Late Night Humor and the War

April 12, 2003

The target for ridicule remains Saddam Hussein -- with many jokes about the Iraqi leader focusing on his conspicuous absence from public view and rumors about his death.

"But you know there's some confusion now whether Saddam Hussein is actually alive or dead," David Letterman joked on CBS' "The Late Show.They had videotape on Iraqi television earlier today, and it's so confusing. It's Saddam Hussein ... and he's speaking at his own funeral."

Other favored laughingstocks include the loose lips of Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera, who angered the military by describing troop positions during a broadcast, and NBC's Peter Arnett, who was fired for saying on state-run Iraqi TV that the U.S.-led war effort had initially failed.

"Today, Saddam Hussein was supposed to appear on television and rally the Iraqi people ... but he was replaced at the last minute by Peter Arnett," Leno joked on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

Some have mocked Rivera's macho theatrics during his Middle East reports. "Today the U.S. Army kicked Geraldo Rivera out of Iraq," Craig Kilborn said on CBS' "The Late Late Show.Why didn't someone tell us you can kick out Geraldo?"

France, which initially opposed U.S. action in Iraq but has lately expressed support for the end of Saddam's regime, remains the butt of many jokes. "There was another war-related casualty today," Leno joked in Thursday's broadcast. "The French were injured when they tried to jump on our bandwagon."

Later on "The Tonight Show" Thursday, guest Dennis Miller ridiculed celebrity anti-war activists from Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks to Oscar winner Michael Moore, who was booed when he criticized President Bush at the Academy Awards. "It is that stupid moron's right to be that utterly completely wrong," Miller said.