Conan O’Brien continued his gag of having his writers come up with a list of options for him (a continuation of another bit where he listed some of the rumors). The include several good jabs, including one at the end that seems sarcastic only in Conan actually doing it. Take a look.

Meanwhile, Conan’s old rival, Craig Ferguson, responded with a simple ‘who gives a f—?’, and mocked the fact that himself and Letterman were now the stable ones.

But one person who really enjoyed himself was David Letterman. A good chunk of his jokes, including his Top Ten, delved into the subject. Including one great sight gag I won’t describe, you have to see it on video (which I will post when it comes online). And he closed it all off wondering if he, in fact, still had a show.

UPDATE: And now Colbert weighs in, with the help of Morgan Freeman.

But video can.

So, here, via the Indianapolis Star, are what each Late Night show host said:

David Letterman: “Welcome to the program. My name is David Letterman, or as the staff calls me, ‘That one.’”

Conan O’Brien: “During last night’s debate, John McCain sparked a controversy when he referred to Barack Obama as ’that one. Afterwards, McCain said: ’What — like I’m supposed to remember EVERYONE’S name now?”’

Jon Stewart:to Michelle Obama
“So you’re a lot like Sarah Palin.”

Stephen Colbert: “The only thing missing was Karl Rove dumping Gatorade over John McCain’s head at the end.”

Jay Leno: “It was broadcast live from Nashville. I don’t want to say the debate was boring, but I never thought a political event in Tennessee could be that dull without the help of Al Gore.”

Craig Ferguson: ““’Which one of these senators tapped your foot in the bathroom?’ ’That one.’ That would be appropriate.”

So which one of these is the best? Vote below.

This could be the biggest mistake of the campaign and one of the biggest blunders in politics in recent memory. The New York Post is reporting that CBS News is upset about Letterman using the private feed. The story also contains a quote from a McCain advisor that says it “wasn’t a night for comedy.” It turns out, yeah, it sort of was. Oops.

Meanwhile The Indy Star has a story on Day II of the Letterman assult. It contains some more quotes from Letterman that didn’t make the clip I showed.

The Boston Herald, meanwhile, is the first news outlet, it seems, to actually let an Op-Ed columnist address the real issue here: Bailing on Letterman is really, really hurting the campaign, and has opened McCain up to attacks from the wit of Stephen Colbert and Chris Dodd. (The Huffington Post and the SFGate are on it too, of course)

Wired is also reporting that it is one of the biggest viral videos right now, already regestering over 1.4 million viewers.

• Entertainment Weekly sat down with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. There’s some insight there, and a few real gems including: ”On CNBC I saw a guy talking to eight people in [eight different onscreen] boxes, and they were all like, ‘I don’t know!’ It’d be like if Hurricane Ike hit, and you put on the Weather Channel, and they were yelling, ‘I don’t know what the f— is going on! I’m getting wet and it’s windy and I don’t know why and it’s making me sad!”’
• Police in Santa Ana, California are looking for Pluto after a 2-year-old was mauled at Disneyland. Thank you, FoxNews.
• WCBS in New York has the scariest photo of Sarah Palin ever. It also sort of looks like this guy.
• Drew Barrymore is a fan of Gossip Girls too, well at least part of it. (Also from FoxNews)
• In our own backyard, the Indy Star is reporting that a South Bend man had his legs stolen from him in the most bizarre Indiana story of the morning.
• And, finally, from CNN: China has found a new place to put all those unwanted baby girls.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You guys regularly make a mockery of the 24-hour news networks. Do you see anything good about the format?
JON STEWART: It’s Muzak now. You ever walk into a clothing store in New York City and they’re not playing music? And you go, ”What’s going on here? Did a virus hit? This doesn’t seem right.” Twenty-four-hour news now is this weird companion to my life.
STEPHEN COLBERT: There’s not more news now than there was when we were kids. There’s the same amount from when it was just Cronkite. And the easiest way to fill it is to have someone’s opinion on it. Then you have an opposite opinion, and then you have a mishmash of fact and opinion, and you leave it the least informed you can possibly be.
STEWART: We’ve got three financial networks on all day. The bottom falls out of the credit market, and they were all running around. On CNBC I saw a guy talking to eight people in [eight different onscreen] boxes, and they were all like, ”I don’t know!” It’d be like if Hurricane Ike hit, and you put on the Weather Channel, and they were yelling, ”I don’t know what the f— is going on! I’m getting wet and it’s windy and I don’t know why and it’s making me sad! Maybe the president could come down and put up some sort of windscreen?” By being on 24 hours a day, you begin to not be able to tell what’s salient anymore.

For years, studies have come out saying that many young people get their news from late-night comedy, and Jon has always pooh-poohed this idea. But your shows are some of the only ones out there actually digging into archival video to prove when politicians are lying or contradicting themselves. You might not want the responsibility, but haven’t you been given it by default?
COLBERT: I don’t know if responsibility is the right word.
STEWART: It’s more that we’re an emotional show, not a political show. I don’t know if you’ve ever spent time in s—hole bars in New Jersey with old people yelling at the TV, but that’s what it is. It’s a guy going, ”I never said that,” and in the back of the room Elbow Eddie looks up from his Pall Malls and his Budweiser and goes, ”That’s f—in’ bulls—! I heard you say it two days ago!” That’s all that is. It’s not a journalistic gotcha, it’s just anger. It’s easy when you’re participating in the discussion to forget that people are watching and taping. Typically, politicians make you go back six months. But now…
COLBERT: I’ve got one for you. McCain said, ”The fundamentals of our economy are strong” and ”Our economy is at risk.” One was at 9 a.m., the other was 11 a.m. Our joke was ”You can be strong and at risk, too. Like, a muscleman who wouldn’t wear a condom. What’s the worst that could happen?”