It’s not in the same league as Jon Stewart on Crossfire, but Letterman does the kind of good job that you can only do when you’re in a strong enough position to not give a shit.
Here are a few of the gems:
O’Reilly: Do you want the Untied States to win in Iraq?
Letterman: First of all, I don’t -
O’Reilly: It’s an easy question, If you don’t want the United States to win -
Letterman: It’s not easy for me because I’m thoughtful.
Letterman: But I mean honestly - you’ve raised some points, uh, but the truth of it is a reasonable person can’t believe what you’re saying.
Letterman: I didn’t say he was an evil liar. You’re putting words in my mouth. Just the way you put artificial facts in your head.
O’Reilly tries to plug his book:
O’Reilly: Did you enjoy Culture Warrior - the book?
Letterman: I haven’t read the book.
O’Reilly: You really haven’t read it? Come on. You’re in the book!
Letterman: I know. I looked at it and I thought, ‘What is he? What is this? A book about sailing? And then I said, “No, I don’t need that.”
At the end:
Letterman: Uh … Oh gosh, where has the time gone? You know I appreciate you coming over here and indulging me because you know once again I’ll just end up saying I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I don’t think you do either.
