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First lady trades barbs with Letterman on 'Late Show'From Producer Phil Hirschkorn
January 13, 2000 NEW YORK (CNN) -- First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton showed her humorous side Wednesday evening with a polished appearance on David Letterman's "Late Show," holding her own with the notoriously acerbic host.
For several weeks, Letterman had practically begged Mrs. Clinton on air to be a guest. "We have to give this woman a tremendous amount of credit for just showing up," Letterman told his audience before bringing her on. During the opening monologue, retired CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite came on the set to give Letterman some advice: "Tonight you're interviewing Hillary Clinton, the first lady of our nation. Try not to be a jackass, will ya?" Cronkite deadpanned. Some responses scriptedMrs. Clinton, Letterman's first guest of the evening, came out to the strains of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" played by the Paul Shaffer band. "I know you just moved to the area, so why don't you tell us a little about yourself," Letterman began. "I grew up in the Midwest, just like you. My mother's name is Dorothy, just like yours," Hillary responded. Letterman asked about the Clintons' new home in the New York City suburb of Chappaqua, and all the attention their move has gotten. "Every idiot in the area is gonna drive by honking," Letterman said. "Was that you?" Hillary fired back. "The only real problem we've had was a satellite truck ran over the welcome wagon," she said. Letterman called her on the canned line, "Someone's been writing material for you?" Late Show producer Rob Burnett conceded that Hillary's staff had collaborated with the show's writers on her Top Ten list -- the reasons why she agreed to appear on the show. Politically tinged answers"I lost a bet with Tipper," "If Dan Quayle did it, how hard could it be?" and "I needed an excuse to get out of dinner with Donald Trump," were her most politically tinged answers. Mrs. Clinton was on the broadcast for about 20 minutes, filling two segments of the show. Letterman was friendly, and she was playful. "I knew if I was gonna run for Senate, I would have to sit in this chair," she told Letterman early in their interview. He asked her why she isn't pursuing public office in Arkansas or Illinois or some other state. "I wanted to live in New York when I finished in the White House and that's something I would do as a private citizen," Mrs. Clinton said, as she has during her many visits to the Empire State. "New Yorkers are people who have come from other places," Letterman said. "That makes the whole thing look reasonable." Eventually, Letterman tried to stump Mrs. Clinton. First he asked who she as a Chicago-area native would root for in a Yankees-Cubs World Series. "That's a fairy tale," Mrs. Clinton said - a reference to the Cubs shortcomings in making the post-season. Perfect score on New York quizLater, Letterman gave her a New York quiz, and Mrs. Clinton scored a perfect five-for-five. She correctly named the state's bird (bluebird), tree (sugar maple), and number of counties (62, "And I've been to 40 of them"). She also named the two Great Lakes that border New York, Ontario and Erie, and its tallest mountain range, the Adirondacks. Letterman asked Mrs. Clinton about her regard for Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a regular Letterman guest, and her likely Republican opponent in the Senate race. She used the opportunity to pick on Giuliani's tough style. "He's done a lot of stuff as mayor, but I think being senator is a different kind of job. You know, a senator can't go arrest a homeless person," Mrs. Clinton said, referring to the city's recent sweep of homeless living on the streets. "As a senator you've got to work with 99 other people and you have to agree with them and try to get them to do what you want to do for your state," she said. Case of Cuban boy discussedLetterman discussed the case of Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez, calling Republican Rep. Dan Burton from his home state of Indiana a "bonehead" for issuing the six-year-old a subpoena to testify before his House Government Affairs and Oversight Committee. "Dan Burton subpoenas everybody," Mrs. Clinton said of the congressman who's been a special tormentor of the Clinton administration. At the end of the final segment, Letterman presented Mrs. Clinton with a housewarming gift -- a lawn tractor -- a six-speed, 15-horse power driving model with a 42-inch cut. "Late Show" staff said the lawn mower was still parked in the studio at night's end. |
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MORE STORIES:Wednesday, January 12, 2000
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