Michelle Obama Visits Letterman, Dave Plays Baseball
First Lady Michelle Obama came to The Late Show on Thursday night, and David Letterman engaged her on a number of subjects, including the state of college education, and the First Lady’s efforts on behalf of armed-forces veterans.
They also discussed raising children, with Letterman confiding to FLOTUS that he wasn’t worried about future difficulties with his now-11-year-old son Harry, because “all the problems will be for the stepfather.” (Letterman is into making I’m-an-old-man jokes these days.)
I admit that when the First Lady was suddenly announced as a guest earlier in the week, my first thought was, “No! Dave has too few guest spots left! Let someone who has a real connection to Dave go on the show. Nice thought, Michelle, but — write him a note!”
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And indeed, at three segments highlighted by an appearance by “the President’s own United States Marine Band,” the night was eaten up by polite conversation. Sorry to be brutal like that, but it must be said; Letterman’s air time is too valuable these days.
The high point of the night was something else entirely: an old clip from the Letterman archives, from 1997, a rich fantasy nipped from Barnard Malamud and Robert Redford’s The Natural: Letterman pinch-hitting for the Yankees.
Letterman-o-philes appreciate old clips like this, since they show the old man in lively moments, getting out of the studio, the camera closing in on his turning-gnarled face as he takes a pitch, eternally ready, it seemed then, to hit another one out of the park.
Can you tell I’m getting nostalgic? A primetime Letterman salute airs Monday. His last show is May 20. I’m going to be writing more and more about Letterman as the time approaches. Consider yourself warned.
The Late Show With David Letterman airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
