Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Letterman Rude, Oblivious and Condescending, Calls O'Reilly A Goon -- To His Face

Calling your guest a goon is bad host etiquette under any circumstances,  yet David Letterman did exactly that to Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, on Tuesday's "Late Show" 

He also told the "Factor" host, "You're too smart to believe what you say." 

And some actually said 'all in all, it was a friendlier encounter than might of been expected', the following lowspots not withstanding:

  • Dave began his negative comments about O'Reilly, and how he (Letterman) would react to O'Reilly, while O'Reilly was still backstage.
  • After O'Reilly gave his background before becoming the "Factor" host, Letterman responded, "When you say working your way up, does that really apply to Fox?"
  • Holding up O'Reilly's best-selling book, Letterman chided, "Here's what breaks my heart about this: In my mind, I think of you as a goon! But then, when you look at, look at this picture, look at how sweet and adorable that kid is, and it breaks my heart because I have a sweet, adorable kid like that, and I think, 'Oh, great, what if he too becomes a goon?"
  • When the discussion moved in the direction of whether or not Rush Limbaugh is now the head of the GOP, O'Reilly asked Letterman why he wanted that to be the case. Letterman responded: "Well, he's tubby. He's, he for a long time had his housekeeper buying illegal drugs. And I thought, 'Well, if this is what the Republican Party needs, there you go.'"
  • Still on Limbaugh, Letterman said: "It just seems to me that he's too smart to believe what he's saying. And I feel the same way about you. You're too smart to believe what you say."
  • When the discussion moved in the direction of former President George W. Bush, O'Reilly said, "Obviously, he presided over an economy that collapsed. That's on his sheet." Letterman quipped, "Presided or ignored?"

As the segment wound down, Letterman made a truly telling admission:

As ignorant as I am, and there are few people more ignorant than I am, I didn't, I didn't realize the deficit that this country had established for itself, or had been forced into for eight years until the previous tenant left the House...the state of the United States globally, until we got a guy in there who was actually, and who knows if he's doing the right thing, but at least he's doing something. But to me, the United States government was essentially closed for eight years.

Amazing.... 

  • How Letterman was oblivious to everything that occurred in Washington, D.C., until Obama was inaugurated... 
  • How Letterman thought it was okay to insult a guest on his show, let alone a man that was being honored for being the number one Cable News Program for 100 months in a row or... 81/2 years.
  • How Letterman and other Hollywood types and show hosts think it is their right to use their show and fame as a forum to continuously spout off about their politics and opinions, even when they are totally uninformed.
  • How Letterman went off on this man and then ultimately admitted that he had never even watched his program.

Or maybe not so amazing?!?

The question is... why would anyone want to go on Letterman's show and take the chance of being treated that way?  Letterman was rude, obviously oblivious to what goes own outside his narrow minded world, condescending and showed his ignorance.  In fact, Dave's finest moment was admitting that he was ignorant, but it didn't keep him from blabbing on!  Tells you a lot, (about Letterman) doesn't it?

By:  Marion Algier/Ask Marion for Daily Thought Pad

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