Did you see Jessica Lynch on Letterman

[Ernesto]

The poor vulnerable kid... staggers in on crutches, is barely coherent. I guess she must have been heavely drugged for pain..... What an easy mark for the evil pentagon propaganda machine.... I wonder who is taking care of her now. Is she out of the Army?..... All I can say is Thank You for speaking out, Jessica, THANK YOU.

[kentuck]

1. Some posters last night said they thought she was "ditsy"....

I did not think so. She seemed like a vulnerable kid. She's not pretending to be something she's not, in my opinion. They are placing the notoriety upon her and she is doing her best to handle it.

[kysrsoze]

8. Not ditsy.... just quiet and obviously on pain meds

I saw the long interview she gave. It was evident that she had a little difficulty in speaking, so I'm guessing she was on some serious medication during the interview. I'm not a very sappy person, but it was really sad to see everything she's been through. It took a lot of guts to talk about all the lies and misplaced 'hero' descriptions.

[NoPasaran]

2. Yes, thanks Jessica

Now I hope she gets a chance to heal up. She's obviously on heavy medication. But she said over and over she wanted to get her side of the story out.

Would that more of us had her kind of guts. She truly is a soldier of the republic.

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. I thought she looked like she was about twelve years old

and sounded like she was even younger than that. We send these kids into combat??? It made me really sad.

[Clark Can WIN]

17. Texas A&M game today I saw a soldier at the game

and I swear to God she was tinier than my petite 15 year old daughter.

She looked like a 5th grader playing dress up in her daddys uniform and hat.

Cried again.

I just have to believe. And keep working for Clark.

[Eric J in MN]

4. the audience was friendly

The audience gave her 2 standing ovations.

The right-wing hate machine's attempt to discredit her has failed.

[carrowsboy]

5. Did they mention the Larry Flynt photos?

I'm curious to hear her response to Flynt purchasing the pics so they would not be published.

[Ernesto]

6. She was in no shape for that question

In fact, I think Letterman would have been "lynched" by the audience if he had asked about that. The crowd was very sympathetic to the poor kid.......

[Mel]

7. one thing that bothers me

when she gave her interview with Sawyer. It was brought out that some of her organs are not working up to speed. I can not remember which ones but, it sounded bad to me and it wouldn't surprise me that if they don't start working she won't be long for this world.
Makes me sick to see her struggle to walk she's a kid (same age as my daughter)<---that could be my baby she along with all the other soldiers didn't deserve to be put through it, it was a disgusting criminal invasion that should of never happened!
I hate Bush* and I don't care what the yapping CONservatives think about our or my hate of the POS and as far as I see it he's an International Gangster!

[Ernesto]

9. I HATE bush, I am a LIBERAL

and chimp is waging CLASS WARFARE.

[Clark Can WIN]

18. Her bladder and her kidneys and colon

so what that means is dialysis, catheter and colostomy bag.

All in the name of pax americana. I'd be pissed too. Poor kid.

[buycitgo]

10. I saw it.....very sad

previous posts here have captured the moment very accurately.


however, the radio news accounts I heard last night/today (cbs, of course) didn't play, among several snips, the obviously most (ONLY?) newsworthy one, in which she said she didn't like the way she'd been out to be someone she was not, or the way the government has been using her situation.

I have it on tape.....will go back and put down exactly what she said, but it was almost exactly what's been quoted from the Sawyer interview, IIRC

[Lisa]

11. Dave was on meds too (for the flu) -- what a pair!

But I think she did a pretty good job, considering how nervous she probably was. You could tell Dave was doing his best to reassure her.

The room went awfully quiet while she was explaining how much hardware they put into her legs -- rods, plates, etc., just to hold her bones together. Dave asked her if the hospital in Iraq had give her any painkillers -- she said no, and faltered a little -- and he did raise the possibility that they didn't have any appropriate ones in stock, before moving the interview along.

The other thing I noticed was that Dave started out by saying that getting the initial news about her must have been a nightmare for her parents. I think the flu is slowing him down enough that he isn't covering his emotions the way an experienced interviewer like him can usually do. He hesitated for a moment and a look flashed across his face -- kind of like "Oh god, this could happen to MY SON someday".

[gardenista]

12. Thanks. That's a moving description.

I just read the Time article, and it was very interesting. I'm glad that Dave was real with her. Sounds like it was actually a good interview, even though both weren't up to top par.

[Lisa]

14. it was ...

Normally I don't expect much from late-night celebrity interviews, since given the format of those shows it's not really helpful for learning anything about a person. Even when the guest is either a) so arrogant that everyone is looking forward to seeing some comeuppance (e.g. Bush's appearance on the show during the election), or b) relaxed and prepared enough to deliver some good stuff, there's just not enough time for a decent chat. (My ex sometimes got asked to be on those shows, and if he was having an off day, it was amazing how different he seemed on TV.) David Letterman is a pretty good interviewer, from what I've seen, but most show hosts aren't like him.

I am starting to wonder whether Dave gently set some things up beforehand. Jessica Lynch was on the Friday show. All week Dave has been moaning about how sick he feels, how woozy the drugs are making him, how he kept flubbing lines because he couldn't see the cue cards, etc. -- if he suspected that his guest wasn't going to be at her best, this might have been a subtle way to protect Jessica a bit, in case she froze up or missed a question. She was pretty quick and came across as likeable and honest (which isn't easy on TV) -- but he kept things moving along nicely.

Not that she needs much help ... but after all the garbage the freepers dumped on her for speaking out, I wouldn't be surprised if Dave quietly decided to show his support this way. (Just to underscore that she isn't some kind of undeserving ditz, let alone an opportunistic traitor.) His ego is healthy enough that he didn't feel the need to use his guest to boost himself (as some media types probably would). So, at the expense of making himself look like a wimp -- I mean, next to fractured bones and several days without painkillers, a head cold looks pretty minor! -- Jessica comes out looking both strong and self-effacing, and gets some more respect.

That was my impression of how things went, anyway. She managed to get across a couple of major things -- the Iraqi hospital staff did a lot to help her and probably saved her life -- and she feels that more credit should be given to the other people in her unit, especially her friend Lori who died in the attack.

I wouldn't be surprised if he asks her back in a few months, to check on how things are going.

[gardenista]

15. From what I saw on the online clip, it looks like Dave

was really pulling for her, and she did extremely well. She just looks like a real young woman. I hope she can continue to keep herself centered. If she's made it this far, I have few doubts that she will get everything she says she dreams of: marriage to a man who loves her; a family; a job teaching kindergarteners; and a chance to see Hawaii.

I hope the best for her. Her painful recovery is long from over. If you read the Time article, there are some very graphic details of her injuries. She has a long road ahead of her.

I expect that in the coming weeks, we will see less and less of her story, and she will quietly return to her much altered life, and begin building her future, out of the limelight.

Blessings to her.

[Renew Deal]

13. Watch part of it online

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/#

[PaDUer]

19. THANKS

for this link..I wasn't feeling well last nite and missed the show..At least she told the truth...you can bet the honchos are po'd about that, and weren't the other members of her troop recently involved/injured/dead when they came home? Wonder if they were worried that they'd talk the truth also...ALL these so-called accidents..Wonderful world isn't it....I guess THEY say--accidents happen...BS!
Oh forgot--did she say when she's getting married? I think next year some time??

[Ernesto]

16. Irony Happens

An innocent, good haerted,young gal is targeted to be a propoganda asset by the Dark Side...... She then turns out to be thee Poster Child for the resistance..... Poetic justice, anyone?