Letterman on Obama: he said "yes" without thinking like "Bush did on Iraq"

Once again a very good curtain raiser from you, DelilahStarling!

Hi myVox, thanks for your comment. I don't know what time zone you live in, but I am in Seattle, so Letterman is on in about 20 minutes and I will be glued to the TV!

That's funny. I'm definitely going to be checking this out. Congrats to Letterman for getting a sitting President on the show for the first time after so many years of being on air.

Inspector, 10 minutes and counting!:)) Has there ever been a president with a great sense of humor like Obama?

Are you serious?

There have been many Presidents who were quite humorous.

For example, Abraham Lincoln was well known during his lifetime and since for his wonderful sense of humor and story-telling prowess. And that was without having a teleprompter to feed him the punch line -- or, as Lincoln was fond of calling it, the "nub" of the story. Lincoln was a great story teller, even as a very young man. Several books have been written about Lincoln's sense of humor. Just for starters, look up, "'Lincoln's Humor' and other essays," By Benjamin Platt Thomas, Michael Burlingame.

In more recent times, Ronald Reagan was also quite well known for his great gift of humor. Bill Adler even wrote a book entitled, "The Reagan Wit: The Humor of the American President."

George Bush has a terrific sense of humor as well, as does his father. You have to appreciate a guy who can laugh at himself, which he has always been willing to do.

But I personally believe probably the wittiest comment any President ever uttered, was a quip reportedly made by President Calvin Coolidge -- and old "Silent Cal" was known as a man of few words, at least when it came to casual conversation!

Once, at a dinner function he was attending at the White House, a woman (some say it was Dorothy Parker) who had been seated next to him, tried to challenge his reputation for reticence. She turned to and said to the President, loudly enough for other guests to hear:

"I've made a bet with a friend that I can get you to say at least three words this evening. What do you say to that?"

Coolidge turned to her, smiled, and said, "You lose."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge

Obama's sense of humor is terrific and refreshing. I watched him on Letterman and really enjoyed him.

i have always thought clinton has a very wicked humor...:)

Plays a wicked sax as well...

I'm watching it now. You know, I hadn't noticed Obama was black until tonight!

Is he really? I had no idea, I'm glad someone came out and said it.

Nice to know he's still got time for Letterman and Leno while soldiers are dying in Iraq, and Afghanistan, the government is pissing off the Pakistanis, Iran wants a nuclear device, South Korea HAS an nuclear device and China is buying up half of the United States.

Maybe he could take time off the tour to actually do his job... then again...

Ronald Reagan's record for most vacation days was broken by Bush 43 who took the most vacation days of any President.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:vx-PbmRmrn4J:www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/11/politics/uwire/main3927378.shtml+how+many+vacation+days+did+Bush+have%3F&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

http://ezineblog.org/current-eventscommentary-blog/bush-on-track-to-become-the-vacation-president/

"DOING HIS JOB" See Whitehouse.gov

Cash for Clunkers Extension-Signed: Thursday, August 6, 2009

Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act-Signed: Monday, June 22, 2009

Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009-Signed: Friday, May 22, 2009

Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act-Signed: Friday, May 22, 2009

Helping Families Save Their Homes Act-Signed: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act-Signed: Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act-Signed: Wednesday, April 21, 2009

Omnibus Public Lands Management Act-Signed: Monday, March 30, 2009

Small Business Act Temporary Extension-Signed: Friday, March 20, 2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-Signed: Tuesday, February 17, 2009

DTV Delay Act-Signed: Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act- Signed: Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act-Signed: Thursday, January 29, 2009

“North Korea seeks direct talks with Washington” – 8/19/2009

http://www.france24.com/en/20090819-north-korea-seeks-direct-talks-washington-bill-richardson

“Iran agrees to US nuclear talks” – 9/15/2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b437dc90-a18e-11de-a88d-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

“U.S. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev concluded a series of agreements Monday -- including one on nuclear arms reduction -- as part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the one-time Cold War rivals”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/06/obama.russia/index.html

And the list goes on and on and on.............












“North Korea seeks direct talks with Washington” – 8/19/2009

http://www.france24.com/en/20090819-north-korea-seeks-direct-talks-washington-bill-richardson

“Iran agrees to US nuclear talks” – 9/15/2009

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b437dc90-a18e-11de-a88d-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

“U.S. President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev concluded a series of agreements Monday -- including one on nuclear arms reduction -- as part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the one-time Cold War rivals”
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/06/obama.russia/index.html

President Bush faced the same problems as Obama, but still found time to go to Republican Fund raisers and make a funny video about WMD. Remember? [:-[
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

Obama has given more speeches than there have been days in his administration... all he does is talk. Bush at least rolled up his shirt sleeves once in a while.

You'd think he'd at least read some of the legislation that's being proposed, but apparently he's having way too much fun to really do any work. After all, that's what he's got Rahm-da-bomb Emmanuel for....

And even WITH that - it still only fit into the same time frame as one of Obama's commercial breaks. The guy is OVER exposed - He should have had Hillary as President since he clearly wants to be press secretary.

Time to do HIS job. That's not sitting for a Vanity Fair cover shoot, Letterman or selective TV spots....it's in an oval office at 1600.

Clearly - un·prec·e·dent·ed

macasey, yeah, I have noticed that conservative train of thought since Obama won the presidency.

They are looking for ANY little thing they can GRIPE about. They accuse him of being OVER exposed and that it is time to do HIS job at...where again? Oh yeah, "an oval office at 1600".

I guess he is just ignoring doing HIS job, since all those speeches at the UNITED NATIONS have been distracting him.

Well, at least the GRIPE about him using DEJON mustard hasn't come up in while. But DON'T think it has been FORGOTTEN! Conservatives never forget.

Democrats were complaining two weeks ago that Obama wasn't making enough public appearances! Several prominent Republicans complained that he needed to skip the vacation with his kids and wife and get to work on health care reform. Now everyone is complaining that he is "over-exposed"!

“Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t!”

For me - I could watch him 24-7. It’s such a treat to have a President again that is charming and intelligent.

I'll let the Allvoices readers decide if the Bush Fund raisers only fit into the same time frame as one of Obama's commercial breaks. Perhaps you meant to say the Bush funny video on WMD only fit into the same time frame
as one of Obama's commercial breaks. I think it is great that Obama is trying to win the public over on health care. Are you afraid he may win the day?
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

amen

I for one dislike both of them.I'm glad I missed it. Anyone who jokes about underage sex, lies about the economic recovery, and doesn't seem to have a clue about what people need and want from politicians or what is funny and what is tacky doesn't have my ratings. Why Obama is on his show a lot? I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that it is because Letterman is sooooooo liberal and so far left that a rapist could go on his show and it would not only be acceptable, but there would be humor mixed in with it!
However, with that said, Delilah, I'm a huge fan of your work, and it was a good article,just not my favorite subjects! :>

@InspectorGadget,

Oh, you do not need a Letterman to get this sitting Prez on to the idiot box, do you? We all know that Obama suffers from over exposure, and how!

I TIVo'd the show and haven't watched it yet. I was on the computer last night doing homework and the TV is in the next room. I could hear comments and laughter from a distance. I also had the volume on low. My ears caught the part when Letterman told President Obama: "Uhh, yeah, sounds like your job is a lot harder than mine." Laughter erupts from the audience. (I sometimes wonder if Letterman has a laugh track.) Anyway, I'll watch the recorded taping of the show when I get home tonight. I'm not a big Letterman fan but I was interested in what our President had to say. No doubt, it gave Letterman's show a HUGE rating for that time slot; probably for the rest of the week.

Do they still have laugh tracks? I thought those went away with the evolution of the studio audience. You are going to like the show.

Congrads! THIS is an AWSOME post

Obama quote from your post, above:

"[F]irst of all, I think it’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

Well, that one comment from Obama once again certainly gives the lie to your prior post, the one where you agreed with Jimmy Carter and his nasty and untrue claim that growing public opposition to Obama's policies is really based on racism.

Gee, Delilah, did you forget to mention that in this post? Or, did you want to avoid contradicting both yourself -- and Jimmy Carter?

p.s. Did you get a chance to report the plagiarism -- and copyright infringement -- by that commenter on your prior post? You'll remember, the one who copied the work of Maureen Dowd and others and presented it in her comments as if it was her work?

Delilah - Both you and Jimmy Carter are spot on the race issue. Thank you both and carry - on! [:-)
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

Jerry, I wrote the article on Jimmy Carter's comments about racism, because I thought it was a very brave thing for him to do and I think he truly believes it. He has the experience and the years of observation living in the south, and he should know what he is talking about.

President Obama has wisely distanced himself from the comment. So has Bill Clinton and a few other Democrats. Of course, the Republicans, especially Michael Steele, have denounced the Carter comments.

It seems the only one who doesn't have a political ax to grind is Carter. Not all Americans believe that a black man isn't capable of leading our country or he wouldn't have gotten elected. That was the point obama made on Letterman. But it's racist Americans who make the most noise. Do they want to admit they are racist? Of course not.

Bubble - Bubble lot of Rubble over nothing, Letterman's an insult. 23/9/2009.

Trochilus,

The comment Obama made about being black before he was president was a humorous way to break the ice on the whole issue. It was funny-it was a joke-it was not meant to be a big political statement, just because you want to turn it into one.

And, since you have asked the question a dozen times on several of my articles, to the point of sounding like a child who refuses to have bad behavior ignored--the answer is "no", I did not report what you perceived as "plagiarism" by macasey.

Why? Because it was on a comment thread where the individual was trying to save time, and came back the next night with the attribution and links that you demanded. You also accused this person of plagiarism for quoting their own article. How long ago was that now and you art still banging your drum?

I have talked to the community manager numerous times about the copyright issue on AV. They have enough on their hands trying to handle the real infractions, much less the person you perceive to the big "plagiarist", who got on your bad side for standing up to your belligerence.

Seriously, you can save your sarcastic remarks for someone who cares. By the way, are you related to redhanded101?

Delilah,

As I have mentioned to you in the past, you would serve yourself well by simply leaving my name out or making reference to my name in a demeaning tone.
Is that the only way you can try to justify your points?

You are a royal pain the rear.

When I make a comment on any one of your reports, it bothers you, when I dont' make any comments you still have to invoke my name.

If someone else is getting under your skin, please take it up with them.

Appreciatively,
Redhanded101

Redhanded101,

Trochilus writes in the same relentless, biased, superior and mean-spirited tone that you do. Lordy, I thought you might consider it a compliment.

You said, "you would serve yourself well by simply leaving my name out..." Is that some kind of threat?

In fact, I suspect that you have several alter-egos on Allvoices that allows you to make your attacks and insulting remarks under a different name and identity.

Like the recent individual with the pen name "commentaryaside", who had only been signed up for three days, without a single contribution, but attacked me personally for writing a Jimmy Carter piece and accused me of being the "most biased person on the site". This was made three days after our jousting match of comments on my Seahawks football story.

That was a light-hearted little blog piece I did about my home town football team, which did not have anything to do with politics or global warming or anything like that--and you showed up to make a remark about how could I stand all those people in the stadium exhaling all that C02 into the atmosphere.

When I responded with a factual answer disputing your claim---you didn't like it, so you started attacking.

You called my comments "snide ass remarks" and you told me that I should remember to take my PMS medication before responding to a comment.

When another reader told you that was "unnecessary and rude", you tried to play it off as my fault for not liking your "humor".

Remember what you said? "if you are going to dish it out, you better be prepared to take it."

Sorry, you don't get to take the moral high ground on this one.

With appreciation,
DelilahStarling

So, in other words, you condone plagiarism. Shame on you! Macasey should be thrown off the site for her plagiarism and copyright infringement.

trochilus, see comment to cousin redhanded101 above.

I was sitting in a hospital emergency room watching President Obama talk to David Letterman.

My brother was suffering the symptoms of a heart attack along with blood clots in his legs that appeared about 2 weeks ago. He lost him job and has no medical insurance. I drove him into emergency at Valley Medical in Renton, Washington. We were there for 5 hours. The bill was $2,000.

I cried as I watched the President talk about health care reform. We are so selfish in this country. The words that always come to mind are "there for the grace of God go I". If you have medical insurance, like I do, please don’t take it for granted that you have nothing to worry about. Many of us are one serious illness or one lost job away from having no health care.

There are not enough words or enough times that this President can speak about this issue; it's just too important!

If your brother lost his job and had medical coverage, that coverage could have been continued through "cobra" under existing law.

Coverage cannot just be "cut off" if you lose a job.

No one argues that the system cannot be improved. It can be. For example, opening up the market to allow plans to be sold across state lines would significantly improve the availability of healthcare coverage. So would real tort reform.

But we do not need to destroy the healthcare system to improve it either by implementing single payer system, or a trojan horse plan intended to give us a single payer system over time.

i am sorry that your brother is sick, lost his job and has no health care. i am not selfish and i do not take my job or my health care for granted. but if we bankrupt this country no one will have health care or any benefits or conveniences we take for granted today and neither will your great grandchildren

If you don't want to bankrupt the country, try a single - payer health care plan. Many folks just don't get it. If we do nothing we will SOON pay far more and get far less from our Medicare benefits. If we don't change, this country sure will go bankrupt, sooner than you think. A single - payer health plan would SAVE money, not the other way around.
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

Single payer is absurd. We did not vote for a socialist society, and a majority of Americans outright reject that.

If you want a single payer system, then convince the Democrat party to openly run a political campaign promoting single payer. How about the 2010 congressional races? Democrats should come out for single payer, instead of trying to sneak it in the back door like the Obama Administration and the Congressional Democrat leadership are trying to do now.

Jerry,
Exactly what would a single-payer health care plan cost?

Firesisle : There are many, try ;

Flesh and Stone - Single - payer health bill

or
Bill Moyers Journal - Single Payer health insurance

My best guess - you will reject these Sites, soo, I believe I can not reach you on this subject. [hope i'm wrong] [:-0
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

I didn't ask you where I could compare... You made the statement it would keep us from bankrupting the country, so I asked YOU if YOU know what it will cost. All I want is a straight answer...

Firesisle : Interesting how you post "fair and balanced" Web Sites and tell us you are an independent hard thinker. Perhaps the word 'interesting' is not the right word.If we had a single - payer plan in place, the government could elimate the CURRENT health care administrative costs. A single - payer health plan would save us money - not cost us money. CURRENT paper work and red - tape is costing us.......
BILLIONS of dollars. You call me a parrot and I call you a mocking bird. Time for the both of us to grow up. I'm 98% liberal but you are a free, independent hard thinker, just like the Web Sites you want us to visit and Obama was born in Kenya. [:-[
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

So, basically, you're still just passing on something you really have no base knowledge of; you can't just tell me how much it would cost so we can make our own decision on whether it would bankrupt the country.

How much are the current health care administrative costs? I at least offer some substance; you just repeat the same lines over and over...

I've never, ever, claimed to be "fair an balanced". That seems to be your response for everything. Everybody has their filters. I just want you to back your claims with something other than

firesisle,

Unfortunately, you will never get a straight answer out of them. Barack Obama used to insist there were 45 million uninsured in America. Most recently he said there were only 30 million uninsured Americans. That was because he had quietly taken the illegal immigrants out of the mix -- but only for the moment! That is because using the lower number allowed him to say publicly that illegal immigrants would not get health insurance coverage under his bill. But he also later reiterated his full support for amnesty -- which would mean no more "illegal immigrants," and therefore, those who are illegally here in the United States would be covered by the Obamacare initiative.

Obama's health insurance initiative is now suffering from over-exposure, but he keeps blabbing. We Americans now get the joke. We do not want the bankrupting of our country, and for those of us -- the vast majority -- who have health insurance, we do not want the government destroying what we currently have.

That is why the Gallup Poll is now reporting that the vast majority of Americans (80%) are satisfied with the quality of healthcare in the United States, and even 61% are satisfied with the cost their current coverage.

From the poll:

"Overall, 80% are satisfied with the quality of medical care available to them, including 39% who are very satisfied. Sixty-one percent are satisfied with the cost of their medical care, including 20% who are very satisfied."

Americans do not want a radical overhaul of the healthcare system because they know it will threaten what coverage and quality of care they currently enjoy. Democrats do not get this. They want to turn the whole system upside-down.

As for Jerry's silly answer, above, Bill Moyers is not an expert on anything, except for sowing left-wing propaganda. He used to be the most polemical person on television -- that is until Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews hit the scene. Moyers is probably just trying for a come-back with his rubbish about single payer!

If the Democrat party thinks that single payer is such a great idea, please, let them run united in promoting the idea in 2010! Please!

Absolutely spot on the nose, as evidenced by Jerry's rant above...

It was good interview. Both Letterman and Obama made me laugh. President Obama has good intensions. I hope he and his administration get our troops HOME soon.

Delilah,

Above, you said, in a comment directed at Redhanded101:

"I suspect that you have several alter-egos on Allvoices that allows you to make your attacks and insulting remarks under a different name and identity."

Are you now getting a little paranoid? What baseless drivel that is!

What you seem incapable of understanding is that we live in a democratic society (thankfully, as opposed to a Democrat society), where people freely express their views. Just because several of us share some of the same views of the trashy accusations you have posted here, does not make us the same person!

Your belief, as expressed here and in your prior post, is that vitrtually anyone who opposes Barack Obama's policies is a racist! You and Jimmy Carter made that despicable accusation. What makes you think we would let you get away with that without responding?

I am not a racist -- I never have been. And I never will be. How dare you and Jimmy Carter allege that I am! Take your stupid racism accusation and hurl it at someone else. Not at me . . . and not at the millions and millions of good Americans who are recognizing more and more each day that the policies of this President seriously threaten the future financial well-being of our nation.

We Americans had to run Jimmy Carter out of office back in 1980, before he financially ruined the country then. You obviously do not remember the "triple-misery" index! Nor do you remember his disasterous foreign policy. But I do, as so many others.

Trochilus, aka redhanded101

FINALLY! Something we can agree on: a Democratic society where people can freely express their views.

That includes EVERYONE in America--even Jimmy Carter.

However, it doesn't mean that people are free to put words into other people's mouths and pass it off as if they said it.

Go ahead, I dare you to show me where I have said anything remotely like "that vitrtually anyone who opposes Barack Obama's policies is a racist!"

That quote was copied straight from your comment, misspelling and all. You will not find anything in my articles to support your free wheeling and false accusations.

You are not red's alter-ego? Hmmmm. Then how did he know about that one little question I asked at the end of my comment to you?

to: cloud9devine, above

RE: "President Obama has good intensions."

To quote the obvious -- "Hell is full of good intentions or desires." Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153).

As for the troop issue -- gee, you must feel a bit betrayed, no? Remember when Obama was demanding that we completely withdraw from Iraq by March of 2008? He even put in a bill in the United States Senate that would have required it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDqNcOT1MTA

Now, I want the troops home as much as the next guy, but when he introduced that bill, he wanted thereby to ensure our complete defeat!

And, remember when he wanted to talk one-on-one with Ahmadinejad? Well, yesterday, the United States joined with 11 nations in walking out on Ahmadinejad's vicious anti-semitic speech at the UN. The time for his vicious talk is over.

My, my, how calculated and empty rhetoric during a campaign can turn into the opposite when the reality of actually governing occurs!

And, what some people won't say or do to get elected!

To Trochilus: Yeah, you're right, I do feel betrayed. I would say about 95 percent of elected officials don't keep their word once they get into office.

I feel very strongly about our military because:
I grew up in a military family- mom, dad, grandfather, cousins and a an uncle served in the US Armed Forces and my current boyfriend, served 12 years in the US Army and served in the Iraq War in March 2003, when it all started. He came home with numerous phyisical problems and can no longer work. He's on permanent disability and he's in his thirties, for Pete's sakes!

I heard President Obama clearly say on David Letterman's show, that he is trying,(working very hard) to get all of our military home from Iraq and Afghanistan by 2011. Frankly, I don't think that will happen. A lot of people don't see that happening. Although I would loveto remain optimistic at this time, I have trouble believing.

A lot of past Presisdents claim all these fuzzy statements and warm promises just to get elected and when they ARE in office, like you pointed out, things CHANGE.

About the Jimmy Carter thing--LOL, I was only 9 years old in 1980. I don't rememeber everything that happpened in the news that year. I really wasn't watching the news then, LOL.. but what I DO REMEMBER seeing on the TV, was American hostages being released. I remember people were tied up and had headbands around their eyes so they couldn't see. That image stayed with me. I was scared about that one.

Please extend a thank you to all of those in your family who served in the United States military. Many Americans sadly have no appreciation for the sacrifice that is involved.

And, especially for your boyfriend, please tell him that we Americans deeply honor and appreciate everything he did on our behalf, and on behalf of the Iraqi people. I personally believe the situation in the Middle East is immeasurably better today than it would be if Hussein had not been removed from power, though I know many disagree.

Obviously, your boyfriend was a volunteer, too, which to me speaks volumes about him as a person.

So, this former Army Spec-5 salutes him. I served in the military during another conflict that became very unpopular over time. I was drafted, which of course made me very unhappy back then. But today, I look back and realize how much that service contributed to my education, my perspective and my life.

You can always tell when a President, any President is lying; his lips are moving...

Firesisle : I'm more than happy to let the Allvoices readers decide if I answered your question or not. About those Web Sites you want us to visit........... [:-[
JerrySatire
www.Lampoon.net

In other words, you don't know, and have nothing to rebut my argument...

Thank you, Trochilus..(I salute YOU, Sir.. I know that must have sucked being drafted) My dad was in the Air Force in 1968 and said that he, too, would have been drafted if he already wasn't stationed in Turkey, and then Germany and then 8-months in Russia. My uncle was a Marine during the Vietnam War and he returned stateside with a lot of phycological problems. They call it something like PTSD now? Anyway, thank you,for your service.I have a special place in my heart for our veterans.

To Firesisle: LOL, that was funny, your quote. I've heard it before.


--sorry for all of the typos in my previous comments.