DISPL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME BACK TO THE LIVE IT'S
LIVE "LATE SHOW" AFTER THE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE.
MY NEXT GUEST IS A FORMER SPEECHWRITER FOR OBAMA WHO HOSTS
TWO OF THE MOST POPULAR PODCASTS IN THE COUNTRY.
FROM "POD SAVE AMERICA" AND "LOVETT OR LEAVE IT," PLEASE
WELCOME, JON LOVETT!
( APPLAUSE )
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
AGAIN.
>> NICE TO SEE YOU.
>> Stephen: THANK FOR BEING HERE LIVE.
>> YEAH!
>> Stephen: NOW, YOU WERE A SPEECHWRITER FOR... JOE BIDEN'S
BEST FRIEND, I THINK HISTORY HAS CALLED IT.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: SO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THE PEOPLE
BACKSTAGE AT A DEBATE WATCHING YOUR CANDIDATE DO THEIR THING.
WHO DO YOU THINK OUT THERE HAD GOOD SPEECHWRITERS PREPPINGWH
THEM?
WHO HAD GOOD COMMUNICATIONS PEOPLE OUT THERE?
WHO IMPRESSED YOU?
>> SO... THERE HAVE BEEN BAD DEBATES THAT LEFT YOU FEELING
REALLY SAD.
( LAUGHTER )
>> BUT THIS WASN'T ONE OF THEM.
AND I THOUGHT FOR THE MOST PART, EACH CANDIDATE KIND OF
DEMONSTRATED WHY THEY'RE IN THE RACE.
I THINK NO ONE IS BETTER THAN ELIZABETH WARREN AT CONNECTING
AN ANSWER TO A DEEPER PHILOSOPHY FOR WHY SHE'S RUNNING.
I THOUGHT BETO'S ANSWERS ON GUNS WAS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.
CORY BOOKER IS OUTSTANDING AT TAKING AN IMPORTANT POLICY
DEBATE AND ROOTING IT IN EMOTION AND PAIN, WHICH THE COUNTRY IS
GOING THROUGH.
SO LOOK, I'M JUST SO PROUD OF ALL OF THEM.
I JUST THINK THEY ALL DID SO GOOD!
>> Stephen: OKAY.
>> EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE JULIAN CASTRO KEPT SAYING TO
BIDEN, "WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELF?
WHY ARE ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELF?"
>> Stephen: ARE THERE ANY LINES TONIGHT YOU SAID, "I COULD
HAVE WRITTEN THAT."
OR "I WISH I HAD WRITTEN THAT."
>> THERE ARE A FEW LINES I
BELIEVE I COULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN.
>> Stephen: THERE MUST BE TIMES WHEN YOU SAID, "OH, GOD!
OH, NO, DON'T SAY THAT."
>> THERE WERE SOME ROUGH JOKES.
YOU KNOW, YOU POINTED OUT THAT THE PERSON BEHIND THE CURTAIN IS
THE WIZARD OF OZ, WHICH IS--
THERE HE IS.
AND IT'S WORTH-- IT'S WORTH NOTING SOMETHING ABOUT THIS
PERSON.
THE POINT OF THE WIZARD OF OZ IS NOT THAT THE MAN BEHIND THE
CURTAIN IS SHORT.
THE POINT OF THE WIZARD OF OZ IS THAT THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN
IS NOT A WIZARD!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
>> Stephen: ARE YOU OFFENDED BECAUSE YOU'RE A WIZARD?
>> LISTEN, ALL RIGHT -- >> Stephen: IT KIND OF LOOKS
LIKE DONALD TRUMP, THOUGH.
TAKE A LOOK AT HIM.
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE DONALD TRUMP?
>> IT'S A GREAT METAPHOR.
TRUMP IS TALL!
HALF OF ALL VOTERS -- >> Stephen: PAY ATTENTION--
WHAT, HALF OF ALL VOTERS ARE SHORT?
>> THEY'RE SHORTER THAN AVERAGE.
BY DEF-- RIGHT, RIGHT?
>> Stephen: I GUESS SO.
I GUESS SO.
>> I'M JUST SAYING.
I'M JUST SAYING.
I KNOW SHE DIDN'T MEAN IT.
I HOPE SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO APOLOGIZE.
>> Stephen: BIDEN IS THE FRONT-RUNNER.
AND I THOUGHT HE HAD A PRETTY GOOD SHOWING TONIGHT.
>> YEAH.GU >> Stephen: ANYTHING MORE YOU
WANT TO SAY ABOUT THE GUY YOU USED TO WORK WITH FOR EIGHT
YEARS?
COME ON!
BIDEN!
OBAMA!
I CAN'T TELL THEM APART ANYMORE!
JABARACK OBIDEN THEY'RE THE SAME GUY.
WHY NO LOVE FROM THE OBAMA CAMP FOR JOE?
>> I THINK THERE'S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF LOVE.
>> Stephen: HOW ABOUT SUPPORT PUBLICLY?
>> WELL, THAT'S A DIFFERENT THING.
BUT THE-- NO, NO.
I THINK THERE'S AN INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR JOE BIDEN.
BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WORK FOR OBAMA WHO SUPPORT BIDEN,
THEY SUPPORT WARREN, THEY SUPPORT MICHAEL BENNET-- R.I.P.
THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE-- HE'S STILL ALIVE.
HE JUST DIDN'T MAKE THE DEBATE!
CALM DOWN.PO NO, BUT, LOOK, I THINK WE SEE--
WHENEVER-- THIS WAS A GOOD NIGHT FOR JOE BIDEN.
BUT WITH JOE BIDEN I THINK WE SEE THE GOOD AND THE BAD.
I THINK THERE WERE ANSWERS THAT WERE STRONG.
I THINK HE DID BETTER THAN BEFORE.
>> Stephen: HE HAD A LOT OF FACTS AND FIGURES AT HIS
FINGERTIPS.
>> AND THERE ARE REMARKS THAT ARE HALTING AND HARD TO FOLLOW.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE PRONE TO SUPPORT JOE BIDEN UNDERESTIMATE
JOE BIDEN.
IT'S NOT JUST NAME RECOGNITION.
IT'S NOT THAT HE WORKED FOR BARACK OBAMA.
IT'S SOMEBODY WHOSE CANDIDACY AND CAREER IS ROOTED IN GENUINE
LOSS AND PAIN THAT I THINK IS RELEVANT TO A LOT OF PEOPLE,
THAT REMINDS PEOPLE WHY THEY LIKE JOE BIDEN.
I THINK WHEN HE GETS ATTACKED, WHEN HE GETS MALIGNED, WHEN
PEOPLE SNEER AT HIM, I THINK THEY UNDERESTIMATE HIS STRENGTH
AND THERE'S A REASON HE REMAINS ON TOP.
>> Stephen: THERE'S A NEW POLL FROM ABC NEWS/"WASHINGTON POST"
TCBY, HAS TRUMP LOSING TO THE TOP FIVE DEMOCRATS.
OBVIOUSLY, WE'RE ALL SCARED FROM MISLEADING POLLS FROM 2016.
AS SOMEBODY WHO, AGAIN, HAS BEEN THERE INTIMATELY AND SEEN THE
INTERNAL POLLING ON CAMPAIGNS, CAN WE TRUST POLLS AT ALL?
>> YES, BUT DON'T.
>> Stephen: YOU HEARD HIM.
FIVE PEOPLE-- >> THAT WAS CONFUSING.
>> Stephen: FIVE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BEAT TRUMP!
>> HERE'S THE THING-- I GET WHY WE'RE ALL LOOKING AT POLLS.
OUR BRAINS ARE PROFOUNDLY
BROKEN.
WE ARE-- WE ARE DROWNING IN POLITICAL COVERAGE.
WE WANT THIS NIGHTMARE TO END.
WE WANT SOMEONE TO GIVE US CERTAINTY.
JUST TELL ME.AI PLEASE, TELL ME THAT IT'S GOING
TO BE OVER SOON!
AND SO YOU CLICK UP -- >> Stephen: YES.
>> YOU CLICK UP YOUR LITTLE POLLS AND THEY SAY, "IT'S GOING
TO BE OVER SOON."
BUT THE ONLY WAY IT'S GOING TO BE OVER IS IF WE DO OUR PART TO
MAKE IT OVER.
AND ONE OF THE LESSONS OF 2016 IS SPEND A LITTLE LESS TIME
WORRYING ABOUT WHAT YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN AND WORRY A LITTLE BIT
MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN,
HAPPEN.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
BEING HERE, JON.
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: "LOVETT OR LEAVE IT" IS LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
TOMORROW, AND YOU CAN LISTEN TO NEW EPISODES EVERY SATURDAY.
JON LOVETT, EVERYBODY!
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.