I will say, however, that David Letterman had a first-rate interview the other night with Bill Clinton. Part of it was because Clinton is, as even most of his foes admit, a terrific public speaker. But part of it was because Dave rose to the challenge of the guest and the occasion.
Lately, I've felt both Letterman and Leno were spectacularly uninterested in their own shows. Word from inside both operations is that the shows are relying heavily (too heavily, everyone seems to think) on ratings reports that break down the audience tune-in and tune-out for certain segments and certain kinds of segments. This has caused both Dave and Jay to minimize or dump outright some spots they like, and to increase — for example — features like Jay's "Jaywalking" and Dave's remotes in Rupert's Deli. Darn near everyone who works on both shows, hosts probably included, thinks those segments have long since outworn their welcomes. Still, the ratings indicate that viewers take to those bits better than some of the wittier prepared material…so "Jaywalking" and Rupert's Deli remain. This may help Act II keep its viewership up but I wonder if this attitude hasn't taken a bite out of Dave's and Jay's spirits.
Letterman asked good questions last night and Clinton, of course, had good answers. Dave probably got more out of his guest in 30 minutes than Larry King could have in an hour. I'm not sure I agreed with most of what our former president said, and I wish one politician in this world could answer a question without itemizing his accomplishments. But Clinton's a great talker and it's a shame he's not doing that rumored talk show.