Letterman Grills McCain

CLEVELAND - Late night talk show host David Letterman welcomed Sen. John McCain to his show last night.

'Welcomed' may be too strong a word.

Three weeks ago, the Republican presidential nominee was slated to appear on the long-running talk show, but cancelled at the last minute. It was later discovered that McCain instead did an interview with Katie Couric which drew Letterman's ire. It also prompted an endless stream of jokes and ribbing from the comic.

Once McCain apologized and admitted his "mistake," Letterman immediately moved to more serious topics such as the Republican's performance in the final debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

McCain felt that he did well against his Democratic rival and stuck to his claim that Obama's economic plan leaves a lot to be desired. When Letterman questioned McCain about his choice for V.P., Sarah Palin, the older man spoke glowingly about the Alaska Governor.

He also noted her willingness to stand up to members of her own party and downplayed her inexperience, choosing instead to call her a "reformer" whose eminently capable of running the country should an unforeseen tragedy strike McCain.

Regarding the constant mentioning of ex-terrorist William Ayers and the hate mongering at McCain-Palin rallies, McCain briefly mentioned that he shoots such attacks down when he's "within earshot" but quickly pointed the finger at Obama. "He should have repudiated John Lewis for making his statements about me."

Lewis, a civil rights icon, compared the racial and violent outbursts at McCain-Palin rallies to segregationist George Wallace. McCain supposedly admires the Georgia congressman (Lewis), but was disturbed by the remarks.

What I enjoyed about Letterman's interview is this: he never let McCain off the hook. Anytime the Republican nominee tried to paint Palin as 'a great choice,' Letterman was quick to question her readiness for such a huge responsibility. He also delved into McCain's exhaustive linking of Ayers to Obama by asking him about his own ties with felon Gordon Liddy.

McCain seemed trapped, but as usual weaseled his way out of the whole thing.

Kudos to Letterman for keeping the Arizona senator on his heels. And shame on you McCain for your double standard practices.