Paul Drinkwater/NBC
When a political figure makes an appearance on a talk show these days, you can usually expect to the volume level to ratchet up a level -- or, more often than not, several levels. Such was not the case when John McCain sat down with Conan O’Brien last night.
Unlike last year’s famously acrimonious tete a tete between the former Republican presidential contender and David Letterman, the exchange between O’Brien and McCain was surprisingly civil. Conan introduced his guest as a “war hero” and referred to him as “the honorable Senator John McCain.”
The pair went on to discuss the events of the day -- including combustible issues such as health care, Sarah Palin and “death panels” -- but the most memorable moment was their lighthearted talk about McCain’s love of Twitter.
The Senator (@SenJohnMcCain) boasted about the 1.3 million followers he has accumulated in his 8-ish months of using the social-networking service, and how he it has given him a conversation-starter with international leaders such as the prime minister of Kurdistan. Conan reminded McCain that he’d also traded Tweets with actor-comedian Rainn Wilson (who plays “Dwight Shrute” on NBC’s Thursday night stalwart, The Office). Apparently Wilson playfully called McCain a “nerd” for liking music by Swedish band, Abba.
You can check out last night’s episode of The Tonight Show on Hulu.com.
