blackmail

Paul Wells on Minister Beauchamp’s resignation and more

Call this a “desperation clip,” a clip inserted because I don’t know what else to say about this. (As more details come out, we’ll know more about just how creepy Letterman’s behaviour was — as he himself admits, sleeping with your employees isn’t exactly something to talk about with pride — and just how crooked and sneaky you have to be to become a CBS producer.) While he probably did the right thing by coming clean about what he did, there’s something a little off-putting about his decision to make it part of his show. Due to his rhythmic, comedic way of telling a story and the obvious fact that the audience wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, it became almost a comedy set-piece, not to mention something that could help him against Conan. Even if he did the right thing, the way he did it certainly made it seem like he was turning his actions, with the possible abuse-of-power issues they raise, into a ratings stunt.

Paul Shaffer’s new book shows how he’s mellowed. But then so has the whole show.