David Letterman Blasts New York Times

David Letterman, in response to a feature article in the New York Times magazine, recently launched a diatribe in which he labeled the Times a "rag," implied that Jay Leno was the "goofiest looking man on television," and noted that Rush Limbaugh is a "bag of gas." The article that fueled the comments focused on the influence that late night comedy exercises over the political process and voters' opinions of candidates. Leno, Letterman's late night rival, was featured on the cover of the issue, with campaign buttons covering his mouth and eyes.

The writer of the article, Marshall Sella, attempted to determine the political bent that came through in the late night shows, a factor that could be influenced by the personal views of both hosts and writers. Letterman was responding specifically to both a quote from Chris Kelly, a former writer of both Letterman's Late Show and "Politically Incorrect," who described Letterman as a "non-voting Republican," and mention in the article of Letterman's past praise of Rush Limbaugh.

Letterman retorted that he has regularly voted since 1968, when he cast his first ballot, and that he is registered as neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He went on to say that he had voted for both parties in past elections and, though he finds Limbaugh entertaining, he feels that the conservative talk show host is "a giant bag of gas." Finally, as he held up the Times issue in question, he noted of Jay Leno, "until I saw this picture, I was under the impression that I was the goofiest looking man on television."