Letterman damaged McCain badly last night by airing McCain's make-up prep w/Couric

[Unsane]

It's McCain's 'Dukakis in the tank moment.' He looked like a lying fool on national television.

Letterman gets 6-7 million viewers a night. He called out McCain for lying about canceling so he could 'go to Washington' by airing LIVE pre-interview footage with CBS' Katie Couric. Not only that, but it was pre-air makeup prep, showing McCain getting pampered and patted. It was ridiculous.

If this were Obama I would be writing the same thing (imagine him lying to Dave, showing up at a Couric interview down the road and then have pre-air makeup-prep footage on the Late Show!).

link (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E

[quiet.american]

1. In complete agreement with you.

[AndyA]

2. Letterman did it in his normal "joking" manner, but I think McSame's cancellation

really pissed him off. And who better to replace McSame than Olbermann? :rofl:

I think McSame's stunts yesterday took him out of the "serious contender" category for President. Suspending his campaign, cancelling appearances at the last minute to do another (better?) appearance, asking to delay the debate, etc.

All of which just shows McSame is irrational, and doesn't think things through before jumping. Not the kind of person you want with their finger on the red button. McSame has proven he does not have the judgement, nor the temperament, for the job.

[Ian David]

14. As the show went on, Letterman became much more serious. He was REALLY righteously pissed. n/t

[Window]

30. My impression also.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

58. the video has been viewed 782,595 times already! n/t

[americanstranger]

76. I think he was pissed from the go, personally.

It didn't sound like he was willing to give McCain the benefit of the doubt, even before he found out about the Couric thing.

And after he saw McCain sitting with Couric, you could tell he was about to lose it.

Either way, not good for McCain. I think Letterman's gonna dog him for a long time over this.

- as

[yellowcanine]

112. Yeah he definitely piled on. The "Hey John, need a ride to the airport." was a real zinger.

Win of lose, McCain will never go on Letterman again. Dave burned the bridge to nowhere.

[npincus]

3. NBC Today's Andrea Mitchell SHOWED the clip!!!

WHich means a whole new, massive audience got to see it! (myself included, I missed Letterman).

[Ian David]

15. I TIVO'd it. n/t

[trueblue2007]

42. good post that was on DU last night about this

post this all over the place. PUT THIS ON HUFF.



Here's the video link if it's not already posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E

Someone also posted it in the Videos forums under the title "Letterman Rips Mccain"




http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7172412#7173596


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/letterman...

(snip)
David Letterman was so unhappy that Mr. McCain canceled his scheduled appearance on his show Wednesday night that he spent much of the first segment assailing the senator’s decision and suggesting “something doesn’t smell right” about the Senator’s plan to go to Washington to work on the financial crisis.

Mr. Letterman told his audience that Senator McCain had called him directly on short notice Wednesday, to tell him he had to cancel his appearance. After expressing his admiration for Mr. McCain and his sacrifice as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, Mr. Letterman said, “When you all up at the last minute and cancel, that’s not the John McCain I know.” He repeated that “something smells right now” and he suggested “somebody must have put something in his Metamucil.”

Mr. Letterman said Mr. McCain had said the economy was “about to crater” which necessitated that he get to Washington right away. Mr. Letterman then suggested that McCain should not be suspending his campaign at all and that he could have “sent in the second-string quarterback,” his vice presidential running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, to fill in for him. “You don’t quit,” Mr. Letterman said.

(snip)
Even after Mr. Letterman brought out Keith Olbermann, the MSNBC host and vituperative Republican critic as the substitute guest for Mr. McCain, he continued to assail Mr. McCain for the decision to cancel the appearance. His critique reached a high point when he learned that at the very moment Mr. McCain was supposed to be on the couch next to him being interviewed, the senator was at the CBS News center three blocks away in Manhattan, getting ready to be interviewed by the CBS News anchor, Katie Couric.

Mr. Letterman ordered his director to put on a live feed from that location, which showed Mr. McCain getting made up to go on with Ms. Couric. “He doesn’t seem to be racing to the airport,” Mr. Letterman observed.

[ReadTomPaine]

61. Andrea also eh? I hadn't heard about this..

Excellent news... :thumbsup:

[mucifer]

4. we will have to see if the msm ignores it or if it's big on youtube

it was great tho'

[quantass]

22. 400,000+ views so far in only a few hours..its going viral

[LiberalAndProud]

59. David Letterman *is* MSM.

[no limit]

101. lol. exactly. CNN gets what, half a million viewers at their peak? He gets 6 million.

[Pattib]

109. It was on the Today show this morning.

[maddezmom]

5. You know who John is right? he's the running mate of Sara Palin

:lol:

[qanda]

6. They just devoted a whole segment to it on the Today Show

It gets more funny every time I see it.

[Starry Messenger]

7. This should be good fodder for political cartoons.

It's the sort of thing that gets talked about by people at work...

[npincus]

8. NBC Today just did a WHOLE SEGMENT on the Letterman response!

Too damned funny! :rofl:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. I saw that too! You know, I watched it last night hysterical here and it doesn't stop

being funny!

:rofl:

[Coexist]

9. I completely agree.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

10. The Today Show had a montage of Dave's Rant and it was Great! At the end with

Meredith said, I'm not getting involved with this..which alone was a comment!

That shot of McCain getting preened will be very damaging..catching him too in yet another Lie!

[Cali_Democrat]

11. That video already has 403,000 views

WOW!!

[qanda]

13. His lying campaign person said they cancelled because they felt it wouldn't be appropriate

Then that's what they should have said. It's the reason that Obama didn't do SNL during the storm, but he didn't have to lie about it.

[krkaufman]

55. Especially since McCain apparently told Letterman that he had to rush back to Washington ...

... literally, "to save the country." And then Letterman sees McCain doing Couric.

Tonight's Letterman could be another one to watch, after Letterman sees that McCain took the time to speak to the CGI Thursday morning, before finally heading back to DC.

[WoodyTobiasJr]

99. ..And then Letterman sees McCain doing Couric.

LOL

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Thanks for the YouTube link.

The fact that McLame dissed NBC in favor of CBS is going to cause all sorts of exploding heads (Mitchell, Gregory, Todd, and maybe, god forbid, Scarborough although probably not). :rofl:

[mucifer]

17. He was stupid enough that he cancelled 1 cbs show for another. That's why

they had live feed.

[yodermon]

36. Actually Late Show is still CBS so it just a case of

McSame dissing Dave in favor of Katie.
Still head-exploding-worthy though.

[Ino]

47. Dead Intern Joe was outraged...

but against Letterman. He and Mika were appalled that Letterman had "stolen" the live feed from the Couric show, and thought Dave's treatment of McCain was very shabby.

[Egnever]

52. I am shocked!

especialy after mcsame mocked mika as being in the tank for obama.

[stanwyck]

71. Yep. I saw the exchange this morning. I'd quit watching

but then John Ridley has been back on the show -- and I like him. Joe often misses the point. He kept saying how McCain cancelled a comedy show because of a crisis. He failed to understand Letterman's ire (which Letterman explained) at HOW the cancellation was handled. Not the cancellation itself.
But, then, Scarborough often does the Hannity dance. You only glom onto one detail and then repeat that endlessly, ignoring all else.
McCain had every right to cancel. However, he shouldn't have told Letterman he was immediately rushing back to D.C. when he wasn't. AND he should have offered to send Palin in his place.
That would have been good.

[CTyankee]

97. SO glad I have sworn off "Morning Joe."

Joe and Mika are two very embarrassing people. Occasionally I try to tune in when Chucky T is on cuz he's usually telling Joe what he doesn't want to hear: that Obama is WINNING.

[H2O Man]

18. Definitely.

McCain is looking foolish.

[Ian David]

19. The Top Ten Questions People are Asking The John McCain Campaign

The Top Ten Questions People are Asking The John McCain Campaign

#10 “I just contributed to your campaign – how do I get a refund?"

#9 “It’s Sarah Palin –- does this mean I’m pars’dent?”

#8 “Can’t you solve this by selling some of your houses?”

#7 “This is Clay Aiken. Is McCain single?”

#6 “Do you still think the fundamentals of our economy are strong, Genius?”

#5 “Are you doing all of this just to get out of going on Letterman?”

#4 “What would Matlock do?”

#3 “Hillary here –- my schedule is free Friday night.”

<snip>

#2 “Is this just an excuse to catch up on napping?”

#1 “This is President Bush –- what’s all this trouble with the economy?”

More:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/09/mccain-letterma.html

[global1]

20. Everybody Knows That Anyone That Appears On TV Needs Make-Up....

how is that embarrassing to McCain? He wouldn't want to wind up like Nixon did during the Nixon/Kennedy debates now would he. So I don't think showing McCain being patted down with make-up was damaging.

This is just making an issue where there is no issue to be made.

McCain out and out lied to Letterman and Letterman called him out on it. Letterman also said many nice things about McCain and his bravery during his POW experience. Letterman respects the guy for that. He just don't think he is presidential material.

[WinkyDink]

25. Please.

[CakeGrrl]

26. When you claim that you have to rush off to deal with a national financial crisis

It looks pretty damning to be caught being made up for a TV interview instead. Apparently to McCain the crisis wasn't THAT bad.

[global1]

27. I Got The Impression Listening To A.M. Hoe That McCain Being Made Up.......

cosmetically - made it look like they were trying to put lipstick on a pig. Not that he was caught with his pants down taking time to do an interview when he said things were dire and he had to get to D.C.

[Left Is Write]

110. "Getting caught with his pants down taking time to do an interview"

is exactly what the clip is all about. Letterman showed that clip and made the comment, "He doesn't seem to be racing to the airport."

[WePurrsevere]

29. Agreed... the make-up being done shouldn't be the issue (unless she has a trowel in her hand). The..

fact that he LIED (again) IS the issue.

I have a question... someone mentioned SNL and Obama canceling.. I used to watch them many years ago so know they're a comedy show but since I don't watch late TV normally now and we can't get many channels up here anyway.. I don't know much about Letterman's show. I always got the impression that Letterman while being a comedian himself, his show wasn't just comedy but addressed serious issues as well.. is this wrong?

Oh and while I do agree that his having makeup applied shouldn't be the issue this time (unless she has a trowel in her hand ;)).. the cost that was brought up of over $5k and using an "Idol" makeup artist does seem like it's a bit more fair game unless that charge is for a couple months . ;)

[1Hippiechick]

78. "(unless she has a trowel in her hand)." ROFL. Dammit! I'm at work--people are staring! LOL n/t

[WePurrsevere]

85. Oops... sorry 'bout that (sort of ;-)) n/t

[yellowcanine]

41. It is embarrassing to McCain because he blew off Letterman with a phony excuse about

needing to "get back to Washington" to deal with the financial crisis and there he is getting made up to go on Couric's show.

[1Hippiechick]

113. I gotta slow DOWN when I read....I thought your post said that "...he BLEW Letterman...." LOL n/t

[Zynx]

65. Because he's sitting there calmly on his dead ass when he pretends this is a life changing

crisis. That's why. Stop being uselessly contrarian when it isn't called for.

[beachmom]

67. In context, it was EXTREMELY damaging. It is a metaphor for

McCain: he CLAIMS he is suspending his campaign to "save the country", so he cancels Letterman while CAMPAIGNING on Katie Couric's show, receiving make up as part of his CAMPAIGN. It shows what a naked political stunt it was. I am telling you, this picture is highly damaging.

[1Hippiechick]

80. I agree. How in God's name are they going to turn THIS around and blame on Obama? LOL Love it! n/

[cottonseed]

73. Everybody Also Knows What Enemas Are....

but if I were running for President I sure wouldn't want to be seen having one.

[baldguy]

87. Letterman is a gracious & considerate host.

He's also one of the most powerful media personalities in America. He's not someone McCain wants to mess with.

[Citizen Jane]

89. The key is that is his PERSONAL makeup artist, not CBS'

As discussed at HuffPo

"John McCain has reportedly paid more than $5,500 to Tifanie White, the makeup artist who works on "American Idol," for similar cosmetic services. It is yet another incident of a politician -- regardless of ideological stripe -- coughing up a lot of money for the sake of good looks."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/24/mccains-5000-makeup-will_n_128973.html

1. Oh the hypocrisy of making fun of John Edwards for his haircut.

2. Clearly he needs a VERY good makeup artist. Is it just the usual need for a layer of plaster or is he hiding something more?

[DianeK]

96. everyone uses the toilet too ....

doesn't appear very presidential

[frylock]

98. ask john edwards how damaging it can be

[Unsane]

108. lol

[alsame]

21. Letterman also tied him to Bush - he said something like "do we

need a President who takes a 'time out' when things get rough - that's what we have now". Perfectly devastating.

[madmom]

23. He also made Many references to palin not being ready to step in.

[yardwork]

88. That was the best part. Letterman really hammered that home - Palin not qualified to step in.

Letterman was really angry last night and today's complaint from the McCain campaign that "comedy is inappropriate during a crisis" will probably put him over the edge. They just insulted Letterman's livelihood.

LOL!

[Sequoia]

94. "Comedy is inappropriate during a crisis"?

What about laughter being the best medicine?

[catgirl]

24. McCain has made a laughingstock of himself

What a fool. I'm glad Dave vented.

[MadrasT]

28. Added bonus... Letterman holds a grudge for a LONG time...

I bet this isn't the last time we hear about this.

[Borgnine]

31. Yeah... how many years did he go at it with Oprah?

Hopefully Dave's anger is only going to grow.

[DevonRex]

75. Heh heh. Can't wait to hear more of it. And I'd hold a grudge, too,

if a guest pulled such an obvious stunt like that, and got caught lying about it to boot.

[mscuedawg]

32. That was CLASSIC! Glad I didnt miss seeing it! Thanks Dave!!! : )

[Clio the Leo]

33. Best part of the whole thing.....

.... Dave said, "ok, lemme go over this ONE more time..." then repeated what John was doing ...... and someone in the audience cheered to which Dave said, "Thank you!"

At that point it was PERFECTLY CLEAR that David Letterman was NOT joking. He was doing it in a joking manner ..... but he was DEAD SERIOUS. No WAY is John McCain qualified to lead us.

[Citizen_Penn]

91. #1 on the Dave Top Ten list of McCain slams last night was

"the road to the White House runs right through me".

Slam dunk!

[Window]

34. Exactly.

Thanks for the video, I missed it last night.

[Lilith Velkor]

35. Massive burn!

:headbang:

[Unsane]

116. agreed

[Canuckistanian]

37. I prefer a "Nixon 5:00 shadow moment"

The most famous politician in history to sport a five o'clock shadow, at a time when it was still considered a faux pas, was U.S. president Richard Nixon, who is said to have lost the 1960 presidential election in part due to his unfortunate stubbled appearance during the televised United States presidential election debates with John F. Kennedy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_o%27clock_shadow

[JimGinPA]

38. Yeah, That Was Brutal

K&MR

[yellowcanine]

39. Letterman (watching McCain talk to Katie C.), "Hey John, I got a question. You need a ride to the

airport?" Heh. I don't see how McCain recovers from this. Letterman just made him the laughingstock of the country.

[1Hippiechick]

82. LOVE the signature line.....LOL - great! n/t

[Essene]

40. and good for letterman to take a lying politician to task for dissing him

[BigDDem]

43. Letterman was priceless.

[Viking12]

44. "Crater, I hardly know her" hahahahahahaha

[Citizen_Penn]

92. Yep, Paul was on it, too last night nt

[Indenturedebtor]

45. First time I've watched Letterman in years! It was awesome

That's what you get when you talk ish about the media at large, and then stiff one of them. This is why no one can run on the "reforming the media" platform heheh.

[Stop Cornyn]

46. Agreed!

[FatDave]

48. It was a thing of beauty.

Not sure if it was a "Dukakis in the tank" moment, but I'll be happy if it was.

[Wizard777]

49. McCain was flayed, drawn, and quartered by Letterman.

[krkaufman]

56. Possibly the MOST damaging, IMO, was Letterman charging that Palin is unfit to lead ...

... the campaign in McCain's stead.

[katty]

50. Letterman had a field day with Mac--bts in makeup with Katie

what a hoot

[JBoy]

51. I could tell from the color in Dave's face - he was thoroughly pissed at McCain.

[Zambero]

53. Powdergate?

One should never EVER "trade up" to Katie at Dave's expense!

[1Hippiechick]

83. In McCain's case, Spacklegate. n/t

[krkaufman]

54. Both Olbermann and Letterman missed another big point ...

... that McCain wasn't rushing back to Washington, at all, since -- aside from his free publicity on Couric's program -- McCain was staying in New York to speak to the Clinton Global Initiative. Which then begs the question as to why McCain was threatening to skip Friday night's debate, but still speaking at the CGI.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

57. Dave: "Somebody's putting something in his metamucil..."

You put in your second string quarter back... where is your second string quarterback (Palin).

[JDPriestly]

60. McCain says he is imbued with the Democratic . . .

This is while the make-up is still being put on his face. I couldn't hear Couric's response because Letterman and Olbermann were talking to loudly.

[ReadTomPaine]

62. Ridicule is a powerful weapon. Ask any longtime poster right here on DU. n/t

[beachmom]

63. Yep, the comedians are very powerful, especially Letterman & Leno.

They poke fun at everyone, and are fairly non-partisan. So what Letterman said carries an incredible weight. Plus, didn't I read that more Americans get their news from the comedians than the regular news?

[petwlkr]

84. I luv Letterman but...

...my hats off to Craig Ferguson who absolutely nailed it last night.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DuQGqIZCWE

[1monster]

102. I love Craig Ferguson! I just can't stay up that late when I have to be at work at

7:30 AM...

He got it all right, especially the bailout, in that vid.

[ForeignSpectator]

107. Awesome! Make that its own video post! n/t

[Left Is Write]

111. "He apparently had time for a game of softball with Katie Couric..."

:rofl:

[Zambero]

64. It's far worse than a "Dukakis in the tank moment" for McCain

Dukakis merely looked foolish during his pathetic joyride around the track. But unlike McCain, he wasn't caught up in a lie while doing it. I would love to have heard McCain's expletive deleteds upon hearing the news that Letterman had exposed him, with due humiliation, for the liar that he is.

[asdjrocky]

66. "You need a ride to the airport?"

Classic Letterman. He said in the RS interview that he didn't know who he was going to vote for. Bet you he knows now.

[theFrankFactor]

68. I love your graphic!

[Unsane]

95. thanks!

[LynneSin]

69. And if you know anything about Letterman - the man holds grudges really well

It was stupid of McCain. If anything, he could have spent the time on the Letterman show to address the regular folks out there about why he's the man ** cough cough ** for the economy fix.

Instead he ran like a coward.

[Midlodemocrat]

79. Exactly. The feud with Oprah went on for years.

McCain should have ditched Couric instead. More people watch Dave.

[xloadiex]

70. Let's not forget

it's a $5000.00 make-up job.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/24/mccains-5000-makeup-will_n_128973.html

[zonkers]

72. They posted that 11 mil. watched last night.

[David__77]

74. Can a non-campaign progressive group use that in an ad?

Is it free domain? It could be used in the background while talking about McCain's alleged economic concern.

[Supersedeas]

77. Mika's brother called it a cheap shot -- now Mika doesn't like it

[Cha]

81. mccain's lying was a cheap shot..and mika and her "brother"

better watch it 'cause Letterman is in the right here..they don't want to start a war with Dave over mcloser.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

86. Letterman was pissed; and I don't blame him one speck.

All the prep that goes into one of those shows, and that jackass backs out at the last minute for no good reason.

Dave saw right through him. There was no urgent need to rush to Washington. It's not as if the people in Congress can't get by without McChickenshit. The fact that he LIED about not being able to do the interview so he could have a publicity op with Couric was just the icing on the cake.

[faithfulcitizen]

90. He essentially framed the news story. You could see the disgust on Dave's face.

He was hot.

[nickgutierrez]

93. You know, I usually don't watch the late-night comedy shows.

When I do, it's either Dave or Craig Ferguson, because he really seems to have it together.

Last night, though, after I heard that McCain had canceled on Letterman, I had to watch. Even before I knew Olbermann was the fill-in guest. One thing you can't do in a nationwide election is piss off the comedians. "Serious" newspeople, you can work around - because they are only as credible as the access they get to the candidates and the power-brokers. Comedians, however, are more dangerous, because they have the power to make people laugh, and thus, think. A campaign can create controversy and debate by insulting news organizations - as the McCain campaign has done to the New York Times - but insulting a comedian in this way not only makes the candidate look small and foolish, but puts a giant bulls-eye on his back. A well-trained comedian with a giant flashing bulls-eye can do damage in a way that nothing or nobody else can.

When this election is all said and done, the headstone on the McCain campaign's grave may well read, "Need a trip to the airport, Senator?"

[greyghost]

100. Dead on!

[jeff30997]

104. "Comedians...have the power to make people laugh, and thus, think"

I can tell you that I thought a lot when I watched that ! :rofl:

[jrockford]

103. I liked it, but it got a bit old hearing how much of a hero the guy was, etc etc.

could of left that bit out.

[Mabus]

105. Is that his $5K per make-up job artist, Tifanie White, applying the makeup?

http://blackpoliticthought.bustablog.com/john-mccain-reportedly-pays-more-than-5000-to-tifanie-white-for-cosmetic-services/

[pleah]

106. That video is great! I have seen it 3 times so far.

I hope it woke a few zombies up.

[Viking12]

114. WOW! 1.1 million views in less than 24 hours!

[1Hippiechick]

115. "We just confirmed that McCain has finished the Couric interview and is now making veal picatta on

Rachel Ray." Love it!