in their upcoming retirements.
LETTERMAN: What will you do when you’re not president?
OBAMA: Well, I was thinking you and me we could play some dominos together.
LETTERMAN: Dominos. And I plan to teach law at Columbia.
OBAMA: That’s good. That’s good. I'd be interested in sitting in on that class.
NAIR: The 44th president thanked the comedy legend for his 33-year career on late-night TV.
OBAMA: Knowing you've been there to give us a little bit of joy, a little bit of laughter, it has meant so much. And you know, you're part of all of us.
LETTERMAN: Thank you. Thank you very much.
OBAMA: You've given us a great gift and we love you.
NAIR: Letterman's final broadcast will be on May 20th. Charlie?
CHARLIE ROSE: Vinita thanks. It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?
KING: Yes. The two of them together. That would be fun to see David Letterman and Barack Obama playing dominos.
ROSE: Or David Letterman teaching Columbia Law would be even funnier.
KING: You’re right.
