Mitt Romney Praises Sarah Palin On David Letterman (Video)

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Romney Tells Letterman: Palin "Has a Rifle, You Know"


Likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared on CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" Tuesday as part of his tour to promote his new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness."

Asked about potential rival Sarah Palin, Romney called her "terrific" and added, "she's got energy, passion." He then urged Letterman to "be careful what you say about her by the way," a reference to the feud between the two kicked off by Letterman's comments about Palin's daughter.

Letterman grinned and nodded, saying, "I've had my…," before trailing off as the audience began laughing.

Responded Romney: "She has a rifle, you know."

In his opening monologue, Letterman called Romney a "good looking Republican from Massachusetts," comparing him to new GOP senator Scott Brown, "but with pants."

The two men discussed cars and the auto industry, with Romney telling Letterman he drives a Ford Mustang. They also talked about Romney's father George, the former Michigan governor and auto executive.

They eventually turned to an incident in which Romney was punched on a flight departing from Vancouver last month.

"The fellow in the seat in front of my wife put his seat back during the takeoff procedure," said Romney, who said he "tapped him on the shoulder and reminded him" that the seat had to be upright for takeoff.

"He became somewhat agitated and they removed him from the airplane," Romney said. "He didn't like that, by the way, and gave me a good swat."

"And he broke my hair," Romney added, with a grin.

Later in the interview, the two men discussed the health care reform effort, with Romney saying "the problem is not the insurance companies." He said it was important to change the incentives to make health care more like a consumer market in order to control costs.

In his book, Romney criticizes President Obama for going "before so many foreign audiences to apologize for so many American misdeeds, both real and imagined."

"There are anti-American fires burning all across the globe; President Obama's words are like kindling to them," he writes, attacking Mr. Obama for "the steady stream of criticisms, put-downs, and jobs directed at the nation he was elected to represent and defend."

Romney kicked off the book tour Tuesday, appearing on ABC's "The View" and Fox News Channel's "Hannity" in addition to the "Late Show."

Sources: CBS, The Late Show

11 Best, Funniest 2010 Superbowl Commercials

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=116f413e-e1fc-4b09-80e9-2c29009d76a8&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral" target="_new" title="Snickers: Betty White">Video: Snickers: Betty White</a>



2010 Super Bowl Commercials: 10 Best


Snickers -- Betty White

Any commercial with Betty White and Abe Vigoda is a winner in our book no matter what it’s about. In this case, the spunky Golden Girl is playing pickup football with the guys, though she’s struggling. “Man, you’ve been riding me all day,” she says before eating a Snickers bar that not only transforms her into a regular guy but also raises Vigoda from the dead. What, “Fish” is still alive? Twenty-eight years after People Magazine erroneously reported his demise, the answer is yes!


CBS' Late Show--Oprah, David Letterman, Jay Leno

Late night fans got the surprise of a lifetime during the second quarter of the Super Bowl tonight when they saw Jay Leno sitting side-by-side with David Letterman in a promo for CBS’ Late Show. Appearing with Oprah Winfrey, Letterman laments about how bad the party is, and Leno retorts “he’s just saying that because I’m here.” Minutes after the spot, CBS sent out word that the two late night stars taped the spot last Tuesday at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City. The spot was a revisit, of sorts, to a 2007 Super Bowl spot that featured Letterman and Winfrey. A Late Show spokesman said the spot was Letterman’s idea, and Leno and Winfrey were willing participants.

Coca Cola -- The Simpsons

The Simpson and Coke. Perfect together. Who wouldn’t like to see Monty Burns lose all his money? But the goodness of Coke makes for feel-good ending for all. Big props for a Spider-pig cameo on the swings.


Hyundai -- Brett Favre

OK, Hyundai’s commercials are getting better (with as many as they’re running, the odds are at least ONE had to be good). As much as we’re all getting sick of Brett Favre’s indecision every year, obviously he has a sense of humor about. I thought it was funny when he was saying most of the fans are younger than him, and that was before I noticed it was the 2020 MVP award he was winning. I thought he was talking about the current season. Because he’s already old.


TruTV -- Punxatawney Polamalu

Punxsutawney Polamalu. Awesome. So much better than a commercial about his hair. Let’s see PETA complain about THIS one. Unfortunately, there won’t really be six more weeks of football.


FloTV -- Spineless man

We all know this spineless male. Some of us know him all too well. Yeah, watching TV on a little screen can save some male dignity. But good luck getting your girlfriend to allow that.


Bud Light -- Stranded on an island

Passengers from an airplane crash are moping around on a desert island until the beverage cart full of Bud Lights washes up on shore. That’s when the party begins! Maybe the pilot had a few too many before he crashed the plane -- who knows? But the commercial proves that Homer Simpson was right: Beer truly is the cause of -- and solution to -- all of life’s problems.


Kia -- Toys fantasy

A life-sized sock monkey, a robot and a red monster you’ll recognize if you have kids all experience a wild weekend in a Hyundai. Not sure why this was funny, but it was.


HomeAway.com -- The Griswolds

Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprise their roles as quirky parents from the classic “Vacation” movies, except this time they’re exasperated travelers getting screwed by extra hotel charges. The solution, says the ad, is to rent a house. It’s a pretty good spot, but we were hoping Christie Brinkley would make an appearance at the hotel pool. This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!


Google -- French love story

Really clever commercial showing only the Google searches of a traveler in Paris as he tries to find the Louvre, then a cafe, then woos a French woman, then finds a job in France, then gets instructions on how to assemble a crib for their child. It shows how Google can help create a happy life instead of being used just for finding naked pictures of celebrities.


Audi -- Green Police

Funny. Sure, we all need to be more environmentally conscious. But it’s always funny when stuff like that is taken to the extreme. If a car could allow you to go around real police checkpoints like the one in the commercial, it’d be well worth it. Until that day, I’ll try to avoid a ticket for recycling.


Sources: Fox Sports, MSNBC, CBS, Entertainment Weekly, Youtube

Rosie O'Donnell, Howard Stern, David Letterman Slam Jay Leno

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David Letterman's Top 10 Christmas Carols (Holiday Humor)

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N.O.W. Rebukes David Letterman Over Past Sexual Relationships With Female Co-Workers

(“Late Show” host David Letterman admits to having affairs with women on his staff and says someone at CBS had been trying to blackmail him. NBC’s Michael Okwu reports and NBC’s chief legal analyst, Dan Abrams, discusses the case.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NOW blasts Letterman over sexual affairs with staff


The National Organization for Women has sharply criticized comedian David Letterman, accusing him of promoting a hostile, uncomfortable work environment.

"The latest Letterman controversy sheds new light on the widespread objectification of women in the workplace," NOW said in a statement Tuesday. "Most women can attest to the fact that many workplaces are plagued with inappropriate behavior by men in power."

The "Late Show With David Letterman" host admitted last week on his CBS program that he had sex with unnamed employees and had testified about those liaisons before a New York grand jury as part of an alleged extortion attempt.

A CBS producer, Robert "Joe" Halderman, is accused of threatening to go public with embarrassing information about Letterman's private life unless the 62-year-old funnyman ponied up $2 million.

Letterman made a public apology Monday to his wife, Regina Lasko, who, he said, had been "horribly hurt by my behavior." He said he is trying to repair that relationship.

"Either you're going to make some progress and get it fixed, or you're going to fall short and perhaps not get it fixed, so let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me," Letterman told the audience Monday night.

Letterman married Lasko in March, and they have a 5-year-old son together. All the affairs took place before the marriage, Letterman's production company has said.

NOW said Letterman's behavior was inappropriate in the workplace, saying all employees should be respected for their talent and skills.

"Recent developments in the David Letterman extortion controversy have raised serious issues about the abuse of power leading to an inappropriate, if not hostile, workplace environment for women and employees," NOW said in Tuesday's statement.

Men such as Letterman make decisions on hiring and firing, who gets raises, who advances and who does entry-level tasks, NOW said.

"As 'the boss,' he is responsible for setting the tone for his entire workplace -- and he did that with sex. In any work environment, this places all employees -- including employees who happen to be women -- in an awkward, confusing and demoralizing situation," the group said.

"The National Organization for Women calls on CBS to recognize that Letterman's behavior creates a toxic environment and to take action immediately to rectify this situation. With just two women on CBS' board of directors, we're not holding our breath."

Those board members are Shari Redstone, vice chairwoman of the board and president of National Amusements Inc., which operates motion picture screens, and Linda Griego, president and chief executive of Griego Enterprises Inc., a business management company.

CBS airs "Late Show With David Letterman," which Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants Inc., produces.



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David Letterman Apologizes To His Wife For Sex Scandals...What About His Sponsors??? Ratings?

(Letterman apologizes to his wife. On his first show since going public with an alleged extortion plot, TV host David Letterman takes shots at himself and talks about the scandal’s impact on his wife. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports.)

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(Will Letterman's confession of affairs with co-workers hurt his career or cause sponsors to drop him?)

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(Who is Letterman's would-be Blackmailer? Marisa Guthrie, Programming Editor for Broadcasting and Cable magazine, talks about the man who attempted to extort $2 million from David Letterman.)

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Letterman apologizes to wife on Monday’s show


David Letterman apologized to his wife on Monday's "Late Show," saying she had been "horribly hurt by my behavior."

The late-night host vowed to repair his relationship with his wife, Regina Lasko.

"Let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me," said Letterman, according to an early transcript of the program released by CBS.

Monday's show was the first show taped by Letterman since Thursday, when he disclosed that he had had sexual relationships with women who worked for him, and that he had been the victim of an alleged $2 million blackmail threat.

Letterman also apologized to his staff for the situation.



A teachable moment for workplace lovers

When talk show host David Letterman went public last week with the revelation that he had affairs with women who worked for him, he pointedly said he hopes “to protect my job.”

For the late-night comedian, that is no joke.

Many companies have policies that restrict or prohibit relationships between a boss and his or her subordinates, and violations can be career killers.

In 2005, to take one high-profile example, Harry Stonecipher was asked to resign from his post as chief executive officer of Boeing Co. when his extramarital affair with another executive at the company was exposed.

In the case of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., the damage is still unfolding from an affair he had with a member of his campaign staff (who also was the wife of a close aide) that was disclosed in June. In another case Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly settled a harassment lawsuit brought by a producer who said the two had phone-sex conversations.

In the O'Reilly case, the producer claimed she allowed the conversations to continue because he was her boss. "I'm not used to saying no to this man on any level," she said in one interview.

That is exactly why such relationships are frowned on in the workplace and why organizations establish guidelines for such liaisons, especially when they involve a head honcho and subordinates. Such relationships can lead to sexual favoritism, a hostile work environment and straight out sexual harassment.

“When you have a boss and subordinate relationship, one person has power over the other,” said Linda Henman, the author of “The Magnetic Boss.” “Whether that person abuses the power is irrelevant, the perception is there.”

Letterman technically is an employee of his Worldwide Pants production company, but CBS has a clear policy on the situation, and CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the broadcaster's policies.

Here’s a section of CBS’ 2008 Business Conduct Statement: “If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company’s Human Resources Department to ensure that there are no issues of actual or apparent favoritism, conflict of interest, sexual harassment, or any other negative impact on others in the work environment.”

It is not known whether Letterman informed anyone at the company about his affairs. CBS Television spokesman Chris Ender would not comment on the issue beyond this: “Mr. Letterman addressed the issue during the show’s broadcast (Thursday) evening, and we believe his comments speak for themselves.”

Romantic relationships in the workplace are nothing new. About 40 percent of workers have had a workplace romance, according to a study by recruiting firm Spherion Corp. last year.

Such affairs can cause messy situations in the workplace, especially when they involve a boss and a subordinate, because they are seldom kept under wraps, said Henman. “People think they are cleverly hiding it but don’t recognize they a lot of people probably know,” she said.

There are a variety of legal claims that can arise out of relationships between a subordinate and superior, said Jennifer Kearns, a partner with the law firm Duane Morris who specializes in employment law.

Kearns offered three types of claims:

* A subordinate can say they never wanted to be in the relationship in the first place and that their boss pressured them into it. “These harassment claims can arise years later,” she said.

* Even if the relationship was consensual, claims sometimes arise afterward that a boss retaliated against the underling because she didn’t want the affair to continue.

* And there’s the paramour claim. “People who say, ‘Gee, look at her sleeping with the boss and she’s getting all the best accounts, but I’m not getting those because I’m not sleeping with the boss,’” she said..

Kearns pointed to a case involving a prison warden and consensual relationships he had with several of his subordinates. In a lawsuit, two former employees who did not have such affairs claimed the warden favored his lovers, creating a hostile work environment.

Such favoritism is not necessarily enough for a discrimination claim, said Ray Peeler, senior attorney advisor for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “But if you have somebody who’s serially doing this with employees where it becomes an issue to get ahead with this supervisor then that’s clearly illegal," he said.

Widespread sexual favoritism, he explained, can create a hostile work environment, and if a jilted lover demotes a subordinate or otherwise adversely impacts their job, that’s considered retaliation. Both are illegal.

and the manager continue to pursue a person who is not interested. That is considered sexual harassment.

Aside from the legal issues, there is also social and emotional fallout to consider.

“Once the work intensity subsides, you might feel embarrassed that the excitement propelled you toward intimacy with a co-worker,” said Leslie Beth Wish, a psychologist who writes about relationships at LoveVictory.com

“You might have to work with this person on another project, and now your emotional and intellectual energies for work are compromised. You must now deal with your discomfort, disappointment and embarrassment.”

No matter how Letterman’s situation plays out, it does open up the question of whether such relationships are ever a good idea in the workplace, especially after the talk show host was ensnared in a $2 million extortion plot. A CBS News producer has been arrested and charged with the scheme.

I did an informal poll on Twitter following Letterman’s mea culpa, asking how an employee on this famous man’s show could say no to advances from the big cheese?

Here’s a sampling of the answers I got:

* From @laurenbear: hopefully letterman's ladies made the move on him, otherwise, very uncool. dangerous moves either way!

* From @jobsearchjungle: the big question is ... if they denied him, would he provide them a reference down the road or not!!!!????

* From @abbycarr by crossing her legs?

Henman believes these types of relationships involving successful men and women and their underlings often come down to a power trip.

“Look at Clinton and Monica Lewinsky,” she said, referring to the former president, a frequent butt of Letterman's jokes. “You have a naïve young woman, and the leader of the free world is interested in her. That’s pretty much an aphrodisiac.”

“I’m not saying,” she added, “that that’s what happened in Letterman’s case. But he’s rich and famous and that’s attractive, and he can use his position to get women in bed.”



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Letterman Extortioner (Robert J. Halderman) Pleads Not Guilty, Too Late!...Smart Move Dave

(What's next for David Letterman?)

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(Was it a wise move for David Letterman to disclose Halderman's Extortion plot to the public? From a PR perspective, yes.)

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Producer pleads not guilty in Letterman plot


A CBS News employee has pleaded not guilty to trying to blackmail David Letterman for $2 million in a plot that spurred the TV host to acknowledge sexual relationships with female staffers on his show.

Robert J. Halderman entered his plea as he was arraigned on an attempted grand larceny charge Friday in a Manhattan court. Bail has been set at $200,000.

Halderman is a producer for the true-crime show “48 Hours.”

Prosecutors say Halderman demanded $2 million last month in exchange for not releasing information that would ruin Letterman’s reputation. Letterman told his viewers Thursday that the threat concerned sexual liaisons with female staffers.

Authorities say the plot prompted a sting operation at a New York hotel, with Letterman’s lawyer secretly recording Halderman’s threats.

The district attorney’s office said Halderman left a letter and other material for Letterman early Sept. 9. He wrote that he needed “to make a large chunk of money” by selling Letterman a screenplay treatment — an entertainment-business term for a synopsis used to pitch a screenplay.

The supposed treatment said Letterman’s world would “collapse around him” when information about his private life was disclosed, leading to “a ruined reputation” and damaging his professional and family life, prosecutors said. The also mentioned Letterman’s “beautiful and loving son,” prosecutors said.

It wasn’t clear whether the reference was meant as a threat to harm the boy. Letterman was the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter at his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a ransom.

After receiving the materials, Letterman immediately contacted his lawyer, who arranged a meeting with Halderman. At the meeting, Halderman demanded $2 million to keep the material secret, the district attorney’s office said. After the meeting, Letterman and his lawyer contacted the DA’s office and the investigation began.

In an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers, the late-night host admitted that he had sexual relationships with female employees. Letterman said that “this whole thing has been quite scary,” but he mixed in jokes while outlining what had happened to him.

It was a shock because the 62-year-old Letterman had married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. The couple began dating in 1986 and have a son, Harry, born in November 2003. It was not immediately clear when the relationships to which Letterman admitted took place, or how long they lasted.

Fatherhood and his heart surgery in 2000 had seemed to mellow Letterman, who took over as the most popular late-night comedy host this summer after NBC replaced Jay Leno with Conan O’Brien on the “Tonight” show.

Terrible, terrible things

Letterman sat behind his desk to outline the scheme after a monologue that targeted some frequent foils like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney.

Three weeks ago, Letterman said, he got in his car early in the morning and found a package with a letter saying, “I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things.” He acknowledged the letter contained proof.

He said it was terrifying “because there’s something insidious about (it). Is he standing down there? Is he hiding under the car? Am I going to get a tap on the shoulder?”

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the district attorney’s office set up the undercover sting operation at the swank Jumeirah Essex House hotel in Manhattan. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation continues.

Police detectives were in an adjoining room with recording equipment and surveillance as Letterman’s attorney met with Halderman and discussed terms of the extortion, the official said.

“At one point he told the attorney that he didn’t want to have to work for the rest of his life, and the number he came up with was $2 million,” the law enforcement official said.

Court documents posted on TMZ.com show he was required to pay nearly $6,000 a month in child and spousal support to his ex-wife.

There were two subsequent meetings, with the man given a phony $2 million check at the last one. Letterman joked on his show it was like the giant ceremonial check given to winners of golf tournaments.

He told the audience that he had to testify before a grand jury on Thursday.

“I was worried for myself; I was worried for my family,” he said. “I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done.”

He said, “The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is yes, I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Yes, it would, especially for the women.”

Whether they wanted to make the relationships public was up to them, he said.

“It’s been a very bizarre experience,” he said. “I felt like I needed to protect these people. I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself. Hope to protect my job.”

CBS said in a statement that “we believe his comments speak for themselves.”

On air for 27 years

Letterman’s “Late Show” has been on the air since 1993. Before that, “Late Night with David Letterman” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993.

Letterman won’t be taping a show Friday. Friday night’s show was taped Thursday.

It's the second set of embarrassing headlines for Letterman in four months. In June, he apologized to Palin for making a crude joke about the former Republican vice presidential candidate's 14-year-old daughter. Although there was a small "fire Letterman" demonstration outside of his studio later, CBS stood by its late-night star.

Last fall Letterman sharply denounced Palin's running mate, John McCain, for abruptly canceling a "Late Show" appearance. Weeks of withering jokes by Letterman eventually forced McCain to come on the show and beg for forgiveness.

Letterman was also the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter on his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a $5 million ransom. The former painter, Kelly A. Frank, briefly escaped from prison in 2007 before being recaptured.



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David Letterman Extortion Plot Foiled!...CBS Producer Indicted

(“Late Show” host David Letterman admits to having affairs with women on his staff and says someone at CBS had been trying to blackmail him. NBC’s Michael Okwu reports and NBC’s chief legal analyst, Dan Abrams, discusses the case.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

CBS employee indicted in Letterman plot


A CBS News employee has been indicted in an extortion plot against David Letterman, who acknowledged sexual relationships with female staffers on his show after the man tried to blackmail him for $2 million, the Manhattan district attorney said Friday.

Robert J. “Joe” Halderman, a producer for the true-crime show “48 Hours,” was arrested Thursday and indicted on one count of attempted first-degree grand larceny, punishable by five to 15 years upon conviction, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

“Our concern here is extortion, and that’s what we’re focusing on,” Morgenthau said.

Prosecutors declined to say whether Halderman had financial problems or other motives. He was due to be arraigned later Friday. His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, didn’t immediately return a telephone call Friday.

The district attorney’s office said Halderman left a letter and other material for Letterman early Sept. 9. He wrote that he needed “to make a large chunk of money” by selling Letterman a screenplay treatment — an entertainment-business term for a synopsis used to pitch a screenplay.

The supposed treatment said Letterman’s world would “collapse around him” when information about his private life was disclosed, leading to “a ruined reputation” and damaging his professional and family life, prosecutors said. The also mentioned Letterman’s “beautiful and loving son,” prosecutors said.

It wasn’t clear whether the reference was meant as a threat to harm the boy. Letterman was the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter at his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a ransom.

After receiving the materials, Letterman immediately contacted his lawyer, who arranged a meeting with Halderman. At the meeting, Halderman demanded $2 million to keep the material secret, the district attorney’s office said. After the meeting, Letterman and his lawyer contacted the DA’s office and the investigation began.

In an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers, the late-night host admitted that he had sexual relationships with female employees. Letterman said that “this whole thing has been quite scary,” but he mixed in jokes while outlining what had happened to him.

It was a shock because the 62-year-old Letterman had married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. The couple began dating in 1986 and have a son, Harry, born in November 2003. It was not immediately clear when the relationships to which Letterman admitted took place, or how long they lasted.

Fatherhood and his heart surgery in 2000 had seemed to mellow Letterman, who took over as the most popular late-night comedy host this summer after NBC replaced Jay Leno with Conan O’Brien on the “Tonight” show.

"Terrible, terrible things"

Letterman sat behind his desk to outline the scheme after a monologue that targeted some frequent foils like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney.

Three weeks ago, Letterman said, he got in his car early in the morning and found a package with a letter saying, “I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things.” He acknowledged the letter contained proof.

He said it was terrifying “because there’s something insidious about (it). Is he standing down there? Is he hiding under the car? Am I going to get a tap on the shoulder?”

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the district attorney’s office set up the undercover sting operation at the swank Jumeirah Essex House hotel in Manhattan. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation continues.

Police detectives were in an adjoining room with recording equipment and surveillance as Letterman’s attorney met with Halderman and discussed terms of the extortion, the official said.

“At one point he told the attorney that he didn’t want to have to work for the rest of his life, and the number he came up with was $2 million,” the law enforcement official said.

Court documents posted on TMZ.com show he was required to pay nearly $6,000 a month in child and spousal support to his ex-wife.

There were two subsequent meetings, with the man given a phony $2 million check at the last one. Letterman joked on his show it was like the giant ceremonial check given to winners of golf tournaments.

He told the audience that he had to testify before a grand jury on Thursday.

“I was worried for myself; I was worried for my family,” he said. “I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done.”

He said, “The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is yes, I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Yes, it would, especially for the women.”

Whether they wanted to make the relationships public was up to them, he said.

“It’s been a very bizarre experience,” he said. “I felt like I needed to protect these people. I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself. Hope to protect my job.”

CBS said in a statement that “we believe his comments speak for themselves.”

On air for 27 years

Letterman’s “Late Show” has been on the air since 1993. Before that, “Late Night with David Letterman” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993.

Letterman won’t be taping a show Friday. Friday night’s show was taped Thursday.

It's the second set of embarrassing headlines for Letterman in four months. In June, he apologized to Palin for making a crude joke about the former Republican vice presidential candidate's 14-year-old daughter. Although there was a small "fire Letterman" demonstration outside of his studio later, CBS stood by its late-night star.

Last fall Letterman sharply denounced Palin's running mate, John McCain, for abruptly canceling a "Late Show" appearance. Weeks of withering jokes by Letterman eventually forced McCain to come on the show and beg for forgiveness.

Letterman was also the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter on his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a $5 million ransom. The former painter, Kelly A. Frank, briefly escaped from prison in 2007 before being recaptured.



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Pres. Obama On Letterman..."I Was Actually Black Before The Election"

Pres. Obama On Letterman


(Pres. Obama: "I was actually Black before the Election".)


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Add this one to the presidential collection: the heart-shaped potato.

By the time Pres. Barack Obama came on stage to the taping of the "Late Show" on Monday, host David Letterman had offered up 10 reasons why in the world the president had agreed to do it.

Among Letterman's theories: Pres. Obama said yes without thinking about it, or as Letterman put it, "Like Bush did with Iraq."

But Pres. Obama had other ideas. It turns out he was listening when Letterman had bantered with a woman in the audience who brought -- yes -- a potato in the shape of a heart to the show.

Pres. Obama told Letterman: "The main reason I'm here? I want to see that heart-shaped potato."

The woman tossed the potato to Letterman.

She agreed to let Pres. Obama keep it. Said the president: "This is remarkable."

Pres. Obama also had his most irreverent answer yet on the question of whether some of the vitriolic reaction to his health care plan is driven at least partly by racism.

"First of all, I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election," Pres. Obama said to huge laughs from Letterman and the audience.

Responded Letterman: "How long have you been a black man?"

Letterman covered a number of topics with Pres. Obama -- many of them serious -- in a taping that ran about 40 minutes. The show will be broadcast on CBS on Monday evening.

On the economy, Pres. Obama offered a sober prediction as the country deals with 9.7 percent unemployment, the worst level since 1983. He said he expects unemployment will be a "big problem" for at least another year. But he also said the economy will rebound even stronger.

As for the war in Afghanistan, Pres. Obama said he knows some people want him to bring troops home, and others are calling for him to increase U.S. force levels to combat the insurgency. The top U.S. commander there is warning the war could be lost without more troops.

Pres. Obama said he won't make a decision on sending in more troops, though, until he completes a comprehensive review of the war effort and settles on his next strategy.

"I'm going to be asking some very hard questions," Pres. Obama said.

Pres. Obama's visit made him the first sitting president to appear on Letterman's program. He had been on Letterman's show five times before, though, most recently in September 2008.

The White House said it was a good way for him to reach yet another audience as Pres. Obama wraps up a blitz of TV appearances, trying mainly to build support for his health care plan.

Pres. Obama also went on NBC's "Tonight" show when it was hosted by Jay Leno.

After the taping, the president returned to his midtown Manhattan hotel and quietly emerged a while later in gym clothes and a baseball cap. His destination: the church across the street for some basketball with his aides.


Sources: CBS, Late Show w/ David Letterman, Huffington Post, AP, NY Daily News, World Wide Pants

David Letterman Calls Gov. Sarah Palin "Pathetic"....She Responds

Politico-----

Sarah Palin called David Letterman “pathetic” Tuesday after the CBS “Late Show” host said the Alaska Republican governor sports a “slutty flight attendant look.”

“What a commentary there,” Palin said of the comment during an interview on conservative host John Ziegler’s Los Angeles-based radio show. “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.”

In a follow up to Palin’s weekend trip to New York, Letterman’s “Top Ten” list on Monday featured “highlights of Sarah Palin’s trip to New York.” Number two on the list was “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.”

“It’s very sad to not recognize what this trip was all about,” Palin said, pointing to the autism event she participated in during a stop in Westchester, New York.

Palin grouped Letterman in with media outlets “where everything is commentary and facts don’t matter anymore.”

Asked about the allegations that she plagiarized former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a speech last week in Alaska, Palin said “that latest incident is absolute nonsense.”

Gingrich’s camp told POLITICO Monday that the plagiarism charges were “silly,” pointing out that Palin had cited the former speaker in her remarks.

Palin referred to the reporters and bloggers who accused her of plagiarism as “buffoons.”

“If they are not held accountable, these reporters who repeat lies and repeat distortions all in the name of hard news, then our nation is headed to a very scary place,” she said.

Palin was the first guest on Ziegler’s radio show, which aired for the first time Monday. Ziegler previously interviewed Palin soon after the presidential campaign for his film “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted.”

The Alaska governor admitted to Ziegler that there have been times when she questioned if her career in politics is worth the accompanying criticism.

“To be brutally honest, yeah, there are some days where I have to ask myself if some of this is worth it,” she said, before adding that she “will not sit down and shut up.”

“I will continue to do that and they can continue taking shots,” Palin said.

Asked later if she would have picked Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, Palin said “I don’t know.”

“I think gender, race, should not be any kind of test you have to pass,” she said. “I’m sure that there are many, many qualified candidates that should have been considered.”


(Gov. Palin responds to Letterman's comments about her.)




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Sources: Politico, Google Maps