October 6, 2008 11:28:55 PM CDT
(Newser) – John McCain has been skewered by late-night comics throughout the presidential campaign, but Barack Obama has escaped relatively unscathed. As this week's New Yorker cover flare-up made clear, satirists are struggling to find an angle on the Democratic nominee. The New York Times speaks to half a dozen late-night hosts and writers, who cite everything from fear of racism to their own favoritism to explain the silence.
"He's not a comical figure," said one Letterman writer, contrasting Obama with the easy-to-mock Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. And many late-night writers admit that their own predisposition toward Obama, not to mention their audiences', has led them to go easy. Only Stephen Colbert has gone after Obama—and that's because "my character on the show doesn't like him."
Source New York Times
Sep 26, 08 5:20 PM CDT John McCain is playing with fire if he thinks he can stand up David Letterman and get away with it. "The middle-of-the-road personalities who've dominated network television since its inception do retain one singular power," Gawker Media head honcho Nick Denton, writing for his flagship blog, warns the wayward candidate. "When they finally get off the fence, the mass of similar-minded voters take notice." More »
Sep 26, 08 4:31 AM CDT The David Letterman-John McCain feud continued last night on the Late Show as the host kept hammering the candidate for standing him up, reports the Los Angeles Times. Letterman, whose guests included Paris Hilton—"McCain's first choice as running mate"—said he felt like an "ugly date" after McCain cancelled on him Wednesday, pleading that he had to rush to Washington—then did an interview with Katie Couric and spent the night in New York. More »
Sep 25, 08 3:06 AM CDT John McCain was scorched by the full fury of a Letterman scorned after blowing off last night's Late Show an hour before taping, the New York Daily News reports. "This just doesn't smell right. This is not the way a tested hero behaves," Letterman raged. "Somebody's putting something in his Metamucil." McCain told Letterman he was rushing back to Washington, but in fact was still in town, preparing for an interview with Katie Couric. More »
Sep 3, 08 8:32 AM CDT David Letterman isn't planning to head off into the sunset when his Late Night contract expires in 2010, the New York Times reports, telling a Rolling Stone interviewer that he would love to keep going at CBS—and that he was confused by NBC's decision to put longtime rival Jay Leno out to pasture next year. "I don’t know why, after the job Jay has done for them, why they would relinquish that,” said the 26-year veteran. More »
Jun 28, 08 6:37 AM CDT Jay Leno might be losing his beloved "Tonight Show," writes the Hollywood Reporter, but the host still has a ratings punch and an enviable set of options (in decreasing order of probability):
Barack Obama • television • comedy • David Letterman • Stephen Colbert • late night talk show • late night host
