Posted on 01/03/2006 9:20:35 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Displaying a hostility to President Bush and the Iraq war similar to that expressed by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, on tonight’s Late Show David Letterman will go further than I’ve ever heard him in revealing his derision for President Bush’s decision to launch the Iraq war. I know this thanks to the “Big Show Highlight," a two-minute streaming-only RealPlayer preview of tonight’s program, which is now featured on the Late Show’s home page.
In the posted clip, Letterman mockingly tells guest Bill O’Reilly: "The President himself, less than a month ago said we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? It was just somebody just get off a bus and handed it to him?" Letterman demands: “Why the Hell are we there to begin with?" When O’Reilly points out that the British, Russians and Egyptians also presumed Iraq had WMD, Letterman retorts: “Well then that makes it all right?" Turning unusually serious, Letterman soon lectures: “I'm very concerned about people like yourself who don't have nothing but endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ. Honest to Christ." That prompts O’Reilly to contend: “No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a ‘freedom fighter' on my program." To which Letterman fires back: “I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap.” After the show airs in an hour, I will update this item with more from the Letterman/O’Reilly exchange, including a video clip. (Transcript of RealPlayer excerpt follows.)
It took me a while, but I managed to take down this transcript from the two-minute streaming RealPlayer “Big Show Highlight” video clip on the Late Show home page:
David Letterman: “The President himself, less than a month ago said we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? It was just somebody just get off a bus and handed it to him?”
Bill O’Reilly: “No.”
Letterman: “No, it was the intelligence gathered by his administration.”
O’Reilly: “By the CIA.”
Letterman: “Yeah, so why are we there in the first place? I agree to you, with you that we have to support the troops. They are there, they are the best and the brightest of this country. [audience applause] There’s no doubt about that. And I also agree that now we’re in it it’s going to take a long, long time. People who expect it’s going to be solved and wrapped up in a couple of years, unrealistic, it’s not going to happen. However, however, that does not eliminate the legitimate speculation and concern and questioning of ‘Why the Hell are we there to begin with?’”
O’Reilly: “If you want to question that, and then re-vamp an intelligence agency that’s obviously flawed, the CIA, okay. But remember, MI-6 in Britain said the same thing. Putin’s people in Russia said the same thing, and so did Mubarak’s intelligence agency in Egypt.”
Letterman: “Well then that makes it all right?”
O’Reilly: “No it doesn’t make it right.”
Letterman: “That intelligence agencies across the board makes it alright that we’re there?”
O’Reilly: “It doesn’t make it right.”
Letterman: “See, I’m very concerned about people like yourself who don’t have nothing but endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ.” [audience applause]
O’Reilly: “No, I’m sorry.”
Letterman: “Honest to Christ.”
“O’Reilly: “No way. [waits for applause to die down] No way you’re going to get me, no way that a terrorist who blows up women and children.”
Letterman: “Do you have children?”
O’Reilly: “Yes I do. I have a son the same age as yours. No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a ‘freedom fighter’ on my program.” [mild audience applause]
Letterman: “I’m not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap. [audience laughter] But I don’t know that for a fact. [more audience applause]
Ping
Letterman's Top Ten lists used to be funny. Other than that I like Leno better.
O'Reilly may be a blowhard, but this might be one of those cases when his guest gets his a$$ handed to him (like when he had Phil Donahue on a few months back). That's when O'Reilly is at his best.
Perhaps his ratings have tanked so far that his handlers decided it's time to "Jump The Shark".
Letterman is just the latest celebrity who thinks that because he's got camera time, he's earned the right to express his political views the way those who are known exclusively for their views earned it. He in essence has a captive audience for whatever he wants to say, and who can resist the urge to say Serious Things?
I don't know why anyone wastes their time on Letterman or the witless Leno when there are so many good books to read.
I used to love Letterman back in the NBC days when he was on at 12:30, had cool bands on, had funny skits with guys like Chris Elliot and Larry bud Melman. As far as I'm concerned, he totally jumped the shark when he went to CBS and moved to 11:30. I probably have watched the show 3 times since he made that move. The show sux. Leno sux, too. I never liked the Tonight show, even with Carson. What a snoozefest. The late shows like Conan have hip bands on from time to time. Other than that, who wants to watch interviews with actors/actresses, who are the boringest, lamest people on the planet? As for the antiwar crap, virtually every single "creative" person in America is an unhinged antiwar freak these days. They hate Bush. They hate Fox news. They hate Bill O Reilly. They have a totally ignorant conception of who OReilly is and what he represents. They are angry, intolerant, and ignorant.
Leno's also a lib, but he's not as stupid about it as Dave Letterman.
I hope Letterman continues his ratings slide against Leno.
" I hope O'Reilly cuts him a new one."
Bill said on his show this evening that it would be interesting. Although I haven't watched his commie unfunny program in many years, I'm going to watch it tonight just to see Bill kick Letterman's butt.
I just saw that.
It was pretty disgusting, but expected. Letterman has been bashing Bush constantly in the last year or two. It's clearly gone beyond just usual humor at the President's expense as has been the case up until then with Clinton and GW. Letterman is expressing a deep dislike if not hatred for the President.
I used to prefer Letterman to Leno. Now I don't watch either of them. Because neither are funny anymore and Letterman allows his politics to take over many shows.
Can't wait until Conan takes over the tonight show.
O'Reilly did ok for himself dealing with an uninformed jackass talking out of his arse with a New York liberal crowd 100% on Letterman's side.
I do think that people who are "artistic" in the entertainment sense have a genetic predisposition to be traitorous commie pinko a$$holes.
Yeah. This was DEFINITELY Letterman's Jump The Shark moment.
Some CBS contact info- in addition to the feedback option at the bottom of their website:
212-975-4321
212-975-4114
As arrogant as O'Reilly can be sometimes, I'm glad he stuck to his guns. He certainly had a lot more class than Letterman. He really exposed Letterman's liberalism.
You could tell by the way that Letterman was announcing him as a guest, that he was going to be nasty to O'Reilly.
BTW, what kind of a bubble do you have to live in to not realize that there's a PC campaign against Christmas in this country?
I saw that bit. I do believe O'Reilly should've answered back to his stupid question "Why in the hell are we there?" with the very simple answer. "We are there because a murderous dictator who had used chemical weapons and invaded his neighbors was not fully cooperating with UN inspections and was aiding terrorists and circumventing sanctions and trying to purchase additional nuclear material and rebuild his weapons programs. Dave Letterman was an ass like typical liberals who ask questions they should already have figured out the answers to if they were really as smart as they think they are.
I think its important for us to fight back against outrageous behavior by media types. Everybody should be writing, emailing, and calling Letterman about his disgraceful performance. We can't sit back and say "oh well, what can you do" anymore. Its time to be heard.
Please tell me that Bill let this AQ-sympathising POS have it with both barrels...this transcript makes it sound like Letterman was unloading and getting the upper hand???
RealPlayer? Isn't that kind of giving your registry a dose of coolwebsearch?
I saw it. letterman was disgraceful and looked like a jacka$$.
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