The Final State of the Union
This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.
Summary:
Here are our top three favorite moments from the times David Letterman sparred with the President.
“We’ve grown up with you. The country has – after a tough day at the office or coming home from work, knowing you’ve been there to give us a little bit a joy a little bit of laughter – it has meant so much. You’re part of all of us.”
– President Obama to David Letterman, May 4, 2015
After 33 years, it’s the last night of the Late Show with David Letterman, an incomparable American icon. Since the first show aired in 1982, Letterman has taken on a lot of new territory, including interviewing President Obama -- the first sitting President to appear on late-night talk shows.
President Obama has sat down with Letterman a total of five times — three while in office — and joined him as one of his last guests on May 4, 2015.
Here are our top three favorite moments from the times David Letterman sparred with the President.
September 21, 2009 – “I was black before the election.”
President Barack Obama reacts to a photograph of himself displayed by Late Show host David Letterman during their interview at CBS Studios in New York, N.Y. September 21, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
On whether the rancor and vitriol surrounding the President’s health care reform efforts was “rooted in racism”:
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I think it’s important to realize that I was black before the election.
LETTERMAN: And how long have you been a black man?
THE PRESIDENT: So the American people, I think, gave me this extraordinary honor. That tells you a lot about where the country is at. I actually think that what’s happened is that whenever a President tries to bring about significant changes — particularly in times of economic unease — then, there is a certain segment of the population that gets very riled up … What has been missing from the conversation is that the overwhelming majority of people — Republican or Democrat — they just want to see some common sense, some honesty and integrity in Washington.
September 18, 2012 – “We’re going to keep it that way.”
President Barack Obama reacts to a photograph during an interview with David Letterman during a taping of the "Late Show with David Letterman" at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, N.Y. September 18, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
THE PRESIDENT: You look good!
LETTERMAN: You haven’t seen me naked.
THE PRESIDENT: We’re going to keep it that way.
May 4, 2015 – “I was thinking you and me, we could play some dominoes.”
President Barack Obama talks backstage with David Letterman for the Late Show with David Letterman in the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, N.Y. May 4, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
LETTERMAN: What will you do when you’re not President?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I was thinking you and me, we could play some dominoes together. We can, you know, go to the local Starbucks and swap stories.
LETTERMAN: […] and I plan to teach law at Columbia.
Also worth a watch: In 2012, President Obama paid tribute to the “sometimes cranky” and “always funny” consummate comedian and Kennedy Center Honoree.
Here's what he had to say:
For the laughs and the legacy you leave behind — thanks, Dave.
