Will Sarah Palin join John McCain on ‘Letterman’?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Will Sen. John McCain bring a surprise guest with him Thursday when he makes his long-awaited appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman”?

On tonight’s program, Letterman said that the Republican presidential candidate “hinted when I talked to him on the phone that maybe he’d be bringing Sarah Palin.”

“We know that’s not gonna happen,” added the late-night comedian.

“Was that a hint or was that more of a campaign promise?” asked band leader Paul Schaeffer.

“I think he was trying to make me feel better,” Letterman said. “Like, ‘Oh, I know we’ve got the hook in Letterman now.’ But I don’t think she’ll be here. Miss Alaska will probably not be here.”

“That would be nice if she came, though,” Schaeffer said.

“Are you kidding me?” asked Letterman. “How great would that be?”

“That’s really the only way I think that he could make up for what he owes you,” Schaeffer said.

Letterman has been on a tear against McCain ever since the GOP candidate canceled an appearance on “Late Show” several weeks ago, saying he was rushing back to Washington to deal with the financial crisis. That didn’t sit well with the comedian when he discovered that McCain actually stayed in New York another day and gave an interview to CBS anchor Katie Couric at the same time he was supposed to appear on the late-night show.

-- Matea Gold