Late-night's not always a laugher for candidates

[Freddie Stubbs]

There was no time for banter, or anything vaguely resembling a joke. David Letterman, serious TV interlocutor, got right to business Thursday night with retired Army General Wesley K. Clark. Letterman wanted to know about bullet wounds, the Kosovo campaign, rebuilding Iraq. He resurrected some of Clark's early campaign woes. He barely cracked a smile.

By the time it ended, Clark had taken up 18 coveted minutes of late-night TV. But it wasn't exactly rip-roaring fun.

It's one of the new wrinkles in this era of politicians-as-entertainment and entertainment-as-news. A late-night appearance seemed odd when Bill Clinton played his saxophone for Arsenio Hall in 1992. But now, most presidential campaigns consider late-night a standard part of the TV gantlet, a chance to humanize a candidate and reach a broad swath of the country.

Still, campaigns have also come to see a clear distinction between an appearance on "Late Night With David Letterman" and a slot on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."

more: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/11/22/late_nights_not_always_a_laugher_for_candidates/

[UTUSN]

1. Good Article & Dave's Great

Wish they hadn't compared him to G.E. RUSSERT as if G.E. is a standard of excellence.

[Spazito]

2. Good article!

Thanks for the link. I love that they made the distinction between Leno and Letterman, one has class, one is a shill.

[blm]

3. I agree. Letterman seems much more serious about world affairs than Leno.

.

[Nashyra]

4. I watch Letterman everynight now

just to see his George W. Bush moments, they are hysterical and they make him look sooooooooooooooooo stupid, he has one or two just about every night. I especially like the one where they catch him "spitting" out the side of his mouth walking to the helicopter.

[tigereye]

5. Dave really has had some good interview questions of late

He asks better ( more serious) questions than some of the news media. That is kind of scary! I also like to watch him rag on George Bush, although I tire of the continued Clinton and Janet Reno jokes.

[Jerseycoa]

6. I know I am shallow

I wanted my man to do his impersonation of Charlie Rangel. :shrug: