CBS News Executives Were Red- Faced Due To Letterman Airing McCain, Couric Footage
Sounds to me as if they don’t really give a shit.
September 26, 2008
CBS News executives were red- faced yesterday trying to explain how David Letterman used unaired news footage of Sen. John McCain with Katie Couric to embarrass the Republican presidential candidate.
McCain canceled his appearance on Letterman’s show late Wednesday, several hours before he was due to appear - claiming he had to return to Washington to deal with the financial crisis.
But when Letterman discovered the Senator sitting down with Couric at the same time he was supposed to be taping “Late Night,” he unloaded on McCain.
“I’m more than a little disappointed by this behavior,” Letterman told viewers. “This doesn’t smell right.”
“This is not the way a tested hero behaves. Somebody’s putting something in his Metamucil,” he said.
Later in the show, Letterman showed an internal, live video of McCain being tended to by a make-up artist before the Couric interview. Both Couric and Letterman are on CBS.
Letterman said on the air that McCain had called him personally to apologize and said he was racing to the airport.
“He doesn’t seem to be racing to the airport, does he?” Letterman told viewers.
“I feel like we’ve caught him getting a manicure,” Letterman quipped, as a make-up woman dabbed at McCain’s face.
Asked if CBS officials had a problem with Letterman using the internal news feed, a spokeswoman for “The Evening News” refused to address the issue.
But several CBS News executives - who asked not to be identified - said that the stunt did not go down well within the news division.
“If we had done something like that to him, someone around here would end up getting fired,” one said.
News officials found out Letterman was using the internal feed shortly after it showed up on an internal CBS feed carrying the “Late Show” taping.
“They were pretty aggravated,” a CBS News source told The Post.
“But they were not about to start a fight with Letterman,” the source said. “We’re in the middle of a heavy, heavy news cycle and Letterman is Letterman.
“He does whatever he wants and always has.”
McCain spokeswoman Nicole Wallace said that the campaign canceled on Letterman because it “felt this wasn’t a night for comedy.”
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the democrats or their supporters also appear to have sent the internet group Anonymous on a warpath with mccain and palin. so it just go’s to show how low these people will sink.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:11 amSomeone needs to tell Lettermen to put his big girl panties on and get a grip.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:12 amDL is a self important pissant. Dave, please dust off the steam roller and dive under it.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:15 amI am originally from very near where David is from and went to BSU at about the same time frame–he has always–ALWAYS been an asshole.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:21 amIm not a Couric fan by any means but if i was a presidential candidate i would definitely choose her show over lettermans any day.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:37 amLetterman is a self absorbed jerk! Like Obama and his debate, he is only concerned with himself and his show and cares not that the economy is on the brink of collapse! It would look like Nero(McCain) playing his violin while Rome(World Economy) burns. I think McCain is doing the right thing by putting aside his personal agenda and dealing with the biggest financial problem our country has faced since the depression! Times like these call for responsible leadership that McCain is showing!
September 26th, 2008 at 6:37 amWhat Letterman says does not really matter. He consistently makes fun of our president, which I feel is degrading to the office. You can disagree with the individual but still respect the office. Letterman, no longer funny, is toast in late night.
September 26th, 2008 at 6:39 amNightline is beating him in the ratings
September 26th, 2008 at 6:51 amYeah, Letterman was embarrassed. I actually felt bad for the guy - suddenly he had all that time to fill on his show. I think I’d crap a golden Twinkie if someone told me I had to go put on a one-hour, nationally televised show and the guest bailed at the last minute.
McCain should make it up to him; offer to have both himself AND Palin on his show. That has the makings of some good PR, on top of making it up to Letterman.
Oh, and McCain was right to bail and go take care of the government first. That was the mature, intelligent choice to make. Note that Obama couldn’t be bothered.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:41 amI don’t know if McCain was right to cancel Letterman or not, but it was really bad PR. He should have given Letterman a much better explanation.
September 26th, 2008 at 7:56 amWhat I want to know is, why do distinguished Republicans keep making their presence at this shit?
I’d think a lot more of McCain if he would simply tell dickheads like Letterman and the hags on “The View” to kiss his ass…
September 26th, 2008 at 8:06 amInstead of trying to smear and destroy McCain and Palin, because they aren’t capable of discussing issues, the media should read up on Obama’s radical past as a “community organizer.” Then they would realize that they are backing someone who is not a mainstream American to be leader of the free world. Who admits he wants power for power’s sake. That is scary. See
September 26th, 2008 at 8:41 amhttp://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=a74fca23-f6ac-4736-9c78-f4163d4f25c7
Who “gives a care”, as my 12 year old says, about Letterman? About the View? I think I may have watched 15 minutes of his show in my entire life. And the View? Never. I guess McCain has to try to get the ignoramous vote?
September 26th, 2008 at 8:43 amSounds to me as if CBS has some serious internal quality control issues. One part of the company has no clue what the other does. Maybe someone from Couric’s show should have contacted douch…er I mean Letterman’s show and let them know they were taking the talent. Maybe then douche, I mean Dave, wouldn’t have been forced to actually do some work for a change.
Never before in the history of this great nation have such talentless twits been given so much money.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:05 pm