Last night, Brian Williams was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Brian Williams makes relatively frequent appearances on the show, taking time out as NBC Nightly News anchor to serve in comic roles. For example, a regular feature on the show is "slow jam the news," when Williams and Fallon, with help from The Roots, address an issue in the news. Watch them comment on the recent protests in Madison.
Unlike the political pontificating engaged in by David Letterman and Jay Leno with certain guests, Jimmy Fallon usually steers away from such discussions.
It was a little bit different yesterday when Fallon interviewed Williams. While it was still a very light-hearted segment throughout, Fallon tossed out a few of his concerns regarding Obama and those advising him.
Here's video:
Brian Williams, Part 1
Transcript
JIMMY FALLON: It's crazy at this time right now. I think, am I counting wrong? But are we in three wars?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: We're in three. It's early yet. We got some time.
FALLON: I mean, what is happening? Can you take me through, like...?
WILLIAMS: So you got your Iraq winding down. You got your Afghanistan, nobody loves. And the greatest Americans we've ever fielded are over there - Staff sergeants making no money at all, getting their combat bonus, supporting a family back home, slogging through it. And then we have fired as of today 162 cruise missiles from mostly U.S. Navy ships and submarines offshore.
So while they're not fighting on the ground, remember, this is fuelers, pilots, all those deck hands, all those men and women working on all those ships, aircraft, fueling 'em up. There's a lot of people engaged in this third front.
FALLON: Have we ever seen anything like this in our country?
WILLIAMS: We haven't been this busy. I don't think our military's been at this busy a footing.
FALLON: It's insane. And our goal for this Libya thing is so that Qaddafi or Gaddafi - is there a real thing?
WILLIAMS: Pick one. We got a couple spellings. I've gone with the "G." I've gone with the "Kh." I've gone with just the "K."
FALLON: Haddafi?
WILLIAMS: Never that. But yeah, the goal can't be to take him out. He's not a target. The Pentagon briefers said last Sunday, 'Look, if he happens to be in a building that we hit...'
FALLON: (Going into a Robert DeNiro-esque impression) 'Scuse me. What? Are you kidding me? I don't remember anything.
That is just insane, I think with all that stuff. And it feels like to me that President Obama is playing soccer in Rio with kids, and Hillary Clinton seems to be weirdly stepping up, almost like she's being very presidential. I feel like, isn't it weird?
WILLIAMS: It might be a bit unfair. He... You gotta remember, Jimmy, the machinery of the presidency, a lot like when you travel, the machinery of the presidency comes with the president. When you travel you get the Late Night computer and your paging devices so that decisions back in New York about guests, musical order, can be made by you. The president has scrambled phones. He's got video conferencing. He's got the three big Irishmen in his life - Donilon, Brennan, and Daley - who are a part of his inner circle. He's got all of his people. They're all reachable. While he may come back early from this trip to South America, I think the command and control... American people like to see the president.
FALLON: Why is he there again?
WILLIAMS: Well, this was a trip that to have cancelled this...
FALLON: Costs so much money.
WILLIAMS: Yeah. Right.
FALLON: He can't get a refund? Come on!
Brian Williams, Part 2
Transcript
JIMMY FALLON: What is going down? He's making NCAA, he's doing his brackets on ESPN. I'm like, who is advising this man?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: I think we've seen a little political 'tude coming out tonight. This is interesting.
FALLON: Come on. A little change...
WILLIAMS: I think this is interesting. I never heard you go into this area before.
FALLON: I don't normally do it, but I get upset. I mean, I have better people advising me than the president does.
WILLIAMS: Actually, I've met your staff... Just one thing to remember: Every cruise missile - about $1 million, 162 of those. Think of what goes into launching each one, target selection, all that. It's a crazy world.
FALLON: It's a tough job.
WILLIAMS: I feel like you have to hang on to something.
FALLON: I'm very patriotic. I'm always rooting for the president. I just feel like, what is going on? I feel like I want to hear from him.
WILLIAMS: Well, this is a tough perception. The White House has to deal with this because, seriously, if you're saying it, and you do hear this across America, it means it's real. And it means they've got to deal with the perception, even though he's with his daughters and they get very little time off. He's down in South America, three country tour, doing all the official business. I don't work for them. I cover them all equally - Democrats, Republicans. They've got an appearance issue if you're saying they do. You have that kind of sway.
FALLON: Exactly. He watches this show all the time.
It's funny that Williams felt he needed to defend Obama and then qualify it by saying, "I don't work for them," as if we might forget his role as unbiased newsman.
I think the direction of the discussion caught Williams off guard just a little, though I like the way Jimmy expressed his concerns. I liked the 'tude.
What I especially liked is that it was a topical discussion without being polarizing and preachy. It was still funny and entertaining.
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