What will John McCain say when he returns to the Late Show with David Letterman? Will he show up this time? Will Letterman let him have it? These were just some of the questions on everyone's mind after the announcement that Republican candidate John Mccain will be returning to the show. It marks McCain's 13th appearance on the show, but the first since his canceled appearance, a cancellation that the senator from Arizona didn't expect it to become such a sticking point with Letterman.

John McCain didn't show up for an appearance with the comedian at the end of September because "he was rushing to Washington." That cancellation prompted Letterman to blast McCain on air, after he discovered the presidential candidate was instead doing an interview with Katie Couric at the same time he was scheduled to appear on hit show, and didn't leave the city until the following day. Letterman hasn't stopped blasting McCain since then. Could
David Letterman's public feud with John McCain finally be over with this visit?

Right after walking onstage with the Late Show band playing "I Can't Explain", McCain received Letterman's welcome. "Can you stay?" he was asked as he sat down, to the roar of the audience. "Depends on how bad it gets," McCain answered. And that's pretty much how the evening went, with Letterman ribbing the Republican candidate about his previous no-show every chance he gets. On the subject of the actual cancellation, McCain was apologetic, saying "I screwed up" several times but didn't elaborate. The audience roared each time.

One of the subjects David Letterman was kept asking McCain was about Sarah Palin's qualifications, her leadership and if he was confident she could lead the country in a time of crisis. This was the Arizona senator's reply:

"In all due respect, one of the people I admired most was an obscure governor of a southern state called Arkansas and he turned out to be a fairly successful president," McCain said, complimenting Bill Clinton. "Ronald Reagan was a cowboy, no experience in international affairs. I think she has shown leadership."

Though David Letterman said he was "willing to put this behind us", it was a kinda rough night for McCain, at one time saying, "I haven’t had so much fun since my last interrogation." But many observers think it gave him the chance to show courage in the face of fire. 'The Late Show' reaches several million viewers (voters) a night, a number that surely increased with John McCain as guest since this was hot topic in the news and blogs the past week. With video clips on the Internet and Friday morning news, countless more people will undoubtedly learn about their encounter, something that will hopefully work in John McCain's favor.

McCain did offer one campaign promise that he was probably more likely to keep after he left the stage. "It’s not the time to raise anybody’s taxes — except yours," he said to Letterman. "I guarantee you if I become president, I’ll do it. First executive order." He he.

BTW, McCain said he thinks Sarah Palin will appear on NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" (this weekend?) where Tina Fey has been doing a dead-on impersonation of her. "Probably get more of an audience than our debate did," he said. Wow, that's another show to watch out for.

John McCain on Letterman video

John McCain returns to 'The Late Show w/ David Letterman' video

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