Confessions of a Letterman Intern

David Letterman inspired my broadcasting career.  Twenty years ago, he was an awkward, self-deprecating guy who wore tennis shoes with his blazer and tie. He was edgy, silly, and unconventional compared to the traditions of variety television at that time.  He resonated with an awkward high school kid watching at home in Missouri.  Carson was still the king of late night, and some guy named Leno filled in for him a lot.  But Dave was cool because he didn’t seem to fit in.  Yet, when Carson announced his retirement, Letterman was said to be the heir apparent to the Tonight Show. 

As a fan, I didn’t want Letterman to move into Carson’s chair.   Not because Letterman couldn’t handle it.  It just seemed too refined for someone as eccentric and edgy as Letterman.  Turned out NBC saw it that way too when they awarded “Tonight” to Leno.  It pained Letterman.  But it helped to foster that continued edgy, underdog status that led fans like me to follow him to CBS. (more…)

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Tags: Carson, cbs, Late Night, letterman, Midwesterner
Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 6:41 am in Entertainment, News, Uncategorized | 242486104 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cstigall/2009/10/08/confessions-of-a-letterman-intern/Confessions+of+a+Letterman+Intern2009-10-08+13%3A41%3A34Chris+Stigall

Will Letterman Face the Fire He Threw Without Mercy?

When felons were induced to talk, they were shown first the instruments of their torture. The King is shown the instrument of His… to induce Him NOT to talk.  - The Madness of King George

And with the full knowledge of what will happen next, the current King of Late Night. David Letterman announced to the world that he has been guilty of sexual indiscretions with some of his staff.

 That had to be difficult. Over the past 27 years we’ve enjoyed watching Letterman take apart people who have fallen prey to simple human urges. From Gary Hart’s Monkey Business, through Woody Allen and Soon Yi, into the Clinton years, and right up to the Palin scandal that forced an apology; David Letterman has been right on top of others’ indiscretions.

So he knew what he is facing. In a stifled apology on his show last night that sounded like it was written by Garrison Keillor, he got remorseful with the audience: (more…)

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Tags: cbs, Dan rather, Handlemann, Late Night, letterman
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 2:59 pm in Culture, Featured Story, Politics, Television | 239626129 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/10/02/will-letterman-face-the-fire-he-threw-without-mercy/Will+Letterman+Face+the+Fire+He+Threw+Without+Mercy%3F2009-10-02+21%3A59%3A29Tim+Slagle

Barack Obama on Letterman

Watch CBS Videos Online

Obama on Jimmy Carter: “I think it’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election… So the American people I think gave me this extraordinary honor and that tells you I think a lot about where the country’s at.”

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Tags: Jimmy Carter, Late Night, late show, letterman, Obama
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 12:13 am in Political Humor, Video | 23266654 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/09/22/barack-obama-on-letterman/Barack+Obama+on+Letterman2009-09-22+07%3A13%3A18Big+Hollywood

This Week’s Late Night Awards

Forty years after man first walked on the Moon, and every single talk show opened their first monologue of the week with jokes about it.  Conan O’ Brien did a revisit to last week’s erased Moon tape bit, this week suggesting that a Mr. T rap video was recorded over the original moon landing tapes. Stephen Colbert claimed that the New York Times reprinted their July 20, 1969 front page as a “moving tribute to a time when people got their news from newspapers.”

Of course David Letterman did jokes on it almost every single night. Conspicuously absent on Letterman this week were the Ruth Madoff jokes about switching to Geico® and California Pizza Kitchen®.  The Bernie Madoff joke this week (Monday and Friday) was how a call girl is the only person who actually made any money off of Bernie. He also jumped on the joke Jimmy Kimmel started last week about Obama’s Bingo Pants, but of course, Letterman’s joke was at the expense of people who might look more appropriate in Obama’s pants (Hillary, Rosie O’Donnell, Chastity Bono). Kimmel did a redux, and claimed he doesn’t want a President in tight jeans, he just wants a President that shops in the men’s section. (more…)

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Tags: Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, kimmel, letterman
Posted Jul 27th 2009 at 3:19 pm in Political Humor, Politics | 19287036 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/07/27/late-night-11/This+Week%27s+Late+Night+Awards2009-07-27+22%3A19%3A38Tim+Slagle

This Week’s Late Night Winners and Losers

It’s going to be a very sparse one this week, since Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart were all on vacation. (Last week, everybody but Stewart and Colbert were on vacation so I didn’t watch. They re-ran those episodes this week, but except for the Michael Jackson stuff, there wasn’t really enough overlap material to judge them fairly).

Lamest Attempt at Obama Joke: David Letterman claimed that Obama was in Russia, hiking the Appalachian trail.

Letterman also used John McCain as a foil on three different nights to compare the disparity between winners and losers of the last Presidential election: While Obama traveled to Russia to meet with Putin, McCain was chasing kids off his lawn. While Obama was in Italy, McCain was heating up a can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee; While Obama was in Italy meeting with the G-8, McCain was on his front porch in Arizona, waving at cars. (more…)

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Tags: Bob Newhart. Tonight Show, bush, clinton, Conan, ferguson
Posted Jul 13th 2009 at 9:11 am in Media Criticism, Political Humor | 18182655 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/07/13/late-night-9/This+Week%27s+Late+Night+Winners+and+Losers2009-07-13+16%3A11%3A18Tim+Slagle

Late Night Awards of the Week

While the President was pitching health care and the Speaker was rounding up support for Cap and Trade, the Late Nights were focused on Mark Sanford: a Republican governor that seemed like a comeuppance for Democrat Rod Blagojevich. In fact many of the hosts brought up the Illinois Governor in their jokes.

Craig Ferguson said after Spitzer and Blagojevich, the most normal governor was Jesse Ventura. He also said that a family values governor having a mistress is like Al Gore needing four SUVs to bring his lunch to him.(It was disappointing that Ferguson didn’t see the irony in his remark, because Al Gore DOES require multiple SUVs when he travels) Funniest line went to Conan O’Brien, who said the affair was a shock, because usually, Republicans don’t do well with Hispanic women. (more…)

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Tags: Blagojevich, Cap and Trade, Chastity Bono, Conan, jimmy fallon
Posted Jun 29th 2009 at 4:03 pm in Political Humor | 1733066 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/06/29/173306/Late+Night+Awards+of+the+Week2009-06-29+23%3A03%3A33Tim+Slagle

Late Night Round-Up: Huckabee and Stewart Spar on Abortion

After a week that will go down in history as the moment Republicans finally stood up for themselves, comics are not laying off John McCain’s former running mate just yet. Bill Maher said that Iran was propped up by oil revenue and run by a religious whacko, just like Alaska. Letterman, despite frequent jokes about the amount of hate mail he has been receiving, couldn’t help mentioning that Gay Pride week was the only time of year when you can see hundreds of men dressed up like Sarah Palin.

The big topics of the week were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the presidential fly killing:

The election of Mahmoud was compared by the talk show hosts alternately to the 2000 Presidential and the 2008 Minnesota Senate elections. Fallon claimed that now that his opponent lost, he’ll go on to make a documentary about Global Warming.  David Letterman actually did a joke almost every single night, changing the punchline from Florida voting machines, to Pat Buchanan, Al Gore, Al Franken and Jeb Bush.  Bill Maher used Norm Coleman then criticized his audience for not knowing who he was talking about. The funniest line was Ferguson’s who claimed that Iranian politics have finally gotten as corrupt as Chicago. (more…)

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Tags: 2000 Presidential elections, 2008 Minnesota Senate elections, Al Franken, Al Gore, ashton kutcher
Posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 6:42 am in Entertainment, Political Humor, Politics | 1660825 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/06/23/late-night-7/Late+Night+Round-Up%3A+Huckabee+and+Stewart+Spar+on+Abortion+2009-06-23+13%3A42%3A38Tim+Slagle

Dave, You’re Fired

Dear Mr. Letterman,

Several weeks ago I wrote you a heartfelt letter expressing my concern for the direction that your show was headed. I am sad to see that you have not only not reined in the nastiness, but that your spin cycle is now on viciousness overload.

Mr. Letterman, this is not about your liberalism. I was a fan of yours for 20 years, and put politics aside as my fellow Republicans abandoned your show in droves. I defended you sir, and I am now being forced to eat my words. (more…)

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Tags: Conan, leno, letterman, palin, Trump
Posted Jun 20th 2009 at 6:10 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 1611064 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/egolub/2009/06/20/dear-david-letterman-part-ii/Dave%2C+You%27re+Fired2009-06-21+01%3A10%3A23Eric+Golub

Inside the Letterman/Palin Flap

The fact that I’ve needed to correct the record every time I’m involved in some sort of media firestorm (about once a month since the election, it seems), probably says at least as much about the pathetic nature of our news media as anything I put in my documentary “Media Malpractice,” a film whose truth I’ve dedicated almost all of the last year of my life to. The most recent episode involving the controversy over David Letterman’s comments about Governor Sarah Palin and her family is certainly no exception.  

First, let me tell you what really happened, and then I can explain what we should all learn from this.  Here’s the timeline… 

Monday, June 8th: Letterman uses Palin’s trip to New York to unleash a torrent of  ”comic” attacks on her and her family. The entire “Top Ten” list is devoted to the Governor and includes cracks about her updating her “slutty” wardrobe and possessing illegal drugs. The monologue includes a “joke” about Palin’s “daughter” getting “knocked up” at a Yankees game by Alex Rodriquez during the 7th inning stretch while her mother and a stadium full of spectators presumably watched.   (more…)

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Tags: Bristol Palin, cbs, CBS Early Show, Contessa Brewer, firedavidletterman.com
Posted Jun 19th 2009 at 9:55 am in Featured Story, Media Criticism, Politics | 16495011 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jziegler/2009/06/19/inside-the-lettermanpalin-flap/Inside+the+Letterman%2FPalin+Flap+2009-06-19+16%3A55%3A30John+Ziegler

Conan O’Brien: Class Act and Worthy ‘Tonight Show’ Successor

Although I rarely find any interest in the entertainment industry, I am very glad to see Conan O’Brien become the head of the “Tonight Show.” His ascension to the throne continues a tradition that Johnny Carson brought forth and Jay Leno continued. The new host of the “Tonight Show” is a nice guy. (Steve Allen was as well, but many would consider he and Jack Paar to be less relevant since they came before Carson. I avoid this debate since, again, I am not in the industry.)

Yes, Johnny Carson preferred that David Letterman get his job (I watch Letterman, although less so lately), but the network saw Leno as the logical heir. Letterman is just too acid-tongued. It makes for some fun comedy, but the “Tonight Show” is about harmless and lighthearted fun. It made sense that Craig Kilborn, who was harder-edged than Conan, followed Letterman. Craig Ferguson, like Letterman, let’s his liberal political ideology affect his monologues. (more…)

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Tags: Andy Richter, Bill Clinton, Conan O'Brien, Don King, Jack Paar
Posted Jun 13th 2009 at 3:11 pm in Entertainment | 155026One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/egolub/2009/06/13/congratulations-conan/Conan+O%27Brien%3A+Class+Act+and+Worthy+%27Tonight+Show%27+Successor2009-06-13+22%3A11%3A25Eric+Golub

Daily Gut: Letterman’s Obsession with Sarah Palin

Here’s my take on Letterman’s obsession with Sarah Palin:

-ideology clouds what you find funny. If you’re a lefty, then a Palin joke is priceless. If you’re a righty, it’s lame. That’s just the way it is.

-Letterman is a comedian, and he tells jokes, and he shouldn’t have to apologize for them. If they’re not funny, or in poor taste, or horribly offensive – the marketplace will deal with it. That’s free enterprise. (more…)

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Tags: Bristol Palin, Chris Elliott, greg gutfeld, letterman, palin
Posted Jun 11th 2009 at 1:35 pm in Daily Gut | 15803420 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ggutfeld/2009/06/11/daily-gut-lettermans-obsession-with-sarah-palin/Daily+Gut%3A+Letterman%27s+Obsession+with+Sarah+Palin2009-06-11+20%3A35%3A09Greg+Gutfeld

Political Late Night Winners and Losers

It had been about three weeks since my last Late Night review, so I thought the time was right. Wednesday Night, May 20, 2009, I reviewed: David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon. I also took a look at the “Real Time with Bill Maher” from Friday May 19, and The season finale of Saturday Night Live.

Since my last review, we saw: A stand up comedy routine that was apparently gleaned from the mistaken assumption, that jokes about President Bush were standard Correspondent’s Dinner protocol. President Obama also announced his plan to save the auto companies by forcing them to raise their prices thirteen-hundred dollars (proving He has less business sense than the cartoon Wal-Mart slasher). He appeared on stage with a handful of people beholden to bailout money in a photo-op that looked very much like a hostage situation. Photographed on stage with Governors’ Granholm and Schwarzenegger, you had to guess which leader actually had a US birth certificate. He also broke his promises to end military tribunals, release the interrogation photos and suspend don’t ask don’t tell. He proved that He had as much problem speaking “Mexican,” as he has with “Austrian,” and promised to drastically slash the overdrawn budget by a whopping 1/2 of 1 %. (more…)

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Tags: Bill Maher, bush, Carrie Prejean, Governor Granholm, Governors Granholm
Posted May 26th 2009 at 5:05 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 14159414 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/05/26/late-night-6/Political+Late+Night+Winners+and+Losers2009-05-26+12%3A05%3A38Tim+Slagle

I Guess You Had To Be There: The Barack Obama Celebrity Roast

(Thundering tympanies, swirling spotlights)

Announcer

Live! From the fabulous Turtle Bay Ballroom at United Nations Headquarters, it’s the Rat Pack of Evil All-Star International Celebrity Roast of President Barack Obama!

(orchestra fanfare: ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’)

With Pyongyang funnyman Kim Jong-Il! Borscht Belt headliner Vlady Putin! Queen of Mean Liz Windsor! Saudi Sheik of Schtick King Abdullah! Beijing jokeslinger Hu Jintao! Wacky al Qaeda Caveman Ayman al-Zawahiri! Nick ‘the Knife’ Sarkozy! Sassy Wanda Sykes! South-of-the-border slapstick team Hugo Chavez and the Castro Brothers! Taliban Madman Mullah Omar! Jon Stewart! Lovable Libyan lush Muammar al-Ghadaffi! Grovelin’ Guvner Gordy Brown! Bashar “The Chin” al-Assad! The Hamas Fattah Dancers! And starring your Master of Ceremonies — that suntan man with a plan from Iran — that Persian with a nuclear perversion — Sheckyyyyyy Ahmedinejad!

(applause)

Shecky Ahmedinejad

Okay, okay, pipe down. Let’s get this thing over with, this straitjacket is a rental and my magic carpet is double-parked on East 43rd. Mohamed H. Prophet, will you get a load of the evil on the stage tonight? I haven’t seen this many bombs since Janeane Garofalo played the American Legion convention. (more…)

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Tags: "without preconditions", Ahmedinejad, al qaeda, American Legion, Andy Kauffman
Posted May 13th 2009 at 5:57 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Media Criticism, News, Political Humor, Politics, Religion | 1346345 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dburge/2009/05/13/i-guess-you-had-to-be-there-the-barack-obama-celebrity-roast/I+Guess+You+Had+To+Be+There%3A+The+Barack+Obama+Celebrity+Roast2009-05-14+00%3A57%3A28Iowahawk

Dear Dave

Dear David Letterman,

I am writing this to you as a man who has been a fan of yours for 25 years, who does not go to sleep until I see the Top 10 List. I cracked up when you came to Los Angeles, and threw tacos at people on the 405 Freeway. I loved it when you sent two guys dressed as bunny rabbits into an H and R Block on April 14th one year, only to see them get screamed at by stressed out accountants. Only you would be crazy enough to have a guy dress as a bear, stop traffic, and ask a New York City cab driver to dance the waltz.

Dave, for a long time you were the best. You joked about “mailing it in,” but I never thought you did. When ABC and CBS were in a tug of war, you told Paul Schaffer, “Can you believe two networks are fighting over this cr@p?”

Yet something has happened to you Dave. You are getting snarkier, and not in a fun way. You are becoming a grumpy old man. Ironically enough, you have made a career out of painting Republican presidential candidates this way. Yes, it was hilarious when you said, “Some people see the glass as half empty or half full. Bob Dole sees the glass as a great place to put his teeth.” Yet politically speaking, you are letting your ideology get in the way of your show. (more…)

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Tags: Bristol Palin, george w. bush, jay leno, jon stewart, Late Nigh comedy
Posted Apr 10th 2009 at 8:03 am in Entertainment, Political Humor, Politics | 101018No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/egolub/2009/04/10/dear-david-letterman/Dear+Dave2009-04-10+15%3A03%3A09Eric+Golub

Letterman: Another Intolerant Robot for the Left

–

Given the choice between watching Letterman or Leno, I choose Leno and have for years.  Leno lines up much better politically and I think his humor is much stronger than Letterman.  I also think Letterman is shallow.  Not much between the ears.  He pans to those who really aren’t well informed because he isn’t well informed.  He can give you a headline but no content.  When I have seen or heard his “Top Ten,” it’s most often just dumb and not worth the energy to even smile.  He’s a book with no pages.  During an exchange with Bill O’Reilly I caught on Fox this week, I was reminded why Letterman’s a dweeb.  Letterman wanted to talk about Rush Limbaugh, “He’s too smart to believe what he’s saying.  You (O’Reilly) are too smart to believe what you say.”  HUH?  I don’t know about you, but when someone says that to me, I get a little hot under the collar.  How do you say “thought police?” (more…)

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Tags: Late Night, leno, letterman, O'Reilly
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 at 3:33 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 9538682 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bjennings/2009/04/02/lettermans-a-dweeb/Letterman%3A+Another+Intolerant+Robot+for+the+Left+2009-04-02+22%3A33%3A24Brian+Jennings

“NewsBusted” 3/27/09 — Fake News from the Right

In this episode, “NewsBusted” covers: President Obama, Jimmy Carter, Leno, Letterman, Nancy Grace, Cuba, JFK, telePrompters, Senator Harry Reid, Congress, I Love You Man, Britney Spears, “Fight Club,” and VH1’s “Rock of Love.”

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Tags: Britney Spears, Congress, Cuba, Fight Club, i love you man
Posted Mar 27th 2009 at 3:55 pm in Media Criticism, Political Humor, Video | 90526No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/epeterkofsky/2009/03/27/%e2%80%9cnewsbusted%e2%80%9d-32709-%e2%80%94-fake-news-from-the-right/%E2%80%9CNewsBusted%E2%80%9D+3%2F27%2F09+%E2%80%94+Fake+News+from+the+Right2009-03-27+22%3A55%3A30Eric+Peterkofsky

60+ Days: Late Night Still Finds Ex-Prez Bigger Target Than Current One

It’s now been three weeks since my last update. In that time, we’ve learned the President cannot speak without a teleprompter and doesn’t even understand what he’s reading.  He also did the diplomatic version of picking up a gift card on the way to the birthday party; and made a miraculous promise worthy of King Canute, when he vowed to stop the Business Cycle. And we saw the Secretary of State hand the red button over to the Russians (without so much as a Clinton Library contribution), proving that eight years as a First Lady is not adequate preparation for duties required of the job. Then last Thursday, Obama did his own joke on a talk show and was accused of a meltdown three days later on “60 Minutes.”

Is the honeymoon over? Have we perhaps entered into the phase of His Administration where the satirists feel comfortable enough to resume the grand tradition of mocking the President? Indications seem positive. Pajamas Media pointed out that John Stewart actually ripped the President fairly good over his Iraq policy (and made me wonder why Code Pink has vanished from the scene). David Letterman actually delivered a good Obama line on March 4, but then followed it up with a series of Dick Cheney jokes (shot in the face, waterboard, pacemaker…) and a Rush Limbaugh pain killer joke. (full monologue here.) Strangely, he  repeated two of the jokes the following night ( Bernie Madoff saved money at Geico®, and the octo-dad should get out). (more…)

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Tags: Bernie Madoff, kimmel, Late Night Humor, leno, letterman
Posted Mar 25th 2009 at 12:02 pm in Media Criticism, Politics | 733662 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/03/25/obama-update-4/60%2B+Days%3A+Late+Night+Still+Finds+Ex-Prez+Bigger+Target+Than+Current+One+2009-03-25+19%3A02%3A08Tim+Slagle

Update: Still No Late Night Obama Humor

In the short span between my last review and today, we’ve seen the President sign a stimulus package so full of pork that Obama’s father would have been forbidden to touch it, along with a bump on the head, a scripted and sputtering press conference, and a contradiction from someone who actually understands how business works. Obama also appeared onstage in the theatre where Lincoln was shot, alongside a Lincoln impersonator (ouch).

Certainly there’s some topics ripe for ridicule. So what are the Late Nights talking about? I thought it was time for another review, so I fired up the DVR Tuesday night and watched David Letterman, Jay Leno, Craig Ferguson, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel. (Jon Stewart, and Stephen Cobert both have the week off.) (more…)

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Tags: Conan, Late Night Jokes ABout Obama, letterman, Obama, stimulus
Posted Feb 19th 2009 at 5:16 am in Media Criticism, Political Humor | 4883095 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/02/19/obama-update-2/Update%3A+Still+No+Late+Night+Obama+Humor2009-02-19+13%3A16%3A02Tim+Slagle

Aren’t Late Night Comics Looking For Obama Material?

Could you imagine if Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush had used a teleprompter to answer questions during a press conference? The late night joke writers wouldn’t have let it go until the President gave in to the merciless ridicule as he was painted as an idiot who couldn’t tie his shoes without being fed instructions on how to do it.

While people who watched Obama’s first national press conference noticed his use of a teleprompter to give his initial presentation as well as in answering questions, the media and late night joke writers completely ignored it. The American Spectator notes that in many events: (more…)

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Tags: Late Night Comics, letterman, Obama, teleprompters
Posted Feb 17th 2009 at 6:25 am in Media Criticism, Political Humor | 52190156 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jlott/2009/02/17/obama-using-teleprompter-at-press-conferences-where-are-the-comedy-routines/Aren%27t+Late+Night+Comics+Looking+For+Obama+Material%3F2009-02-17+14%3A25%3A42John+Lott

After Two Weeks, Still No Late Night Obama Humor

So I get a call from my old buddy Louis. Apparently there was a video of Nancy Pelosi on YouTube, and he wondered whether anybody at the Late Night shows would notice. Pelosi claimed that without the stimulus package, America would lose 500 million jobs a month. Wow, that’s two hundred million more jobs, than America has people. Apparently the illegal immigration problem is a lot worse than anybody thought. But it seemed a great excuse to check back on America’s premiere satirists and see if they’re doing their jobs. Since we’re now two weeks into the new administration, I reviewed David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert.

The Pelosi video never made the mainstream press, but it did make YouTube. Today, the Internet is a great place for comedians to find set ups. The Christian Bale video was such a hit on TMZ that six out of seven Late Night shows used it for jokes last night (Ferguson abstaining), as was the story of Sheyla Hershey, the woman with the 38KK breasts (Ferguson, Letterman, Conan and Leno all bagged this one). Letterman was so smitten with those pumpkins he used them as an excuse to tell another George Bush joke (Texas now has the world’s three biggest boobs). (more…)

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Tags: ferguson, kimmel, leno, letterman, Obama humor late night
Posted Feb 6th 2009 at 11:03 am in Media Criticism, Political Humor | 4253082 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/02/06/obama-update-day-15/After+Two+Weeks%2C+Still+No+Late+Night+Obama+Humor2009-02-06+19%3A03%3A54Tim+Slagle

Last Night’s Late Night Fairness Check

I was curious. Obama jokes on Late Night TV, have been as rare as a smoking lounge in an airport. I wondered how the shows would do. (Certainly the writers know that their bias has been detected.) Would they turn their comedy knives against Obama with the same wild abandon they used on the previous President? The short answer: Maybe.

The only no-show of the night was David Letterman, who opted for a re-run. Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert all weighed in last night with attempts at presidential humor.  (more…)

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Tags: comedians, jon stewart, leno, letterman, Obama
Posted Jan 21st 2009 at 4:21 pm in Media Criticism, Politics | 2641777 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/tslagle/2009/01/21/late-night-fairness-check/Last+Night%27s+Late+Night+Fairness+Check2009-01-22+00%3A21%3A39Tim+Slagle

Tomorrow’s Inauguration and Comedians

Talk show writers and hosts, including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” have been lamenting how they would love to bust President-elect Barack Obama’s chops more, but he just doesn’t do anything to make fun of. No matter what he says at the coronation tomorrow, there’s no material here… move along.

Let’s be honest.

#1: They love Barack Obama.

#2: He’s African-American.

That’s the bottom line and everybody knows it. The facts are, Barack Obama is a gaffe machine and has done more flip-flopping in the last two months than Jimmy Buffet in Grand Cayman. But do you think for a minute David Letterman would do a “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches,” with Obama saying; “I’ve already visited 57 states”…? (more…)

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Tags: comedians, letterman, Obama
Posted Jan 19th 2009 at 3:57 pm in Celebrity News, Politics | 2435760 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rlconover/2009/01/19/tomorrow%e2%80%99s-inauguration-and-comedians/Tomorrow%E2%80%99s+Inauguration+and+Comedians2009-01-19+23%3A57%3A06Rodney+Lee+Conover