# McCain on Letterman **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337 "2008-10-17T04:25:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/1 "2008-10-17T04:25:20Z")
Holy crap, this is one uncomfortable interview. Those of you on the East Coast still have time to tune in for a few more minutes of douche chills. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/2 "2008-10-17T04:34:40Z")
Oh damn. Letterman dropped the G. Gordon bomb on his ass! I think this is the hardest-hitting interview McCain’s sat through in a long time. Dave is being relentless. ---
**Author:** ![vintageloveletter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@vintageloveletter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vintageloveletter)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/3 "2008-10-17T04:43:20Z")
Oy. Why do we have to hear McCain drone on about Palin’s husband? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/4 "2008-10-17T04:50:02Z")
> [@vintageloveletter](#): > > Oy. Why do we have to hear McCain drone on about Palin’s husband? I noticed that too. When Dave asked about Palin, Mac spent most of the time saying what a great guy Todd was. Is “He’s a great guy and a world-champion snowmobiler” supposed to make voters think Sarah would now make a great vice-president? ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/5 "2008-10-17T05:17:33Z")
Holy shit, Dave let him have it both barrels. What McCain was thinking coming on there and talking over him, I’ll never know. How about when Dave asked him what terrorists Palin is referring to? All he could say something like “Um…a lot of ‘words’ are said in these campaigns…” A lot of words indeed. They’re called “lies”. At first I thought Dave was going to just rib him some about not showing the first time and whatnot, but it was clear pretty quickly that he was still pissed and even more pissed that McCain wanted to spew his BS on his show. My jaw dropped at the Gordon Liddy comments. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/6 "2008-10-17T05:55:07Z")
Why is it that it’s Jon Stewart and David Letterman who ask the hard hitting questions instead of people who actually call themselves journalists? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/7 "2008-10-17T06:02:20Z")
[Link to Late Show](http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/) site on which you can watch the interview (after a short commercial). ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/8 "2008-10-17T06:11:01Z")
Apparently, McCain almost didn’t make it to the show _again_ because his plane was delayed in Philadelphia–so he had to take a helicopter to get there on time: > **[The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/)** > > Breaking news, live coverage, investigations, analysis, video, photos and opinions from The Washington Post. Subscribe for the latest on U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, climate change, health and wellness, sports,... I wonder if he wishes he had stayed on the plane now! Letterman wouldn’t let him off on the Palin question–saying things like “she’s inspirational” and “she’s a great role model” clearly didn’t satisfy Letterman’s concerns (nor mine) about her readiness to be president in the face of another 9/11 or the current economic crisis. Bringing up Liddy was a stroke of genius. Despite McCain’s insistence that Liddy has redeemed himself by serving time, Liddy has never voiced any regret for his involvement in Watergate–quite the contrary. He’s even [advocated the killing of federal agents](http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1313). Thank God someone finally called McCain on the Ayers bullshit. Go Dave! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/9 "2008-10-17T06:17:51Z")
Darn, the clip posted on the Late Show site claims to be the “entire” interview, but is clearly edited. I didn’t get the sense from that clip mashup that Letterman really landed solid punches – McCain filibustered fairly well. But maybe the editing softened things. ? The audience was having a hoot, but it seemed a little weak to me. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/10 "2008-10-17T09:20:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Why is it that it’s Jon Stewart and David Letterman who ask the hard hitting questions instead of people who actually call themselves journalists? _This._ ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/11 "2008-10-17T09:23:21Z")
New Obama ad: a loop of McCain saying “I screwed up” interspersed with a series of questions about the economy, the bailout, his health care program, his choice of Palin, etc. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/12 "2008-10-17T10:19:39Z")
Pretty funny interview, but I’m rather pissed that McCain referred to Iraq as “a place where no stable government has been since Alexander The Great.” What _total_ bullshit. Ever heard of [Salahadin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin), jackass? Oh wait, of course you haven’t! ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/13 "2008-10-17T10:28:33Z")
Whew, now THAT was great stuff. The only way it could have gotten tougher for McCain was if Dave had brought up the fact that he was divorced and asked if people should that into account in assessing McCain’s own character. mcSame’s defense of Palin was pretty lackluster, although his mancrush on Todd is sweet. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/14 "2008-10-17T11:52:52Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Pretty funny interview, but I’m rather pissed that McCain referred to Iraq as “a place where no stable government has been since Alexander The Great.” What _total_ bullshit. Ever heard of [Salahadin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin), jackass? Oh wait, of course you haven’t! I could be wrong, but I believe he was referring to the area in the mountains and caves of Pakistan where bin Laden is in hiding, not to Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/15 "2008-10-17T12:19:03Z")
I don’t understand McCain’s need to “have the relationship explained.” How much more can it be explained? (I know he does it to foster distrust in Obama). The story is old and stale–unless it comes out that Obama and Ayers had some kind of intimate relationship (which would make Ayers a pedophile), there is nothing here. It makes McCain look desperate and stupid. The whole ACORN thing is silly–and so disingenuous of the GOP. There will always be some type of voter fraud going on, no matter the country or the party. (that doesn’t make it right, but there’s no getting away from it). I thought Dave wasn’t all that strong in the interview. Good to get Liddy out there, though. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/16 "2008-10-17T12:23:34Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Why is it that it’s Jon Stewart and David Letterman who ask the hard hitting questions instead of people who actually call themselves journalists? Because politicians avoid interviews with hard-hitting journalists, but are willing to go on an entertainment show – even if the questions are tough – because it enhances their image as a regular guy. And, of course, it depends on the politician. I doubt Sarah Palin would go on Letterman. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/17 "2008-10-17T12:31:06Z")
He’s never needed to have the relationship explained, other than in the sense that he needs to have Obama talking about stuff that McCain can claim is embarrassing. He knows perfectly well, better than anyone I can think of, how candidates attract some supporters who are over-the-top, with nefarious pasts, who serve on committees with them, who have given political contributions to them, etc. Obama’s showing remarkable restraint in not turning this whole William Ayers thing into a ground-scorching discussion of McCain’s political history. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/18 "2008-10-17T12:39:48Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > I could be wrong, but I believe he was referring to the area in the mountains and caves of Pakistan where bin Laden is in hiding, not to Iraq. That was my understanding, too. I actually thought he comported himself quite favorably, but he said some things that just don’t add up. For one, he presumes to have information that the administrations doesn’t have. That doesn’t make sense, to me. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/19 "2008-10-17T13:47:34Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Pretty funny interview, but I’m rather pissed that McCain referred to Iraq as “a place where no stable government has been since Alexander The Great.” What _total_ bullshit. Ever heard of [Salahadin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin), jackass? Oh wait, of course you haven’t! While of course you are correct about Saladin, it doesn’t change McCain’s point though. “Iraq hasn’t had a stable government since Saladin died in 1193” is still a pretty long time w/o a stable government. Besides, Saladin was a Muslim, and Republicans can’t go around praising Muslims, now can they? Come to think of it Saddam’s government was pretty stable for a number of years, wasn’t it? Dictatorships tend to be stable. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337/20 "2008-10-17T14:12:26Z")
I love that the band played “I Can’t Explain” to bring him on. > [@](#): > > Dizzy in the head and I’m feeling bad > The things you’ve said have got me real mad [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mccain-on-letterman/468337.md?page=2)