Daily Kos

CALL 2 ACTION: Get Letterman, Leno, Kimmel to do Gannon!

by MaximusNYC

Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:16:49 PM PDT

ATTENTION FELLOW KOSSACKS: Let's get Letterman, Leno, O'Brien, and other late night hosts to start talking about the Gannongate story!

We've now seen the mainstream media mostly avoid the Gannon story for almost two weeks.  Continuing to blog about it is all very well -- but a better way to get it into mass consciousness is thru the comedy stylings of Dave, Jay, Conan, and company.

And this story is made for late night TV.  It's pure comedy gold!  I just don't know if it's made it on to the radar of the writers for these shows yet, given the sparse news coverage.  

To give them a little nudge, I went to the CBS Late Show website, and clicked on "CBS Mailbag" under "Show Info."  I submitted this letter:

Dear Dave,

Have you heard about Jeff Gannon?  He was a reporter for a small Republican website who was given White House access and classified documents.  

Turns out that he also advertised online as a male "escort", and owned a site called HotMilitaryStud.com.

Do you think anyone at the Late Show might also be leading a secret double life on the Internet?

Thanks,
Max Clarke
Brooklyn, NY

P.S. More about Gannon here: (link)

The "P.S." is a little background for the writers... it's a link to AMERICAblog's seminal (no pun intended) post detailing Gannon's online sex ads.  

If the late shows get enough e-mail about this, then sooner or later Gannon is bound to at least get mentioned in a monologue or two.  Let's see what we can do!

P.S. I try not to beg for recommendations too often, but I'd love it if this could get this into the Recommended Diaries for a little while.  It would be great if a lot of folks get on board with this!  We have one week till Dave does CBS Mailbag again (next Wednesday).  Let's do our best to make sure he reads at least one letter about Gannon! (Anyone know when Leno usually does viewer mail?)

ADDENDUM: Here are links to the major late night shows:

Late Show with David Letterman

Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

More commentary at The Situation Room

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Permalink | 37 comments

  •  jimmy kimmel (none / 0)

    get his cousin sal to do this. it's perfect.

    "John McCain is a grifter and a scoundrel," dengre

    by cosette on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:10:25 PM PDT

  •  If anyone writes a letter to any of the shows... (none / 0)

    Feel free to share it in this thread.

    by MaximusNYC on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:12:57 PM PDT

  •  Letterman (none / 0)

    should be all over this. I checked all Late night monologs on refdesk for the week and NOT ONE FUCKING Word from any of them. Lets hope his writers see the gold in this one. Hell, Paul already has a bald bullet head.

    by mpc12 on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:13:05 PM PDT

  •  Bill Maher was all over it (none / 0)

    I know his audience is small on HBO, but he's brought it up on Larry King and a couple of other interviews.

    Not Leno or Letterman, granted, but an opening nonetheless.  I think this scandal needs one more juicy revelation to reach critical mass.  The gay escort thing is a one-joke shot, and we don't yet have enough to push the lying or propaganda issues to the comedians.

    We need a sex link to a White House figure, or a concrete link to a planted story from a Rove or Cheney flunky.  The degree of notoriety this would elicit would probably induce Letterman to pick it up, and then even Ahnold-blowing Leno would have to follow.

    Hanoi didn't break John McCain, but Washington did.

    by Dallasdoc on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:32:16 PM PDT

  •  My friend writes for Leno (none / 0)

    The next time I see her I will definitely mention the Gannon thing.  I have a feeling Jay won't do jokes on it because he plays it too safe.  But it's worth a try.

    D-Day, the newest blog on the internet (at the moment of its launch)

    by dday on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:35:13 PM PDT

    •  try. (none / 0)

      but, but jay is so main steam.

      "John McCain is a grifter and a scoundrel," dengre

      by cosette on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:45:03 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Leno (none / 0)

      I hear he is a closet Democrat.  But he does play it way too safe most of the time.  I find his show to be a total snooze.

      by MaximusNYC on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:45:15 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  jay's wife mavis is out there. (none / 0)

        she was talking about the taliban...the burka thing...before anyone.

        "John McCain is a grifter and a scoundrel," dengre

        by cosette on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:55:32 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  Jay is on the "Black List" (none / 0)

        created by David Horowitz. First go here linked text   Then read the part that says "DiscoverTheNetwork is a work-in-progress, and the number of individuals profiled will grow over time. The current list focuses on national security and security-related issues."

        Then click "View All".  You will find Jay Leno and his "bio" on the list. There is a "map" icon near his picture. Click it and a "web" will appear. Click the connections to the "person icon" and you will see organizations that Leno is allegedly affiliated with.  Some are likely true, but others are questionable as to his direct connection.  

        As of last night, only Leno was there, but I expect the other comedians will be up there shortly, because they are such a "security risk", you know.

        by nancelot on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 11:57:58 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  I was wondering about contacting the (none / 0)

    Tabloids.  It has been on the back of my mind but I don't know if it will help or hurt our cause.  The reason I think it would be a good idea is that they have a high circulation and the story will get out there to millions of people but the negative aspect is that it will put the Gannon news on the same level as whatever nonsense they publish in those papers.  I must confess, I do treasure the thought of seeing millions of people grocery shopping and standing in a long line and staring at the picture of Gannon in his underwear with the title "Bush hires gay prostitute for Propaganda purposes".

    by Jill Lehnert on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:46:51 PM PDT

  •  Unnecessary (none / 0)

    Writers of these shows read this board.  They are aware.

    NOTE: This communication may be audited by the United States Government without your knowledge or permission. If you don't like it, vote.

    by jalbert on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 10:53:36 PM PDT

  •  They can't (none / 0)

    because their schticks depend on wide-spread public "awareness" of the subject. One-liners don't work if first you have to deliver a background essay on the theme before the audience knows what the joke is about.

    I'm sure they all are salivating copiously at the juicy targets being revealed. It's their employers who are the obstacles, not Letterman, Leno etc or the writers.

    Just more evidence for "we in the know" that corporate boardrooms of MSM are actively attempting to gag these stories.

    by S from Van on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 11:14:52 PM PDT

    •  Sometimes they give background (none / 0)

      Sometimes a host will give a little background -- of the two- or three-sentence variety that I put in my letter to the Late Show -- before delivering a killer punchline.

      But maybe this story is so weird that it's almost unbelievable if you're not already familiar with it?

      I just can't believe Gannon is not a late night joke yet.

      by MaximusNYC on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 11:37:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  How Did They Handle Clinton? (none / 0)

    Oh, yeah,....

    We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy.... --ML King "Beyond Vietnam"

    by Gooserock on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 11:32:36 PM PDT

  •  heh (none / 0)

    I'm watching Letterman right now (west coast). He just made the "Ich bin ein frankfurter" crack ;)

    Kind of a subtle jab! Of course, the most of the audience is unaware of the double-entendre.

    by S from Van on Wed Feb 23, 2005 at 11:39:26 PM PDT

    •  mavis: letterman's 'subtle jab' is worthless... (none / 0)

       i am a feminist from way/way back and i am about same age as you.
      when you spoke about the women that were hidden under the burka....that spoke to me.

       

      "John McCain is a grifter and a scoundrel," dengre

      by cosette on Thu Feb 24, 2005 at 12:02:38 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  um, Letterman, Leno, Kimmel do Gannon? (none / 0)

    Do you have any idea what kind of mental pictures that headline conjured up? For shame --- you've put me off my digestion.

    (actually, considering the stories Ganongate has revealed, I seriously expected something  shocking below the fold. This turned out to be surprisingly g-rated.)

    "There are no shortcuts to accomplishing constructive social change ... struggle is called 'struggle' for a reason." Ward Churchill

    by CAuniongirl on Thu Feb 24, 2005 at 12:07:33 AM PDT

Permalink | 37 comments