You could call it rambling.
He also asked about Obamas family history, and how social media fell into propaganda.
And they were just a couple old guys, not as employed as they used to be.
Credit: Netflix
You and I recently left longterm jobs, said Letterman.
I was not fired, though, saidObama.
At times you felt you were listening into a conversation between two thoughtful gentlemen of leisure.
I mean that as a compliment.
Letterman walked onstage, introduced his guest, and they sat down for an hour.
Lettermans admiration for both men was obvious, and explicit.
He told Obama, You are the first President I truly and fully respect.
I guess you could call this a bias.
(Imagine: A President who really wants to spend time with the First Lady.)
But these were bigtime guests for a premiere.
What can we glean about this series, which will only air monthly?
This first episode ended with a tease for a George Clooney interview.
An hour ofthat, nobody needs.
The other upcoming guests are Malala Yousafzai, Tina Fey, Jay-Z, and Howard Stern.
Letterman could look annoyed, embarrassed, aggressively bored in some of hisLate Showinterviews.
But limitations breed creativity, and his witty contempt could be cathartic.
Has he gone soft, and is that the point?
but I liked the soup-to-nuts arc of that biography, from grandparents to kids starting college.
Letterman himself provided what could be a mission statement for his own current political fascinations.
Some of the personal stories dawdled.
I wish the overall presentation was more creative.
This was very moving, many stylistic miles removed from the barrier-bursting tomfoolery that once made the host famous.
Oddly, the most what-you-could-call Letterman-esque moment in the premiere came from Obama.
After their interview, the men walked backstage, found a camera filming them in a corridor.
Letterman mock-indignated that he wanted the camera turned off.
Obama had a better idea.
They want a shot of us walking into the sunset together, he said.
You could appreciate the irony: A recent President explaining show business to a late night legend.
(Politics & Entertainment: So Different???
My Next Guestis in no hurry, and the Clooney episode gives me a powerful foreboding.
But theres a corrective feeling to this show.
The fine art of conversation has faded a bit from late night.
