the rix mix

David Letterman might be a Repug or Democrat or independent. He jokes with Giuliani, shows respect to McCain, gives Hillary space to do prepared shtick & genuinely likes Bill Clinton. It's obvious his dislike for George W. Bush grew steadily from 9/11 until it became open contempt. The Bush administration deeply offends something in Letterman's core Hoosier heartland values in a way Ronnie, H.W., & Bill never did. & he was much younger & nastier back then. Tonight he gave not one but two segments to Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side:The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals. A serious writer. There wasn't a laugh in the entire interview, & Letterman didn't reach for any. They talked about torture. The studio audience had no choice but to listen. Having Mayer as a guest was an endorsement of her book.

I cannot imagine Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, or Craig Ferguson doing this. They are all three terrible interviwers. O'Brien wastes his interviews fighting the limitations of not being an animation. Ferguson thinks dumbing himself down was a requirement for citizenship. On the Tonight Show they make all the geezers sit behind the young females in the front rows who get to jump up on camera when Leno makes his gladhanding entrance. Jimmy Kimmel can dig into a subject but rarely does. But his humor has sharper edge to begin with.

Labels: TV